Plum train service celebrates region's famous fruit

The Pershore plum became so famous that it had a Great Western Railway steam locomotive named after it

People in Gloucestershire can board a special train which celebrates the 'Pershore Plum' - a locomotive named after the region's famous fruit.

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) is running a train which departs Broadway station at 14:25 BST for Cheltenham Racecourse.

It commemorates the revered locomotive and the use of the line in days gone by to bring people fruit and vegetables from the Vale of Evesham.

The event has been organised as part of the Pershore Plum Festival, which takes place over the bank holiday weekend of 24 to 26 August.

The 'Pershore Plum' locomotive operated from 1927 to 1947

The steam train event is part of the annual Pershore Plum festival

The train will carry the the Queen Victoria and Pershore plum varieties, alongside festival mascots Prunella and Eggbert and members of the 'Plum Posse'.

The railway's catering services will be offering "plum-inspired delicacies".

Catherine Johnson, the GWSR’s marketing manager said: “At one time there was a large fruit packing shed at Toddington station, where Pershore and other varieties of plums, as well as apples, pears, soft fruits, asparagus and vegetables, were transferred into special railway vans to be swiftly taken to London, Birmingham and elsewhere.

"This is a wonderful way to celebrate that heritage.”

There are two varieties of Pershore plum

Angela Taylor, tourism officer for Wychavon District Council & Chair of the Pershore Plum Festival, explained that in 1827, a local publican discovered the Pershore Plum growing wild in Tiddesley Wood.

“This yellow variety of plum was then forced and developed by crossing it with other varieties," said Ms Taylor.

"It was perfected in 1877 and there are two Pershore plums today: July Purple and the late August Yellow. They have really put the lovely town of Pershore on the fruit growing map.”

The Pershore plum became so famous that it even had a Great Western Railway steam locomotive named after it.

Pershore Plum at Hayles

Pershore Plum at Wolverhampton Stafford Road

No. 3353 Pershore Plum was a member of the successfull 'Bulldog' class 4-4-0 introduced in 1899 of which 156 were built.

It was originally named 'Plymouth', but this confused some travellers. In 1927 the Worcester branch of the National Farmer's Union (NFU) asked Great Western Railway (GWR) if a locomotive could be named 'Pershore Plum' to market he centenary of the discovery of the fruit.

'Pershore Plum' continued to be based at Worcester and worked from there throughout the region, including over the Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham line and reaching destinations as far away as Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, London and Bristol.

The train's time ended in 1947 when it was broken up at Wolverhampton, having covered nearly 1.5 million miles in service.