PEOPLE have taken to social media to name Hampshire’s first Gin Train, which is heading to the Mid Hants Railway’s Watercress Line on Saturday.

The Watercress Line asked its Facebook followers to create the name for the headboard of the train, and more than 1,200 people voted, with Juniper Express topping the public vote with more than 300 nominations.

Close contenders included Tonic the Tank Engine, The Botanical, Mother’s Ruin, Ginny McGin Face, and The Gin Reaper.

Woodies Mountford, marketing manager at the Mid Hants Railway Watercress Line, said: “We thought it would be a fun idea to get the public to decide the name of our new gin train and were completely taken back with the amount of people that were interested in giving the locomotive a name.

“With the popularity of the submarine vote for Boaty McBoatface, I was personally hoping Ginny McGin Face would be the winner, but the public clearly know their gin and went for the more elegant and fitting title of Juniper Express.

“Sponsored by Fever-Tree, in partnership with Winchester Distillery and Pulpo Negro, Saturday demonstrates gin’s rise in popularity by selling out in 10 minutes. A second event on June 29 proved even more popular, selling out in two minutes.”