A rail link from Swanage to Wareham has been a dream for many for nearly 45 years. Project Wareham is a hugely ambitious plan to turn that dream into a reality by completing the Purbeck Line, extending from its current terminus of operations in Norden to Network Rail at Wareham – but not just as a heritage railway, but as…
The Swanage Railway will be holding their Autumn Steam gala 14th to 16th October. It promises to have quite an incredible collection of Southern locomotives, with two visitors from the National Collection – King Arthur class 777 Sir Lamiel and ex-LSWR T9 class 30120. These will be supplemented by the home fleet with U class 31806,…
Battle of Britain class Manston has the honour of being the last locomotive to be built by Southern Railway. It was originally numbered 21C170 when it emerged from Brighton Works in November 1947 in malachite green livery, in contrast to the later BR Brunswick green livery it now carries in preservation. Manston’s other claim to fame…
We British love almost nothing more than complaining about the weather, but the start of Autumn this 2015 has been nothing short of fantastic (ignoring the weather today at any rate!) And what better way to spend this belated summer with friends in Dorset and of course no visit to Dorset is complete without a trip to the…
This summer, the Swanage Railway promises to be a quite incredible British Railways Southern region recreation. The National Collection’s unique ex-LSWR T9 class 30120 arrived on the line today for a stay until October. The locomotive is usually based on the Bodmin and Wenford Railway, but is taking its summer vacation in Dorset for 2015.
The Swanage Railway will be hosting two big events in the next couple of months, namely their steam gala from Friday, 17 April to Sunday, 19 April, 2015 and their Diesel Gala from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 May, 2015. Both events are shaping up nicely.
I think I must be allergic to the Severn Valley’s Autumn steam galas, last year I had tonsilitus, and this year all didn’t exactly go to plan, yet again. Before this weekend I was expecting to be able to spend a half decent amount of time at the SVR gala, considering I wasn’t actually in…
In the midst of a busy time, a visit to the Swanage Railway provided a lovely respite! The railway runs from Norden via Corfe Castle, Harmans Cross (below) to the lovely beach and seaside town of Swanage. My wife and I had a lovely day out and I highly recommend a visit to the line. …
Corfe Castle is without doubt one of the most iconic landmarks of southern England. With a history going back over a thousand years, it has been a feature of the landscape for far longer than the railway has and provides a fascinating contrast and depth to the heritage railway. Anyone who visits the Swanage Railway…
The two locomotives in service on Easter Monday were M7 tank 30053 (click here for more) and rebuilt West Country pacific 34028 Eddystone (click here for more). However, there was more to see at Swanage, particularly when passing by on the train (note to enthusiasts – be ready by an open window before the train…
Loco Yard 