Swanage Railway - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Swanage Railway is a 6 miles (9.7 km) long heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

in the Purbeck district of Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station

Norden railway station

Norden railway station is a railway station located half a mile to the north of the village of Corfe Castle, on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. It is the northern-most station on Swanage Railway, a heritage railway that currently operates from Norden to Swanage...

, Corfe Castle railway station

Corfe Castle railway station

Corfe Castle railway station is a railway station located in the village of Corfe Castle, in the English county of Dorset. Originally an intermediate station on the London and South Western Railway branch line from Wareham to Swanage, the line and station were closed by British Rail in 1972...

, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage

Swanage railway station

Swanage railway station is a railway station located in Swanage, on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. Originally the terminus of a London and South Western Railway branch line from Wareham, the line and station were closed by British Rail in 1972...

. The line was re−connected to the mainline at Wareham, Dorset

Wareham, Dorset

Wareham is an historic market town and, under the name Wareham Town, a civil parish, in the English county of Dorset. The town is situated on the River Frome eight miles southwest of Poole.-Situation and geography:...

along a stretch of the branch line that had previously only remained open to freight traffic until 2005. Trains operate on the Swanage Railway between Swanage and Norden Park & Ride every weekend and Bank Holiday from mid-February to the end of the year, and every day of the week from April to October; with Santa Special

Santa Special

A Santa Special is a special Christmas rail service, common on heritage steam railways ,, where children are given the opportunity to meet "Santa Claus"....

services in December. The link between the Swanage Railway and the main line at Wareham has been used for materials deliveries, special excursions, locomotive and stock movements only— work is continuing to provide the infrastructure necessary to enable regular services via Wareham to be implemented. In April 2009 the line reopened to its first through traffic from London with occasional special services.

In the future, the line could one day officially become one of a few heritage railways in the UK to operate a whole branch line in its original entirety.

History

After several false starts, the branch was built by the locally promoted Swanage Railway Company. It was opened in 1885 and operated from the start by the London and South Western Railway

London and South Western Railway

The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...

Company. Subsequently the line became part of the Southern Railway and latterly the Southern Region of British Railways

Southern Region of British Railways

The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex...

. In the 1950s the Branchline Committee identified this branch line as a possible candidate for closure. At the time such a plan was unrealistic for a branch line which carried so much seasonal holiday traffic. The closure proposal met with a great deal of opposition and was shelved. The line was not mentioned in Beeching's 1963 report 'The Reshaping of British Railways'. It is possible that it was omitted either due to political considerations or the fact that the existing roads in the area were unable to take the additional traffic which would result from the line's closure.

In the mid 1960s a programme of third rail

Third rail

A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...

electrification

Electrification

Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...

took place on the main line running from Waterloo, Basingstoke, Southampton to Bournemouth in preparation for withdrawal of steam. As the third rail did not, then, extend west of Branksome the Swanage line was operated until its closure using a British Rail Class 205

British Rail Class 205

The British Rail Class 205 diesel-electric multiple units were built by BR at Eastleigh from 1957–1962. They were replaced by Turbostar units.-Description:This class of unit were built in four different batches for use on different lines....

DEMU

Demu

Demu may refer to:*Dému, a village in France*Diesel-electric Multiple Unit *DEMU, Diesel and Electric Modellers United, a UK railway modelling group*The alien antagonists of The Demu Trilogy by F.M. Busby...

. Given that the then government of the day, had refused to allow BR to purchase more DEMUs in the mid 1960s, this led to problems of trying to run existing services with a significantly reduced level of motive power available following the total withdrawal of steam in 1967. Thus a number of lines had to close because there were not enough DEMUs to go around.

In May 1967 the Network for Development Plans were issued by Barbara Castle

Barbara Castle

Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn , PC, GCOT was a British Labour Party politician....

MP, the then Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

Minister of Transport

Secretary of State for Transport

The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...

following a study. Where lines were at the remunerative end of the scale, such as the main trunk routes and some secondary lines, these would be developed. Lines that failed to meet the financial criterion, but served a social need were to be retained and subsidised under the 1968 Transport Act. The problem would be for lines that were not in these categories which could be candidates for closure as they did not form part of the basic railway network. The Swanage line was one of these. It was a line that may well have carried considerable traffic, and perhaps made a small profit, but it did not meet the Government's social, economic and commercial criteria for retention.

It was in the later part of 1967 that British Railways issued a notice that the Swanage line was to be closed by September 1968. However, due in part to the level of opposition to the closure, and also by the fact that British Railways had underestimated the logistical problems in providing a replacement bus service during the summer months owing to higher traffic levels, the line remained open. Opposition from the various pressure groups was so vociferous that a public enquiry was called for. Subsequently a Department of the Environment

Secretary of State for the Environment

The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...

Inspector, after hearing the evidence that a replacement bus service would be unable to handle the traffic in the summer months, ruled that the line should remain open. His decision was later overturned by the Secretary of State for the Environment

Secretary of State for the Environment

. Up to this time it is possible that the line may have been in receipt of a subsidy under the terms of the 1968 Transport Act whilst all the issues concerning the pending closure of the line were discussed.

The line was closed in January 1972. In May 1972, the Swanage Railway Society was formed with the objective of restoring an all-the-year-round community railway service linking to the main line at Wareham which would be 'subsidised' by the operation of steam-hauled heritage trains during the holidays. BR

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

responded by hiring contractors to lift the track between Swanage and Furzebrook sidings during the summer of 1972; massive protests were orchestrated by the Society and an agreement between the Society and BR followed leading to all the ballast being left in situ plus an extra half a mile of track at Furzebrook. The track from Furzebrook to the main line junction at Worgret remained in use for ball clay traffic, later also serving the oilfield at Wytch Farm

Wytch Farm

Wytch Farm is an oil field and processing facility in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. It is the largest onshore oil field in western Europe. The facility, operated by BP, is hidden in a coniferous forest on Wytch Heath on the southern shore of Poole Harbour, two miles north of Corfe Castle...

. BR had intended to sell the Swanage station site to a property developer, but after the intervention of the Evelyn King, the MP for South Dorset, at the Society's request, offered it to Swanage Town Council (STC).

At first, neither the Dorset County Council (DCC), nor the STC backed the Society's plans to restore the railway. DCC planned to build a by-pass for Corfe Castle on the railway land, while STC actually started to demolish Swanage station. To break the impasse, the Railway Society formed two daughter organisations: the Swanage and Wareham Railway Group – composed of local residents prepared to lobby the local authorities and the Southern Steam Group – to collect historic railway rolling stock and establish a museum of steam

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

and railway technology. After many interventions by local residents, in 1975, the STC finally granted the Society limited facilities on the Swanage station site. In 1975 DCC acquired the railway land between the end of the line at Furzebrook and Northbrook Road bridge, Swanage and to 'give further consideration' to routes for a Corfe By-pass. The Railway Society piloted a successful application by the Southern Steam Group to the Charity Commissioners for charitable status and subsequently both the Society and the residents group joined the new Southern Steam Trust.

In 1979 a short line opened, the length of King George's playing fields. This was extended first to Herston Halt and then to Harman's Cross in 1988. Neither Herston Halt nor Harman's Cross had been stations previously. In 1995 the railway reopened from Swanage to Corfe Castle and Norden Park and Ride, another post BR station. The opening of Corfe Castle was delayed until Norden was ready as Dorset County Council had concerns about the effects of traffic on Corfe's narrow main street (the A351 road between Wareham and Swanage).

On 3 January 2002 the track was temporarily joined with the Furzebrook freight line at Motala and the Purbeck branch line was once again complete, thirty years to the day after it was closed. On 8 September 2002, a brand new Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

Class 220 "Voyager"

British Rail Class 220

The Class 220 Voyager are a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation in 2000 and 2001....

diesel multiple unit

Diesel multiple unit

A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

, no. 220018, became the first mainline train to use the new track when it made a special journey for a ceremony at Swanage where it was named Dorset Voyager and began its first passenger journey. Following this historic event, the efforts of the Swanage Railway's volunteers were redoubled working with Network Rail to replace the temporary connection with a permanent ground frame and catch-point arrangement at Motala.

On 10 May 2007 history was made when the Swanage Railway’s permanent connection with Network Rail was used for the first time – four ex-BR diesel locomotives running from Eastleigh down to Swanage to participate in the Purbeck Line’s largest ever diesel gala and beer festival in May 2007. Also making the trip—the first such working since the summer of 1972 when the tracks to Corfe Castle and Swanage were lifted—was a preserved four-carriage electric 4VEP British Rail Class 423

British Rail Class 423

The British Rail Class 423 electrical multiple units were built by BR at York Works from 1967 to 1974, although the MBSOs and TSOs of the first 20, 7701-7720, were constructed at Derby Works. They feature manually-opening doors next to every seating row and were the last coaching stock built in...

unit provided by South West Trains.

The link was again used in July 2007 when a steam locomotive for the Swanage Railway's 40th Anniversary of the End of Southern Steam special event travelled to Swanage via the main line at Wareham.

The first public passenger service between Wareham and Swanage since 1972 was from London Victoria to Swanage, via Wareham on 1 April 2009.

The Swanage Railway's works at Herston, on the outskirts of Swanage, are not physically connected to the running line. Movements of locomotives for overhaul are carried out by road transporter as the Swanage Railway has been unable to reach agreement with local landowners to build a branch connection into Herston Works.

Aims of Swanage Railway

The restoration of the rail link between Swanage and Wareham and the re-establishment of a daily service to connect with main line trains, (to possibly become one of only a few heritage railways in the UK, to operate a whole branch line in original form).

The creation of a comprehensive historical record of steam railways and steam technology in Southern England.

Norden - Wareham restoration

There are currently no regular timetabled trains between Swanage and Wareham, as the present intensive rail service from Swanage operates only as far as Norden, via Harman's Cross and Corfe Castle.

The Swanage Railway is continuing to work with Network Rail and the local authorities to identify suitable rolling stock and the infrastructure needed to enable regular services via Wareham to be implemented in the future.

In July 2010, Dorset County and Purbeck District councils voted to allocate up to £3 million over three years, to part-fund re-signalling work by Network Rail (NR) at Worgret Junction, which connects the Swanage branch to NR's main line near Wareham. Once completed, the upgrade will enable scheduled train services to operate between Wareham, Corfe Castle and Swanage.

Public reopening

Improvements by Swanage Railway to the track between Norden and Wareham have continued, and together with the permanent ground frame arrangements at Motala have allowed the planning and operation of special railtour services for the first time since 1972.

The first public passenger service between Wareham and Swanage since 1972 was "The Purbeck Pioneer", a 12-coach diesel-hauled railtour from London Victoria to Swanage, via Wareham on 1 April 2009. Due to high demand for tickets, the diesel-hauled service was repeated on 2 April 2009.

The first public passenger carrying steam service between Wareham and Swanage since 1967 was "The Dorset Coast Express" from London Victoria station on Saturday 2 May 2009, which was hauled by a Southern Railway Battle of Britain class Bulleid Pacific locomotive number 34067 Tangmere. The first Swanage to Wareham steam service since 1967 was "The Royal Wessex" on Monday 4 May 2009, again hauled by number 34067 Tangmere.

Incidents

18 June 2007 – a steam train on the Swanage Railway collided with a coach at Quarr Crossing, near Harman's Cross
Harman's Cross
Harman's Cross is a small village on the Isle of Purbeck, in the county of Dorset in the south of England. It is situated on the A351 road between Swanage and Corfe Castle.The village is located in the civil parish of Worth Matravers...

. The coach driver was believed to be the only person on board the coach, and was seriously injured.

2005 – A tank locomotive dressed as Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...

during one of the railway's Day out with Thomas
Day out with Thomas
Day Out With Thomas is a trade name, licensed by HiT Entertainment, for tourist events that take place on heritage railways and feature one or more trains decorated to look like characters from the children's TV series, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends....

events derailed at Norden while running around its train and suffered minor damages. Later on in the week, the same engine lost its chimney on its way to the Flour Mill Engine Workshops.

Steam locomotives

Number & Name	Description	Notes	Livery
No. 27 Norman	Austerity Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST The Hunslet Engine Company Austerity 0-6-0ST is a steam locomotive designed for shunting. The class became the standard British shunting locomotive during the Second World War, and production continued until 1964 at various locomotive manufacturers.... 0-6-0ST	Norman is settling into regular service on the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway	N/A
No. 6695	GWR Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838... 0-6-2T 5600 Class GWR 5600 Class The GWR 5600 Class is a class of 0-6-2T steam locomotive built between 1924 and 1928. They were designed by C.B Collett for the Great Western Railway , and were introduced into traffic in 1924. Two hundred locomotives were built and remained in service until withdrawn by British Railways between...	Operational	BR lined green with late crest.
No. 53	LSWR London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in... 0-4-4T Class M7	Operational.	Post-war Southern Railway black.
No. 34010 Sidmouth	SR 4-6-2 "West Country" Class	The boiler is stored at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway Severn Valley Railway The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route... .	N/A
No. 34028 Eddystone	SR 4-6-2 "West Country" Class	Operational	BR lined green with late crest
No. 34053 Sir Keith Park	"Battle of Britain" Class 4-6-2	Undergoing restoration, boiler is being worked on at Herston Works and should return to steam in 2011. If so then this will make 34053 only the second rebuilt Battle of Britain Class (after the Bluebell Railway Bluebell Railway The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between and , with an intermediate station at .The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers... 's 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair) to have steamed in preservation.	N/A
No. 34070 Manston	SR 4-6-2 "Battle of Britain" Class	Operational	BR lined green with late crest
No. 34072 257 Squadron	SR 4-6-2 "Battle of Britain" Class	Withdrawn in 2002 and currently awaiting a ten yearly overhaul which includes major firebox work and a new tender. Work will start in 2011, after Sir Keith Park is returned to service.	N/A
No. 80078	BR British Rail British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages... 2-6-4T Class 4MT BR standard class 4 tank The British Railways Standard Class 4 tank was a class of steam locomotive, one of the BR standard classes built during the 1950s. They were used primarily on commuter and outer suburban services.- Background :...	Withdrawn for major overhaul.	BR lined black with early crest.
No. 80104	BR British Rail British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages... 2-6-4T Class 4MT BR standard class 4 tank The British Railways Standard Class 4 tank was a class of steam locomotive, one of the BR standard classes built during the 1950s. They were used primarily on commuter and outer suburban services.- Background :...	Operational. Recently returned to Swanage after completion of repairs.	BR lined black with late crest.

Diesel locomotives and DMUs

Number & Name	Description	Notes	Livery
No. 08436	BR 0-6-0 Class 08 British Rail Class 08 The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. From 1953 to 1962, 996 locomotives were produced, making it the most numerous of all British locomotive classes....	Operational. Used as the Swanage station pilot.	BR Black
No. D3591	BR 0-6-0 Class 08 British Rail Class 08 The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. From 1953 to 1962, 996 locomotives were produced, making it the most numerous of all British locomotive classes....	Currently not in working order and undergoing a major power unit repair at Shackerstone	BR Black
No. D6515 (33012) (formerly named Stan Symes)	BR Bo-Bo Class 33 British Rail Class 33 The British Rail Class 33 also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton is a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern Region of British Railways between 1960 and 1962.... "Crompton"	Operational (mainline registered).	BR Green
No. D6552 (33034)	BR Bo-Bo Class 33 British Rail Class 33 The British Rail Class 33 also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton is a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern Region of British Railways between 1960 and 1962.... "Crompton"	Stored at Norden being stripped of parts.	BR Blue
No. 33103 'Swordfish'	BR Bo-Bo Class 33 British Rail Class 33 The British Rail Class 33 also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton is a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern Region of British Railways between 1960 and 1962.... "Crompton"	In service, temporary replacement for D6515 (33012) during overhaul at Eastliegh Works.	BR Blue
No. 33111 "Hot Dog"	BR Bo-Bo Class 33 British Rail Class 33 The British Rail Class 33 also known as the BRCW Type 3 or Crompton is a class of Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotives ordered in 1957 and built for the Southern Region of British Railways between 1960 and 1962.... "Crompton"	Operational, Generator recently returned to Swanage after repairs.	BR Blue
Unit 51933+50654	BR Class 108 British Rail Class 108 The British Rail Class 108 diesel multiple units were built by BR Derby from 1958 to 1961, with a final production quantity of 333 vehicles....	Operational	Malachite Green
Unit 51346+51388	BR Class 117 British Rail Class 117 The British Rail Class 117 diesel multiple units were built by Pressed Steel from 1959 to 1961.When first introduced, these three-car units were all based with the similar Class 121 single carriage units on British Railway's Western Region for suburban work out of London Paddington, as well as...	Stored awaiting repairs, trailer car 59516 recently returned to Swanage after refurbishment.	BR Green, front whiskers and lining
Unit 55028	BR Class 121 British Rail Class 121 Sixteen Class 121 single-car driving motor vehicles were built from 1960, numbered 55020–55035. These were supplemented by ten trailer vehicles, numbered 56280–56289 . They had a top speed of 70 mph, with slam-doors, and vacuum brakes...	Recently brought from South West Trains South West Trains South West Trains is a British train operating company providing, under franchise, passenger rail services, mostly out of Waterloo station, to the southwest of London in the suburbs and in the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire, and Wiltshire and on the Isle of Wight... , refubishment finished in Derby returned to the Swanage Railway on 22 July 2009	BR Green

Stations

(Terminus of the line) (trains stop only on request)

Norden Park & Ride
Norden railway station
Norden railway station is a railway station located half a mile to the north of the village of Corfe Castle, on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. It is the northern-most station on Swanage Railway, a heritage railway that currently operates from Norden to Swanage...

(Park & Ride for Corfe Castle and Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...

)
Furzebrook Halt (proposed)
Stoborough
Stoborough
Stoborough is a village in the English county of Dorset. It is situated one mile to the south of the town of Wareham, and separated from it by the River Frome.Stoborough forms part of the civil parish of Arne, within the Purbeck local government district....

Halt (proposed) (future request stop)
Worgret
Worgret
Worgret is a village in the English county of Dorset. It is situated immediately to the west of the town of Wareham.Worgret forms part of the civil parish of Arne, within the Purbeck local government district.-External links:...

(proposed) (Interchange with rail services on South Western Main Line
South Western Main Line
The South Western Main Line is a railway line between London Waterloo and Weymouth on the Dorset coast, in the south of England. It is a major railway which serves many important commuter areas, as well as the major settlements of Southampton and Bournemouth...

)

Southern Catering Project Group

The Southern Catering Project Group has a number of railway wagons stored on the Swanage Railway.

Swanage Railway Santa Special services

Each year during December the Swanage Railway runs Santa Special