philipmartin wrote:Very interesting. Thank you, George.
I see there are a few weekend trains in January.
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There are occasional special trains from the mainline, nearly always steam. There is room at Swanage station to accommodate a full length steam train. They sometimes originate in Waterloo.
I can remember the beginnings of this project in the 1970s. I was in the area for the first time, on leave from Africa. At that time the trains only went from Swanage station to Herston, and they had only a very strange sort of steam loco. I can not say what sort it was as I have very little interest in such things. (I think it was a saddle tank and I think the carriages were a type built in the 1950s that many independent railways got cheaply when discarded by BR). They ran passenger trains the short distance between the two stations. At that time much of the route was still without track, and train running was extended as new track was laid. I walked the entire length of the empty trackbed. Later as I visited the area annually the length of usable track increased and trains next went as far as Harmans Cross where there are some attractions. Next they terminated trains at Corfe Castle at a substantial original station. Then they extended to Norden whose main usefulness was a reasonable sized car and coach park so that people could park there before visiting Swanage itself.
The planned extension to Wareham this year will complete the facilities and make possible journeys from the main line without needing the connecting bus which is presently in use - at least at the High Season. Possibly more through trains will be possible, from further up the line, perhaps even from Bournemouth (where there has been a platform section at present unused which could be used for a Swanage train). These it must be assumed will be diesel as with trains to Wareham. The actual track to Wareham has been operable for some time. It was easier to rebuild the track than to negotiate with BR and now with Network Rail. Probably the key feature that has made connecting trains possible has been the closure of the oil terminal so that Swanage trains will no longer conflict with oil tank trains. (The oil now travels by a pipeline and trains are no longer needed.) Swanage railway has taken over the former oil company's track.