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About Us - An introduction to the Swanage Railway Project
Our About Us pages are broken down as follows:
Please select from the above links to view more information.
An introduction to the Swanage Railway Project
The roots of the
Swanage Railway as we know it now can be traced back to the run down of
the Swanage branch in the years after the Beeching cuts in the
1960's. Whilst the line survived these closures, a cycle of
falling traffic and progressive withdrawal of services
eventually led to closure in 1972.
Swanage station in September 1975 before the railway was rebuilt.
Photo by George Moon, courtesy of the Andrew P.M. Wright collection.
Momentum was quickly
established to try and take over the branch and press for the
return of a mainline connection. These activities became known
as the Swanage Railway Project.
Despite local and national attempts to first prevent closure
and then lobby for re-opening, this was not enough to
prevent much of the track being lifted. As a result
to-day's Swanage Railway is really a railway built from scratch.
The early days of the project saw several groups springing up
with similar aims. These quickly came together and ultimately
resulted in the formation of the Southern Steam Trust (SST).
This charitable body was controlled by a number of Trustees who
guided the Project.
Before and after tracklaying started at Corfe castle
A separate company - the Swanage Railway Company (SRC) - was
established by the SST to undertake trading and operations as
required by charity legislation. The SRC continues to fulfil
this role to-day.
As the project developed the original constitution of the SST
was found to be in need of review. Ultimately the Swanage
Railway Trust (SRT) was formed and took over all the assets of
the SST including all the voting shares in the Swanage Railway
Company. Like the SST the SRT is a registered charity. The SST
will continue for some time to allow possible benefactors to
update wills and other legal documents.
The arrangement of a Trust - the SRT - having 100% control of
a Company - the SRC - has served the Project well but is kept
under review. Many other heritage railways have moved to a
structure whereby the operating body is a Public Limited Company
and this may be an option for the future.
Historic Corfe Castle station before decades of volunteer effort restored services.
Swanage Railway Trust
The SRT is the senior decision making body of the Swanage
Railway with an election is held each Autumn to appoint the
Directors. Most SRT members are eligible to stand for election
and to vote although employees of the Swanage Railway Company
are not allowed to stand or be co-opted as Directors. The Board
is commonly called the 'Council of Management' and its members
serve a two year term.
The role of the SRT is to set the agenda for the Project
through the Trust's policies and to perform a 'watching brief'
over the day to day operations of the Company. Inevitably
raising both funds and the profile of the Project form a major
part of the Trust's activities.
The Trust has a number of functional groups which are tasked
with considering aspects of the Trust's operation and making
recommendations to the full CoM. The links provide more
information on these groups.
The Swanage Railway Trust is a registered charity (registered
number 1087318) and a Company Limited by Guarantee (registered
number 4115126).
Swanage Railway Company
The SRC is responsible for the day to day operation of the
railway. All volunteers working on the railway are expected to
comply with the Company's policies and procedures in the same
way as the Company's employees.
The Company is controlled by its Board of Directors with the
Company's General Manager responsible for the day to day
management. The Board is responsible for appointing Directors.
However since the SRT holds all the voting shares in the
Company, at least half of the Directors are always drawn from
the SRT's Council of Management.
The Swanage Railway Company is a Private Limited Company
(registered number 1412568).
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