HISTORY TO BE MADE WITH SIX LOCOMOTIVES FROM 1890s TO 1950s IN SPRING STEAM GALA

Story by Andrew P.M. Wright,

Swanage Railway official photographer and press officer.

History will be made when a 1920s Great Western Railway ‘Hall’ class main line express locomotive visits the Swanage Railway for the first time as part of a six-engine passenger and freight train Spring Steam Gala taking place from Friday, 28 March, to Sunday, 30 March, 2025, inclusive.

The popular annual three-day steam spectacular will also see a return to the line of a 1950s Ivatt tank class engine – one of the locomotive classes that hauled passenger trains on the Wareham to Corfe Castle and Swanage branch line between 1964 and 1966 when diesel trains took over running the service.

With a busy timetable of passenger and demonstration freight trains running between Swanage, Harman’s Cross, Corfe Castle and Norden across the Spring Steam gala, there will also be a train service between Swanage and Norden on the Saturday evening.

The public also has the exciting chance to ride in the brake van of a demonstration 1950s freight train during the Spring Steam Gala with tickets available from the Swanage Railway website at swanagerailway.co.uk.

Never visiting the Isle of Purbeck branch line in pre-preservation days, the ‘Hall’ class steam locomotives were used on inter-regional express trains – including services between Bournemouth and York as well as from Poole to Bradford.

A visitor to Bournemouth in the early 1960s, Hall class No. 4953 ‘Pitchford Hall’ is appearing at the Swanage Railway’s Spring Steam Gala courtesy of the Epping and Ongar Railway in Essex while Ivatt tank No. 41313 is visiting from the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

Also hauling passenger and demonstration freight trains between Swanage, Harman’s Cross, Corfe Castle and Norden during the Spring Steam Gala will be Swanage Railway’s home fleet of preserved steam locomotives, subject to availability.

That fleet consists of unique Victorian 1893 London and South Western Railway T3 No. 563, late 1920s Southern Railway U class No. 31806 and two 1940s Southern Railway Battle of Britain class Bulleid Pacific express steam locomotives – No. 34070 ‘Manston’ and No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’.

Swanage Railway volunteer commercial director Alex Atkins said: “With a wide range of steam locomotives in operation on passenger and demonstration freight trains – from the 1890s to the 1950s – as well as bracing brake van rides, this year’s Spring Steam Gala will be an exciting spectacular not to be missed.

“It will be thrilling to watch and ride behind a 1920s Great Western Railway express ‘Hall’ class locomotive running on the Swanage Railway for the first time while the Ivatt tank will take passengers back to the 1960s and the final years of Swanage branch line steam trains,” added Alex who is a volunteer Swanage Railway driver and a director of the Swanage Railway Trust.

Swanage Railway Company chair Gavin Johns explained: “We are delighted to be able to offer enthusiasts and the general public such a wide variety of steam locomotives at work through the beautiful Isle of Purbeck countryside and past the dramatic ruins of Corfe Castle.

“While the ‘Hall’ class of express steam locomotives worked out of Weymouth, Poole and Bournemouth on inter-regional trains, the Ivatt tanks also worked across Dorset and played an important part in the county’s railway history during the 1960s.

“Ivatt tanks were the last locomotives on the Lyme Regis, Bridport and Portland branch lines while they also worked trains from Bournemouth to Broadstone, Blandford and Templecombe on the Somerset and Dorset line,” added Gavin who is a volunteer signalman on the Swanage Railway.

Swanage Railway Trust chair Frank Roberts said: “I would like to thank all the dedicated volunteers who have worked so hard to plan and stage such a complicated event as our Spring Steam Gala which features six steam locomotives - dating from the 1890s to the 1950s – and promises to be a wonderfully evocative taste of yesteryear.”

Built at Swindon in 1929 - at a cost of £4,375 - No. 4953 ‘Pitchford Hall’ hauled main line express trains across the Great Western Railway area, including south Wales, before being withdrawn from service by British Railways in 1963 after having run a total of 1.3 million miles.

The locomotive was sold to the Barry scrapyard in south Wales in 1963 where it languished for 20 years before being saved by a railway enthusiast in 1984. After restoration, No. 4953 ‘Pitchford Hall’ moved under its own power for the first time in more than 40 years during 2004.

After being built by British Railways at Crewe in 1952, Ivatt tank No 41313 hauled secondary line and branch line trains in Devon, Sussex, Surrey and Kent before ending its service days in Hampshire where it was withdrawn from service in late 1965.

In 1966, British Rail sold No. 41313 to the Barry scrapyard in South Wales where the steam locomotive rusted in the sea air for almost a decade before being purchased by the Ivatt Trust in 1975. After restoration, No. 41313 hauled its first train since 1965 during 2017.

Anyone interested in finding out more about volunteering should contact the Swanage Railway volunteer recruitment and retention officer Lisa Gravett on 01929 475212 or email [email protected]. Details about volunteering can also be found at swanagerailwaytrust.org/volunteering.