VICTORIAN STEAM LOCOMOTIVE ‘WHISTLES OFF’ AT START OF NATIONAL RAILWAY 200 CELEBRATIONS

Story and photographs by Andrew P.M. Wright,

Swanage Railway official photographer and press officer.

New Year’s Day saw dedicated Swanage Railway volunteers take part in a national ‘whistle off’ at the start of Railway 200 celebrations marking two hundred years of railway development – and inspiring a new generation of young people to become involved with railways.

At 12 noon on Wednesday, 1 January, 2025, the crew of the Swanage Railway Trust’s unique Victorian T3 class steam locomotive No. 563 blew its whistle as the engine departed Swanage station hauling a passenger train to Corfe Castle and Norden.

It was in 1885 that a ten-mile branch line railway linking Swanage and Corfe Castle with Wareham, on the main railway line to London, was opened – an historic move that turned Swanage from a fishing and quarrying town into a popular seaside resort and the picturesque village of Corfe Castle into a desirable day-trip destination.

In 1885, the new 25-minute train journey from Swanage to Wareham cost eleven pence compared with a traditional horse and carriage journey taking one and a half hours at a ticket price of two shillings and sixpence.

The young locomotive crew that proudly blew the whistle of the 1893 built T3 as it departed Swanage station at 12 noon on New Year’s Day, 2025, was volunteer driver Billy Johnson from Swanage and volunteer fireman Aidan Strand from Poole.

Fireman Aidan Strand said: “The Swanage Railway means a lot to me as it provides the incredible privilege of operating steam locomotives preserved by groups of hopeful enthusiasts decades ago. I consider myself extremely lucky have such an opportunity.

"When I first started volunteering, the main appeal to me was working with various steam and diesel locomotives. However, the more time I've spent volunteering at the Swanage Railway, the more the other benefits have made themselves clear - such as being surrounded by a large number of like-minded people who share the same interest and the friends, banter and feeling of camaraderie which results.

"It was great to participate in the Railway 200 whistle off as was being a part of history and the legacy of railways as a whole. I doubt that two centuries ago those initial entrepreneurs, or the public, would have even considered railways powered by steam locomotives still being around 200 years on,” added Aidan.

The opening of the ten-mile Victorian branch line connecting Wareham with Corfe Castle and Swanage also enabled industrial development with stone and ball clay exported out of the Isle of Purbeck by train instead of ship.

The first railway to be built into Dorset opened in 1847 and linked Southampton in Hampshire with Dorchester – passing through Wareham, near the start of the future Swanage branch line almost 40 years later, on its way to Dorset’s county town.

Swanage Railway Trust chair, Frank Roberts, said: “The Swanage Railway was proud to mark the start of the Railway 200 celebrations highlighting the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway which changed Britain and the world.

“Railway 200 celebrates the past, present and future of rail and we are delighted that our two museums – the museum in the restored goods shed at Corfe Castle station and the Purbeck Mining Museum next to Norden station - showcase the important contributions that railways, both standard gauge and narrow gauge, have made to the Isle of Purbeck across almost two centuries,” added Frank who lives in Swanage and has been a volunteer on the Isle of Purbeck heritage line for more than 40 years.

The Swanage Railway celebrates the 140th anniversary of its opening on Tuesday, 20 May, 2025.

After an almost 40 year battle by Isle of Purbeck businessmen to be allowed to build the ten-mile branch line linking the market town of Wareham with Corfe Castle and Swanage – and after two years of construction work costing more than £80,000 in Victorian money – the first steam train departed Swanage for Corfe Castle and Wareham, on Wednesday, 20 May, 1885.

After being controversially closed by British Rail in January 1972 – with seven miles of track lifted between Swanage, Corfe Castle and Furzebrook in just seven weeks during the summer of 1972 – dedicated Swanage Railway volunteers started their 30 year battle to rebuild the line at a boarded up Swanage station in February, 1976.

The Swanage Railway welcomes new volunteers and anyone interested in finding out more 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.