The Golden Arrow Driving Experience - January to July 1998

Report and photographs by Andrew P.M. Wright

INSTEAD of just watching from the lineside fence or the station platform and wishing, the public is being offered the chance to experience the thrill, excitement and challenge of driving and firing a mighty 130-ton steam locomotive on the Swanage Railway's relaid Purbeck Line to Corfe Castle and Norden.

Pictured on a Press Day on Thursday 15th January 1998, the team behind the Golden Arrow at Swanage Station - (from left) Operations Manager Paul McDonald, Carriage and Wagon Fitter Richard Sinclair, Guard Iain Robinson, ex-BR Fireman and Swanage Railway driver/Fireman Ian Crozier and Swanage Railway Fireman Richard Harker.

But it's not just an ordinary steam train - with expert tuition from qualified and experienced footplate crew - but a recreation of the prestigious Pullman-hauling Golden Arrow train which was definitely 'the' way to travel from London to Dover en route to Paris from the late 1920s to the mid-1950s.

The Swanage Railway's special 'have a go' trains run every Friday from January 18th to July 10th, 1998, and feature the pristine 'Battle of Britain' Class ex-BR express train-hauling Bulleid Pacific No.34072 257 Squadron steam locomotive, built at Brighton in 1948 and restored from scrapyard condition by members of Southern Locomotives Ltd.

For the special trains, the freshly repainted and lined out 257 Squadron will be carrying the distinctive Golden Arrow headboard on the front by Swanage signwriter Eddie Chinchen, large gold arrows on the front and sides, as well as Union Jack and French Tricolour flags on the front.

It costs just £95 to drive and fire the prestigious Golden Arrow train on a return trip along the relaid Purbeck Line from Swanage to Harman's Cross, Corfe Castle and Norden - a round trip of 12 miles that takes an hour; participants driving to Norden and then firing back to Swanage.

Bookings need to be made in advance via the Swanage Railway booking office on (01929) 425800 and anyone over the age of 18 can take part - the railway even producing gift vouchers so the driving and firing thrill can be given as a surprise present to the man or woman who has everything.

"The Golden Arrow was the sort of train Hercule Poirot would have travelled on. From its introduction in the late 1920s until the mid-1950s it was definitely the way to travel to Paris if you were wealthy or famous. The modern equivalent would be the Eurostar trains that race through the Channel Tunnel today," said Swanage Railway's Passenger Services Manager David Green.

"We want to give as many people as possible the chance to enjoy the excitement and challenge of driving an ex-British Railways main line steam locomotive," explained Swanage Railway's Operations Manager Paul McDonald, a former BR steam locomotive fireman at Bournemouth in the 1950s.

"I'm sure many people ride on our trains or watch enviously from the lineside and wish they could have a go at driving and firing an express steam locomotive without the commitment of starting as a volunteer in our Operations Department and working their way up the ladder to being a fireman and driver. Well now they can, thanks to our new Golden Arrow service.

"Driving and firing the Golden Arrow is an exciting experience you never forget it's a real challenge and something very special you don't really taste in any other field. It's every schoolboy's dream and perhaps a few school girls' too," added Poole-born Paul McDonald.

Hauled at first by Lord Nelson class steam locomotives, the Southern Railway's all-Pullman Golden Arrow train started off as the `White Pullman' train which ran from London's Victoria Station to Dover from 1924.

It became the Golden Arrow in May, 1929, with passengers enjoying special customs handling and their very own ship, the 'Canterbury', for the journey across the Channel before boarding another train in France for the final leg of the trip to Paris Leaving London at 11 am, Golden Arrow passengers would arrive in Paris at 5.35 pm the same day.

The Golden Arrow ceased during the Second World War but was restarted in 1946 when Bulleid Pacific steam locomotives started hauling the trains. The peak of the Golden Arrow was in 1951 - the year of London's Festival of Britain - when the impressive Britannia class steam locomotives started to haul the service and the train was given seven specially built Pullman carriages.

But from the mid-1950s, the service began a steady and decline: its luxurious Pullman coaches were slowly replacd by ordinary carriages. The service was electrified in June, 1961, and ended in September, 1972.

Golden Arrow is seen here at Swanage with Driver Mike Standhaft (ex-BR 1950s and 1960s Bournemouth Fireman and Driver) and Fireman Harry Frith (right) of Southampton. Unrebuilt Battle of Britain Class Bulleid Pacific No. 34072 257 Squadron on the Swanage Railway was one of many in a large class of modern steam locomotives that used to haul express passenger trains across the south of England - including the main line from London Waterloo to Southampton, Bournemouth and Weymouth from the late 1940s to 1967.