Swanage Railway at the Great Dorset Steam Fair 2002

News item from Andrew P.M. Wright and Keith Morgan - dated 3rd September 2002
Photographs are copyright Andrew P.M. Wright and Keith Morgan as noted. To view a larger version of any photograph on this page, just click on the thumbnail photograph and subsequently use the Back button on your browser to return to this page.

Once again this year the Swanage Railway participated in the the world famous Great Dorset Steam Fair at Tarrant Hinton in Dorset. This year's Steam Fair - the 34th - ran from Wednesday 28th August to Sunday 1st September 2002 and attracted thousands of visitors from all over the world. This photograph from Andrew P.M. Wright shows the boiler from the Swanage Railway's 6695 Group's ex-GWR locomotive on a low-loader in the Heavy Haulage ring.

The site covers over 500 acres, with star attractions including Showman's Engines, Fair Organs and Roundabouts, Heavy Haulage, Steam Tractors, Steam rollers, Veteran & Vintage Vehicles, Vintage Tractors, Steam Model Engines, Rural Crafts and Heavy Horses.

Last year, the Swanage Railway exhibited M7 Class No. 30053 steam locomotive, supported by the Swanage Railway Publicity Unit. This year, both the Swanage Railway and the 6695 Locomotive Society publicity units attended. These photos show the two teams in front of their stands. From left to right we see Peter Foster, Dave Wellman, Jeff Mowlam and Heather Foster - alongside are John Webb and Dave Round from the 6695 team.

These two photos from Andrew P.M. Wright show the boiler from the 6695 Group's ex-GWR locomotive which is under restoration at Herston works on the Swanage Railway. Number 6695 was originally built by Armstrong Witworth & Co in 1928 and entered preservation in 1979. The Group hope to have the locomotive back in action at Swanage at the end of next year, and their attendance at the Steam Fair was aimed at bring in the much needed funding.

For a separate news item featuring many more excellent photos from Andrew P.M. Wright of 6695 at the Steam Fair, see this separate news item.

Every year the Heavy Haulage ring attracts huge crowds to watch the steam giants haul impossibly large loads at speed over the bare earth. This year 6695's boiler provided one of the huge loads for the traction engines. With engines queueing up to prove their ability, at one point - the most spectacular in my view - no less than five traction engines coupled onto the low-loader trailer and hauled the boiler around the ring to the delight of the crowds. The sights, sounds and smells are irresistible, and the Steam Fair has been described as a 'Glastonbury for the over-50s'!

Also on display with a railway theme was fine collection of Scammel mechanical horses and Scarabs, once a common sight on our roads delivering goods from and to railway stations.

This privately owned 0-4-0 locomotive was accessible to young and old. As it was in steam, everyone had the chance to try their hand at the most important control on the locomotive - the whistle!

The Steam Fair at night is spectacular, with dozens of showman's engines powering the fairground organs, rides and illuminations via their generators.