GRAND PRIZE DRAW BOOSTS VOLUNTEERS BATTLING TO RAISE £100,000 TOWARDS THE OVERHAUL OF A HUGE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE

Press Release from Andrew P.M. Wright - dated 17th November, 2004.
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway.
Photographs are copyright Andrew P.M. Wright. 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.

Southern Locomotives Ltd's unrebuilt Battle of Britain Bulleid Pacific No 34072 257 Squadron on the Swanage Railway's Purbeck Line during a special photographic charter on Monday 11th March, 2002.
See the news index page for more photos of this event.

Volunteers battling to raise £100,000 towards the £250,000 major overhaul of a huge 1940s express steam locomotive hold a super grand draw raffle on the Swanage Railway's relaid Purbeck Line in Dorset this weekend.

And at the end of the major fund-raising event - which takes place at Swanage station on Saturday, 20th November, 2004, at 12 noon - one lucky grand draw ticket holders will walk away with a brand new car worth £6,000.

Also up for grabs in the super grand draw raffle - which was launched at the beginning of this year - are 29 other prizes. Winning tickets start to be drawn by the Mayor of Swanage, Councillor Tony Miller, at 2.30 pm - with the process set to take about an hour.

The event will also feature stalls representing local groups in the Swanage and Isle of Purbeck area. There will also be the chance to ride on a fully working five inch narrow gauge miniature steam railway at Swanage station for 50 pence a time.

Proceeds from the grand draw are going towards the major overhaul of Battle of Britain-class Bulleid Pacific steam locomotive No. 34072 - named '257 Squadron' after the Royal Air Force squadron that fought in the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940 and flew out of the old Warmwell airfield near Dorchester.

The 120 ton Leviathan of steam was built in 1948 at Brighton and spent its life hauling prestige express trains at up to 100 mph across the south of England until it was withdrawn by British Railway in 1964 and sent to a Welsh scrapyard at Barry.

The super prize draw raffle is part of a push by Swanage Railway volunteers to raise £100,000 towards the £250,000 needed to overhaul '257 Squadron's massive boiler after the locomotive spent 12 years hauling trains on the Swanage Railway following its restoration from scrapyard condition during the late 1980s.

Super prize draw raffle promoter and volunteer Swanage Railway fireman, Mick Hatton of Swanage, said: "'257 Squadron' is a smashing locomotive and one of the best designs of steam locomotive ever built with its then futuristic air-smoothed casing which caused it to be dubbed a 'Spam can' when it was built at Brighton in April, 1948. It was at the leading edge of steam technology.

"We need to raise the money needed to give her an overhaul as soon as possible so that '257 Squadron' can again run on the Swanage Railway and continue to give pleasure to hundreds of thousands of people.

"The overhaul will be a major engineering job and we'd love to get the locomotive back in service by 2008 but we do need the public's support. I would like to thank everyone who has helped with the super prize draw raffle," added Mr Hatton.

If you can help the appeal with a donation, or by offering practical help, contact the Swanage Railway's fund-raising officer Alan Maynard on 01929 425800 extension 34.