First steam train to run from Weymouth to London in 37 years

Press Release from Kingfisher Railtours - dated 27th February 2005.
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Battle of Britain Class 34067 Tangmere in action - photo copyright Roger Hardingham

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The train has had to be rescheduled to 18th June as Tangmere is not ready following overhaul. Roger Hardingham is also offering Swanage Railway members a special discount from Wareham to London and return at only £50 Standard fare!

And, it is hoped that the special train - which takes to the rails on Saturday, 18th June, 2005 - will be carrying the historic 'Royal Wessex' headboard and leave Weymouth at the same time as the prestigious 'Royal Wessex' train used to leave the resort between 1951 and the end of steam in July, 1967.

The historic return run behind steam through Dorset and Hampshire is being staged by Weymouth publisher and railway enthusiast Roger Hardingham who is based at Osmington Mills. The special train will be calling at Dorchester, Wareham, Poole and Bournemouth en route to Victoria station in London where it should arrive at 12.30pm.

"It will be very exciting - the very first time that a passenger steam train has run from the coast to the capital, from Weymouth to London, since British Rail switched from steam to diesel and electric traction in early July, 1967," explained Mr Hardingham who is a member of the Swanage Railway.

"Our train will be hauled by a powerful 120-ton Bulleid Pacific steam locomotive dating from the mid-1940s - the same class of graceful steam locomotive that hauled the prestigious 'Royal Wessex' trains between Weymouth, Bournemouth, Southampton, Basingstoke and London between 1951 and July, 1967," he added.

The 'Royal Wessex' train was introduced to the London to Weymouth line in 1951 and co-incided with the post-war optimism of the Festival of Britain exhibition on the south bank of the Thames in London. The 'Royal Wessex' also had two carriages that served Corfe Castle and Swanage in Purbeck - being attached and detached at Wareham.

It was at 2.54pm on Sunday, 9th July, 1967, that Merchant Navy class Bulleid Pacific No. 35030 'Elder Dempster Lines' left Weymouth station bound for London. That train not only entered the history books for being the last British Rail steam train between the resort and the capital but also for being the last steam-hauled train to run on the Southern Region of British Rail.

Roger Hardingham explained: "Back in early July, 1967 - during the days of 'flower power' and the hit music of the Beatles - the 'Royal Wessex' train departed Weymouth for London at 7.32am and I am hoping that 37 years on our 'Royal Wessex' train will also leave Weymouth at around the same time."

The historic 'Royal Wessex' train will be hauled by the impressive 120-ton Battle of Britain class Bulleid Pacific No. 34067 named 'Tangmere' after the famous Battle of Britain airfield in Sussex. Restored from a rusting hulk that languished for 18 years in a south Wales scrapyard, 'Tangmere' was built for British Rail at Brighton in 1947 and was withdrawn for scrap from Salisbury in 1963 after a mileage of more than a million miles.

Train Details:
The Royal Wessex will depart from Weymouth at approximately 7.30am and arrive at London Waterloo at around 12pm. There will be a Buffet Car available. Full dining will be available in the Pullman car Pegasus and the first class carriages within the train, with breakfast on the outward journey and a 3-course dinner on the return. Please note that Car Park facilities are limited at some of the stations.

Train Fares:
There is Premier Dining available at £139 per seat and at £175 for Pullman dining in Pegasus. Pullman Dining in Apollo at £149 per person. Standard fares from Weymouth and Dorchester are £65 for adults and £40 for children (15 yrs or under). From Wareham, Poole and Bournemouth, the fare is £59 for adults and £35 for children.

For further information please visit the Kingfisher Railtours website at http://www.railwayvideo.com/ by clicking here where you can book online.

Battle of Britain Class 34067 Tangmere at Wareham - photo copyright Andrew P.M. Wright

Battle of Britain Class 34067 Tangmere at Wareham - photo copyright Andrew P.M. Wright