LOCOMOTIVE RESTORATION AT HERSTON WORKS ON THE SWANAGE RAILWAY - August 2007

News Item and Photo Report from Andrew P.M. Wright - dated 5th Sept 2007
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway.
Photographs are copyright Andrew P.M. Wright unless otherwise acknowledged.
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.

Andrew P.M. Wright has provided a rare glimpse of the hard work behind the scenes at Herston Works on the Swanage Railway, where members of Southern Locomotives Ltd are restoring Bulleid Battle of Britain classmates 257 Squadron and Manston side by side.

Andrew has supplied over 20 photos of the work, showing the current state of the two locomotives plus some detailed views of the skilled restoration work being carried out.

The tender that is being restored to run behind 'Manston' - after being mounted on a scratch-built tender underframe - used to run behind the unrebuilt 'West Country' class Bulleid Pacific No. 34023 'Blackmore Vale' during BR days. Named after an area of west Dorset, 'Blackmore Vale' is now preserved on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex.

Back in 1967, just under two months before the end of steam on BR's southern region, that very same tender was behind 'Blackmore Vale' when it made two historic runs down the branch from Wareham to Corfe Castle and Swanage on Sunday, 7th May, 1967. The occasion was the Locomotive Club of Great Britain (LCGB) 'Dorset Coast Expess' rail tour which started and ended its journey down to the south coast from London Waterloo.

To see the full set of these photos, please scroll down the page.

All photographs are copyright Andrew P.M. Wright unless otherwise acknowledged.
Photos on these pages are low resolution versions.
Full resolution photos are available for media use

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Last updated 6th Sept 2007 by Keith Morgan.
© Swanage Railway