SWANAGE RAILWAY VOLUNTEERS TURN BACK THE CLOCK MORE THAN 40 YEARS AS THEY STAGE A NOSTALGIC 1960s WEEKEND - Saturday and Sunday, 29th & 30th November , 2008

Press Release from Andrew P.M. Wright - dated 20 November 2008
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway.
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For full timetable details follow this link.

Extra Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum at Norden photos added - scroll down to see them.

Victorian-designed Drummond M7 class steam engine No. 30053 at Corfe Castle on the Swanage Railway

Nostalgic Swanage Railway volunteers are to turn back the clock more than 40 years on their relaid Purbeck Line from Norden to Corfe Castle and Swanage when they stage a fund-raising 1960s Weekend.

The retro event takes to the rails on Saturday and Sunday, November 29 and 30, 2008, and features two locomotives that hauled trains in Dorset during the 1960s - rare Victorian M7 class steam engine No. 30053 and a Class 33 diesel-electric locomotive built in 1960.

Victorian-designed Drummond M7 class steam engine No. 30053

Built at Nine Elms in London during 1905 to a design dating from 1897, London and South Western Railway M7 class tank locomotive No. 30053 hauled trains in east Dorset and the Isle of Purbeck in 1963 and 1964 before being withdrawn that year.

Class 33 diesel-electric locomotive No. 33 111 was converted to ‘push-pull’ operation during 1966 ahead of hauling trains between Bournemouth and Weymouth and down to Corfe Castle and Swanage when steam traction on the London line was replaced with diesel and electric trains during July, 1967.

Class 33 diesel-electric locomotive No. 33 111 at Corfe Castle

M7 No. 30053 escaped the scrapyard cutting torch and was rescued by an American millionaire before being taken out to a railway museum in the USA during 1967. Twenty years later, a group of railway enthusiasts bought the locomotive and shipped it back to Dorset and the Swanage Railway.

After being withdrawn by British Rail in 1991, Class 33 diesel-electric locomotive No. 33 111 was bought for preservation by enthusiasts who have taken some 15 years and some £100,000 on restoring the locomotive.

"Our 1960s Weekend will be a chance to relive the dramatic changeover years of the 1960s when the railway environment across Britain altered dramatically as steam locomotives were withdrawn in favour of modern diesel locomotives," explained Swanage Railway general manager Mick Dean.

Class 33 diesel-electric locomotive No. 33 111 at Corfe Castle

"While the ‘Swinging 1960s’ saw the Beatles pop group rocket to worldwide fame, the rise of British fashion, pop art and youth culture, the 1960s in Dorset saw several major railway lines closed and the end of trains being hauled by steam locomotives - diesel and electric locomotives taking over."

The Swanage Railway’s special retro weekend includes the Swanage Railway Trust’s Grand Draw at Swanage station on Sunday, 30 November, 2008 - the first prize being £1,000.

The Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum at Norden will also be supporting the 1960s Weekend.

The Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum team at Norden with the full-sized Ruston 48DL narrow gauge diesel locomotive.

The Foreman's Office will be open both the Saturday and Sunday - 29 and 30 November, 2008 - for the Swanage Railway 1960s Weekend.

The 1960's film of the ball clay extractions will be continuously shown.

Attractions at the Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum at Norden - including a real mining locomotive and a working model of Norden in the 1960s. Photographs copyright John Rowley.

Included in the film is a train crossing the skew arch bridge at Norden and the working model of Norden in the 1960s will also be on display. On the Sunday afternoon, it is hoped that the full-sized Ruston 48DL narrow gauge diesel locomotive will run for a while.

Rover tickets for all-day travel on the day of issue - as well as standard return tickets - are available. Rover tickets are £13.50 for adults, £10.50 for concessions and £38.50 for families. Details from Swanage Railway on 01929 425800 or by clicking on the red button below.

For full timetable details follow this link.

Extra Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum at Norden photos added - scroll down to see them.

The Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum and Foreman's Hut at Norden.

Visitors to the Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum at Norden.