SPECIAL TRAIN FROM HASTINGS VIA LONDON MAKES SWANAGE RAILWAY HISTORY - AND TURNS BACK THE CLOCK TO 1972! - Saturday 25th June 2011

News Item from Andrew P.M. Wright - dated 27th June 2011
Official photographer & press officer, Swanage Railway.
Photographs are copyright as noted
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The 'Dorset Diadem' enthusiasts' rail tour organised by Hastings Diesels Limited arrives at Wareham en route to Swanage on Saturday 25 June 2011. Photo copyright Andrew P.M. Wright

A special train from Hastings via London has made Swanage Railway history on two counts - and evocatively turned back the clock to January 1972 when the last passenger trains ran on the doomed Purbeck branch line.

Organised by Hastings Diesels Limited, the 'Dorset Diadem' enthusiasts' rail tour saw a preserved ex-British Rail Southern Region 'Hastings' class DEMU (diesel-electric multiple unit) run between Wareham, Corfe Castle and Swanage on Saturday 25 June 2011.

The fully-booked special train - its name 'Dorset Diadem' means Crown of Dorset - comprising six carriages and carrying 274 passengers made Swanage Railway history on two important counts.

The 'Dorset Diadem' enthusiasts' rail tour organised by Hastings Diesels Limited arrives at Corfe Castle en route to Swanage on Saturday 25 June 2011. Photo copyright Andrew P.M. Wright

It was the first time that a diesel-electric multiple unit train ran between Wareham, Corfe Castle and Swanage since the branch line's last operating day under British Rail on Saturday, 1 January 1972.

And it was the first time that a six-carriage 'Hastings' class DEMU train ran down to Corfe Castle and Swanage since that sad and controversial New Year's Day almost 40 years ago.

The 'Dorset Diadem' enthusiasts' rail tour organised by Hastings Diesels Limited arrives at Swanage on Saturday 25 June 2011. Photo copyright Andrew P.M. Wright

Swanage Railway commercial manager, Martin Payne, explained: "It was a great day and a very special piece of railway history which turned the clock back to 1972. There was a great air of expectation and people were not disappointed.

"It was rather apt that the grey, dull and overcast weather for the historic run of the 'Dorset Diadem' down to Corfe Castle and Swanage was very similar to the weather on New Year's Day 1972 when the last 'Hastings' DEMU ran down to Corfe Castle and Swanage.

Hastings Diesels Limited's preserved ex-British Rail Southern Region 'Hastings' class DEMU (diesel-electric multiple unit) at Swanage station on Saturday 25 June 2011. Photo copyright Andrew P.M. Wright

"We were delighted to welcome the 'Dorset Diadem' - and the members of the Hastings Diesels Ltd enthusiasts' group - to the Swanage Railway because it is an ideal destination for special charter trains.

"It was great to again see - and hear - a 'Hastings' unit in the Purbecks for the first time since New Year's Day 1972 when the last British Rail trains ran between Wareham, Corfe Castle and Swanage before the branch line was closed and demolished.

The 'Dorset Diadem' enthusiasts' rail tour organised by Hastings Diesels Limited meets a Swanage Railway service hauled by ex-BR 2-6-4T Class 4MT No. 80104 on Saturday 25 June 2011. Photo copyright Andrew P.M. Wright

Andy Armitage of St Leonard's-based Hastings Diesels Limited said: "Everyone aboard had a really good time and thoroughly enjoyed the day. The return run was is dazzling sunshine in contrast to the overcast going out.

"Despite being delayed by a failed freight train at Woking, 1001 still managed an on time arrival at Waterloo, followed by a 13 minute early arrival at Hastings," he added.

The 'Dorset Diadem' enthusiasts' rail tour organised by Hastings Diesels Limited departs from Corfe Castle station on Saturday 25 June 2011. Photo copyright Andrew P.M. Wright

Southern Region 'Hampshire' class diesel-electric multiple units - which are of a similar design to the 'Hastings' DEMUs - ran the branch railway service between Wareham, Corfe Castle and Swanage from the end of steam traction in September 1966 until the closure of the ten mile branch line in January 1972.

On that last operating day, a Saturday, a special charter train from London composed of a 'Hastings' DEMU unit ran down to Dorset. Run by the Southern Electric Group for enthusiasts, the 'Purbeck Piper' rail tour included the doomed Swanage branch line - the train also calling at the goods-only stations of West Moors and Hamworthy.

Ousted by electrification in 1986, the 'Hastings' DEMU units acquired their name because they were built for the London to Hastings commuter line and had narrower body sides than other trains because of the restricted size of railway tunnels along the route from the Capital to the East Sussex coast.

The 'Dorset Diadem' enthusiasts' rail tour organised by Hastings Diesels Limited departs on its return journey from the Swanage Railway on Saturday 25 June 2011. Photo copyright Andrew P.M. Wright

Mr Payne explained: "After being controversially closed despite objections - and after five years of trying - British Rail lifted the track to Corfe Castle and Swanage during the summer of 1972, the year of the Olympic Games in Munich.

"It took British Rail's contractors just seven weeks to lift the tracks for scrap and our determined and dedicated volunteers some 30 years to steadily relay them so that is why the 'Dorset Diadem' rail tour was historic and so very special," he added.

Details of the Swanage Railway's steam and diesel train services - as well as special events - are available by following the menu links on the left of this page or by calling 01929 425800.

The Swanage Railway's official photographer & press officer Andrew P.M. Wright has supplied over 30 photos of the 'Dorset Diadem' enthusiasts' rail tour on Saturday 25 June 2011. To see the full set of Andrew's photos, which can be viewed as a slideshow, please scroll down to the bottom of the page.

To view a larger version of any photograph on this page, just click on the thumbnail photograph to view a full size version, and then click on CLOSE or 'x' on your keyboard to close it and return to this page.

The photos on this page can also be viewed as a slideshow - just click on any image and then click on the enlarged to continue scrolling through the photos - Next and Previous links on the right and left of the photos - or use the CLOSE link or 'x' on your keyboard to exit