Strictly Bulleid II

Celebrating sheer Bulleid brilliance and the drama of the 1940s leviathans of steam in action, the three-day Strictly Bulleid II event on the Swanage Railway will be a locomotive gathering not to be missed.

At least three of the 67-feet long locomotives, weighing 96 tons, are set to appear at the special steam gala.

Running from Friday, 7 June, to Sunday, 9 June, 2024, inclusive, passenger trains will be running between Norden, Corfe Castle, Harman's Cross and Swanage - from the heart of the Purbeck countryside to the bracing Jurassic coast.

Almost all the trains will also be running four miles beyond Norden station - via Furzebrook - to the River Frome which is within sight of Wareham and half a mile short of Worgret Junction where the Swanage Railway meets the Weymouth to London main line.

The classic 1940s express train Southern Railway Bulleid Pacific steam locomotives will be put through their paces against the dramatic ruins of Corfe Castle and the countryside of the Isle of Purbeck which is a protected Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Designed by Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid - the chief mechanical engineer of the Southern Railway company - the first of the then new Bulleid Pacific steam locomotives ran from London to Corfe castle and Swanage in the late 1940s.

For almost 20 years, the Bulleid Pacifics hauled passenger trains, carrying excited holidaymakers, from London to Corfe Castle and Swanage.

Just a year or two from withdrawal by British Railways, the mid-1960s saw the Bulleid Pacifics used for the export of Purbeck ball clay from Furzebrook, between Corfe Castle and Wareham.

An enthusiasts special from London, the last British Rail steam train to Swanage ran on Sunday, 18 June, 1967, with a Bulleid Pacific on the front of the long 12-coach train.

The last Bulleid Pacific hauled a main line train from Weymouth to Bournemouth, Southampton and London Waterloo on Sunday, 9 July, 1967, which was the last day of steam trains on the Southern Region of British Rail.

The following day, Monday, 10 July, 1967, saw the Bulleid steam locomotives gone the start of the new electric train service between London Waterloo and Bournemouth with diesel locomotives hauling trains between Bournemouth and Weymouth as well as from Bournemouth to Corfe Castle and Swanage on trains from London.

The first Bulleid Pacific to run on the rebuilt Swanage Railway was No. 34072 '257 Squadron' in 1990 when passenger trains were only running to Harman's Cross which is three miles from Swanage.