Strictly Bulleid II

Yoshi takes in the sights, sounds and smells of “Strictly Bulleid II” at Norden on the Swanage Railway with SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ behind – 08/06/2024

June 2024

Welcome to another blog entry in the world of “The Railway Dog”. In an effort to get up to date, we’re looking at our local highlights from June 2024 when the big event was the Swanage Railway’s “Strictly Bulleid II” event which saw the gathering of eight of Oliver Bulleid’s Pacific locomotive designs working in one place. In fact, the most seen working together since the end of steam on the Southern Region of British Railways (BR) in 1967. A sequel to April 2017’s “Strictly Bulleid” gala held to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the final operation of steam hauled services on the Southern, this was a wonderful celebration of these loco’s and we thoroughly enjoyed our time watching and traveling behind them.

Oliver Bulleid designed his Pacific locomotives against the back drop of World War II. They are stylish in both their original and rebuilt forms and operated express trains throughout Southern England ranging from Kent to Cornwall. They have always been a favourites of mine, so I was excited to witness the spectacle of eight examples all in steam at some point over the four day event (7th to the 9th of June, plus a preview day on 6th June).

All of the visiting locomotives arrived for the gala by road, the one exception being Merchant Navy No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ which came in by rail, bringing with her the maroon MKI coaching stock hired in for the event from West Coast Railways.

SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ passes Baiter Park, Poole working 5Z95 1013 Southall WCR to Swanage – 05/06/2024
SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ passing through Baiter Park, Poole hauling 6 West Coast Railway Co. MKI coaches for use at Strictly Bulleid II – 05/06/2024
Earlier the same day, another Swanage Railway related move passed through Dorset as resident Class 33 “Crompton” No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt. Jenny Lewis RN’ ran light engine as 0Z33 1225 Swanage to Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) and is seen here crossing Creekmoor Viaduct on Holes Bay, Poole – 05/06/2024

The other guest Bulleid Pacific locos attending Strictly Bulleid II; No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’, No. 34070 ‘Manston’, No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’, No. 34081 ’92 Squadron’, 34092 ‘City of Wells’ and No. 35006 ‘Peninsular & Oriental S.N. Co’ made their way on low loader lorries and transferred to Swanage Railway metals at Norden. Swanage based No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ made up the eight locomotives featured across the event weekend.

Most of the ‘Strictly Bulleid II’ trains operated along the whole length of the nine-mile Swanage Railway between Swanage, Harman’s Cross, Corfe Castle, Norden and beyond to Furzebrook and the River Frome – just before the heritage line’s connection with the national railway network and within sight of Wareham.

Video from Swanage Railway’s “Strictly Bulleid II” event – June 2024
SR Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ approaches Afflington with the 0925 service from Norden. The locomotive is named after Air Marshall Sir Keith Park who was largely responsible for the outcome of the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. No. 34053 has recently been overhauled at the Swanage Railway’s Herston works and will depart for the Spa Valley Railway. In recognition of the Swanage Railways assistance in finishing No. 34053 in time for the gala, her owners; Southern Locomotives Limited, loaned the locomotive to the line for free – 08/06/2024
Another view of SR Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ with the first Saturday morning service to the River Frome – 08/06/2024
SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ prepares to leave Swanage with the 1000 service to the River Frome while SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2’s No. 35006 ‘Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co.’ & 35018 ‘British India Line’ are being readied for their rostered train – 08/06/2024
Swanage resident SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ and SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ having departed Corfe Castle double heading the 1345 Swanage to River Frome train. No. 34028 was one of the first of the ‘Light Pacifics’ to be rebuilt minus the streamlined boiler casing (as still carried by No. 34092) and in 1958 was allocated to Bournemouth shed where she was a regular on the London Waterloo to Weymouth main line – 08/06/2024
SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34092 ‘City of Wells’ arrives at Norden at the head of the 1130 Swanage to River Frome service. The locomotive normally resides on the East Lancashire Railway – 08/06/2024
SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35006 ‘Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co.’ and 35018 ‘British India Line’ approaching Harmans Cross with the 1045 departure from Swanage. No. 35006 was visiting from the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) and along with sister loco No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ was the last of the Merchant Navy Class to be rebuilt. She was also one of the first MN’s to be withdrawn from service (in 1964) – 08/06/2024
SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34092 ‘City of Wells’ at Harmans Cross working 1130 Swanage to River Frome at Harmans Cross – 08/06/2024
Once a regular on the Swanage Railway, SR Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’ now resides on the Spa Valley Railway. The streamlined casing on the locomotives as originally built earned them the nickname “Spam Cans”. No. 34072 is seen at rest in Norden station at the rear of the 1302 River Frome to Swanage – 08/06/2024
SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34092 ‘City of Wells’ starts away from the signals protecting Harmans Cross station working 1130 Swanage to River Frome – 08/06/2024
Screenshot of SR Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34081 ’92 Squadron’ working tender first on the 1047 River Frome to Swanage service. The locomotive failed shortly after with a leaking superheater element and removed from the gala rota. The locomotive was built at Brighton in 1948 and was named in 1950. She was withdrawn from service in August 1964 and towed to the scrap yard in April the following year. The Battle of Britain Preservation Society, formed by a small band of RAF stores personnel raised the required funds to rescue the locomotive in 1973 and she was towed away from Woodham’s scrap yard to her new home on the Nene Valley Railway in November 1976 for a restoration project which took 22 years – 08/06/2024
SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ deputised for the failed No. 34081 and makes a spirited departure from Corfe Castle with the 1300 Swanage to River Frome – 08/06/2024
In a first for the Swanage Railway, there were evocative night-time passengers trains on the Saturday night / Sunday morning that were scheduled to depart Swanage at 2300, 0100, 0300, 0500 and 0700 in an atmospheric re-creation of the night steam trains from the days of British Railways. SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ was in charge of the Saturday evening Real Ale Trains and the through night “Knight Rider” trains. The locomotive is seen here at Swanage preparing to run around her carriages. I had intended to travel on the 2300 departure on the Saturday, but late running meant this service effectively became a Real Ale train, the first “Knight Rider” proper becoming the 0100 departure from Swanage on the Sunday – 09/06/2024
The Sunday running day featured trains fitted out with headboards representing Southern Region named trains of a bygone era. SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ carries the “Atlantic Coast Express” headboard as part of “Named Train Sunday” and is seen passing Furzebrook. No. 34070 was the last locomotive to be built by the Southern Railway and was released to traffic November 1947, just before the nationalisation of the railways. A deliberate “no cleaning” policy has been in place with ‘Manston’ and this gives an authentic well used finish, popular with photographers – 09/06/2024
SR Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’ carries the “Holland America” headboard passing Corfe Common. No. 34072 entered service in 1948, post nationalisation. She was once based on the Swanage Railway but moved to the Spa Valley Railway in 2023 – 09/06/2024
SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35006 ‘Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co.’ displays “Locomotive Club of Great Britain Mendip Mercahntman Rail Tour” headboards as she passes Corfe Common – 09/06/2024
The “Pines Express” headboard adorns SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ as she leads SR Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ towards Corfe Castle – 09/06/2024
SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ appropriately displays the “Bournemouth Belle” headboard. No. 35018 was introduced into service by the Southern Railway carrying air-smoothed casing in 1945 and would regularly be employed on trains to Bournemouth and Exeter, including the first post-war “Bournemouth Belle” Pullman train. Mechanical issues with the 30 streamlined MN’s resulted in British Railways embarking on a programme to rebuild the locomotives in a more conventional style with No. 35018 being the first to be rebuilt in 1956. She was withdrawn in August 1964 and purchased by Woodham Bros. at Barry for scrap in 1965. However, Dai Woodham’s policy of cutting up wagons and other items before the steam locomotives in his yard meant that in 1979 No. 35018 was purchased by a consortium and the long road to restoration was commenced at the Mid Hants Railway. In 2003 ‘British India Line’ moved to Portland for storage before moving to West Coast Railway’s Carnforth base in 2012 where work to return her to working order was completed, being steamed for the first time in over 52 years during November 2016 – 09/06/2024
Festooned in “Golden Arrow” insignia and headboard, SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34092 ‘City of Wells’ makes a fine sight on the approaches to Corfe Castle. No. 34092 was one of the locomotives regularly used to haul the British leg of the prestigious London to Paris “Golden Arrow” Pullman train – 09/06/2024

The Swanage Railway says the “Strictly Bullied II” spectacular attracted more than 4,700 passengers in what was their largest special event and one which really captured the imagination of railway enthusiasts. Will we ever see the like again?

The featured eight Bulleid Pacific steam locomotives were:

1. Merchant Navy class No. 35006 ‘Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation’ courtesy of the 35006 Locomotive Company and the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

2. Merchant Navy class No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ courtesy of West Coast Railways.

3. Battle of Britain class No. 34081 ‘92 Squadron’ courtesy of the Battle of Britain Locomotive Society and the Nene Valley Railway.

4. Battle of Britain class No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ courtesy of Southern Locomotives Limited.

5. Battle of Britain class No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’ courtesy of the Spa Valley Railway and Southern Locomotives Limited.

6. Battle of Britain class No. 34070 ‘Manston’ courtesy of Southern Locomotives Limited.

7. West Country class No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ courtesy of Southern Locomotives Limited.

8. West Country class No. 34092 ‘City of Wells’ courtesy of the East Lancashire Railway.

The “one that got away’! I was unable to get a photograph of SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34081 ’92 Squadron’ as she failed during the Saturday gala event. So I took the opportunity of popping to the sidings at Norden as she was prepared for pick up by low-loader – 11/06/2024
SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34081 ’92 Squadron’ at Norden with Class 33 No. 3311 in the background – 11/06/2024

Other notable railway comings and goings into Dorset territory during June 2024 were:

Monday 3rd June –

CrossCountry Voyager spotting in Bournemouth:

ex-Avanti Class 221 Voyager DMU No. 221126 ‘City of Bangor’ now with CrossCountry in modified XC livery while retaining its nameplates at Bournemouth moves to Bournemouth Middle Sidings as the 5O14 1517 from Bournemouth ecs having arrived with the 1O14 1025 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth service – 03/06/2024
Pride liveried CrossCountry Class 220 No. 220005 arrives at Bournemouth working 1O20 1325 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth service – 03/06/2024

Class 73 Test Train:

Screenshot of GBRf Class 73 No. 73965 ‘Des O’Brien’ at Hamworthy leading 1Q51 1115 Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard via Weymouth – 03/06/2024
Screenshot GBRf Class 73 No. 73963 ‘Janice’ passing Hamworthy at the rear of 1Q51 1115 Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard via Weymouth – 03/06/2024

Wednesday 5th June –

Test Train Eastleigh East Yard to Weymouth

Screenshot of Colas Class 37 No. 37254 ‘Cardiff Canton’ powers through Hamworthy working 3Q02 2140 Eastleigh East Yard to Eastleigh East Yard. The test train was running 40 minutes late at this stage having been held at Branksome because of a trespass situation on the railway at Parkstone – 05/06/2024

Thursday 6th June –

Class 458 EMU drag from Bournemouth Depot on the first stage of its journey to Widnes Transport Tech for conversion to a four-car set:

GBRf Class 57 No. 57303 hauling SWR Class 458 EMU No. 458526 forming 5Z66 1645 Bournemouth TRSMD to Eastleigh East Yard pauses at Poole – 06/06/2024
Having left its train in Poole Storage Sidings, GBRf Class 57 No. 57303 returns to Poole railway station as part of the move to change ends and head back east towards Eastleigh – 06/06/2024
GBRf Class 57 No. 57303 having reunited with SWR Class 458 EMU No. 458526 works back through Poole as 5Z66 1645 Bournemouth TRSMD to Eastleigh East Yard – 06/06/2024

Monday 10th June –

33012’s return and 35018 leaves Swanage

SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ arriving at Wareham working 5Z18 1825 Swanage to Southall WCR complete with the hired set of MKI coaches employed during Strictly Bulleid II – 10/06/2024
SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ pause at Wareham having worked off the Swanage branch as 5Z18 1825 Swanage to Southall WCR – 10/06/2024
Class 33 “Crompton” No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt. Jenny Lewis RN’ arriving at Wareham on her return to Swanage as 0W33 1653 Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) to Swanage. I had hoped that the Class 33 and the Merchant Navy would cross at Wareham, but they were 20 minutes apart – 10/06/2024
Class 33 “Crompton” No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt. Jenny Lewis RN’ picks up Swanage Railway crew at Wareham working 0W33 1653 Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) to Swanage – 10/06/2024

Tuesday 11th June –

A rare Weedkiller MPV working to Swanage and another Class 69 allocated to an SWR Unit drag making its way to Bournemouth depot

The services of SR Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35006 ‘Peninsular & Oriental S.N. Co’ were retained following “Strictly Bulleid II” as the locomotive hauled trains over the Swanage branch. She is seen here ready to depart from Swanage in the company of resident Class 33 diesel locomotives No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt. Jenny Lewis RN’ and 33111 – 11/06/2024
Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) No. DR98905 passes a line of Bulleid Pacific steam locomotives on the approach to Swanage working 3Z05 0828 Totton Yard to Totton Yard – 11/06/2024
A relatively rare site on the Swanage Railway, MPV No. DR98905 arrives at Swanage working 3Z05 0828 Totton Yard to Totton Yard. The vehicle made several passes along the branch – 11/06/2024
GBRf Class 69 No. 69009 ‘Western Consort’ – rebuilt from Class 56 No. 56060 – passes through Eastleigh with SWR Class 458 No. 458412 reporting as 5X64 1127 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Southampton Central. This formation continued on as 5Q64 1531 Southampton Central to Bournemouth TRSMD after reversing at Poole. SWR Class 450 No. 450025 stands at the platform as the 2B52 1402 Bournemouth to Winchester stopping service – 11/06/2024
GBRf Class 69 No. 69009 ‘Western Consort’ at Eastleigh working 5X64 1127 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Southampton Central – 11/06/2024
At Christchurch, GBRf Class 69 No. 69009 ‘Western Consort’ hauls un-refurbished Class 458 No. 458508 on the associated return working to the above; 5Z66 2018 Bournemouth TRSMD to Eastleigh East Yard – 11/06/2024

Saturday 15th June –

“Dorset Coast Statesman” Charter

Locomotive Services Limited (LSL) Class 47 No. 47712 ‘Lady Diana Spencer’ in ScotRail livery stands at Poole at the head of the “Dorset Coast Statesman” 1Z61 0505 Norwich to Weymouth which was held after it was identified the train consist included an out of gauge carriage. I had been waiting at Hamworthy for the train to pass, but as time went on, decided to drive over to Poole to investigate. SWR services bound for Weymouth were diverted via the UP platform – 15/06/2024
The offending coach No. 11082 is not permitted to run on third rail tracks because it is fitted with long swinglink bogies which could under certain circumstances touch the live rail. Such vehicles should be fitted with short swinglink bogies instead. I have no idea either. The issue was only noticed as it passed through Bournemouth. The carriage was removed from the train and deposited in the tamper sidings at Poole where it remained for a month until it was retrieved on July 15th – 15/06/2024
LSL Class 47 No. 47593 ‘Galloway Princess’ assisted No. 47712 on the tour which finally made it to Weymouth after the MKIII was removed from the train. The locomotive is about to run ecs as 5Z62 1256 Weymouth to Weymouth Jersey Sidings – 15/06/2024

Wednesday 26th June –

“The Swanage Belle” railtour

LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 44871 glides through Hamworthy at the head of the delayed 1Z92 0816 London Victoria to Swanage with The Railway Touring Company organised “The Swanage Belle” – 26/06/2024
West Coast Railways Class 47 No. 47826 having passed through Hamworthy assisting the Black 5 at the rear of 1Z92 0816 London to Swanage – 26/06/2024
On the return leg; 1Z93 1629 Swanage to London Victoria, the Black 5 should have been at the rear of the train as far as Southampton where the train would reverse with the steam loco leading on the journey back to London Victoria via Salisbury. However because of lineside fires earlier in the day at Brockenhurst attributed to No. 44871, the Class 47 No. 47826 worked the train throughout while the LMS steam locomotive remained on the naughty step at Swanage where it remained until 4th July. The following statement was issued by a Network Rail spokesperson: “We’re incredibly sorry to South Western Railway customers who were disrupted by the lineside fire at Brockenhurst yesterday. The fire service did a fantastic job putting the fire out quickly but unfortunately the flames damaged some of our power cables, which meant we couldn’t restore power immediately. We are working closely with the fire service to understand the root cause of the fire.”
Additional info:
The fire was reported at around 1420 and the traction current was restored for services to run again at 1715
The disruption was made worse by a separate signalling fault in the same location at 
1320
We can confirm the steam train used the same route
– 26/06/2024

Thursday 28th June –

For the record, the North Dorset New Measurement Train (NMT) was in the hands of Network Rail former High Speed Train Class 43 Power Cars No.’s 43013 and 43062 working 1Q23 0552 Reading to Salisbury via Exeter.

A video compilation of exceptional Dorset workings from June 2024

From The Archive:

We haven’t included anything from the archives here for a while, so let me rectify that oversight with this entry in connection with the “Strictly Bulleid II” theme.

My memory is a bit rusty (excuse the pun), however, back in 1983, I went on what I am sure was a school visit to Dai Woodham’s scrapyard in Barry. As an active member of the school railway society, it was suggested to sympathetic teachers that a minibus trip to the famous “locomotive graveyard” in South Wales could be a feature of what was termed “Project Week” when normal lessons were suspended with trips and activities planned in their place.

Some posters from my early 1980’s school railway society days, drawn by me which I would photocopy and add dates and times of meetings before sticking them up on noticeboards in the school corridors.

The photographs from the Barry trip below are dated 7th May 1983. This would have been a Saturday, so it a possibility my memory is playing tricks and this was not an educational trip, but a visit organised by another group. It was not unheard of for school activities to take place outside of teaching hours, so this – until proven otherwise – is how I choose to remember finding myself darting between rusting hulks on a grey overcast day in South Wales.

SR Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’ – 07/05/1983

The story of Woodham’s is legend among rail enthusiasts. More than 80% of steam locomotives running on heritage railways in the UK today can be traced back there, as the yard became a centre of pilgrimage for steam enthusiasts from the fledgling steam railway preservation movement.

SR Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ – 07/05/1983

The business was first established in 1892 as Woodham & Sons by Albert Woodham, the company being based at Thomson Street, Barry and bought old rope, wood and scrap metal from the ships, boats and marine businesses which used the newly created Barry Docks, which it then resold or scrapped. When Albert retired in 1947, his son Dai took over the business and renamed it Woodham Brothers.

Following the British Railways (BR) Modernisation Plan of the late 1950’s, the majority of steam locomotives built for Britain’s railways were withdrawn from service to be reduced to scrap by the end of the 1960’s. However, such was the sheer number of loco’s which needed processing, the railway works belonging to BR were unable to cope and they contracted work out to private scrapyards like Woodham’s. Because Dai Woodham also had a massive wagon-breaking contract from British Rail, with thousands of wagons coming through the yard – and it was a lot easier to break up wagons up than steam engines – most of the locomotives which arrived at Woodham’s were shunted into sidings for cutting up when other sources ran low.

SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ – 07/05/1983

Indeed, the facts of Woodham’s history are startling. Of the 297 withdrawn British steam locomotives that were sent to the yard, 213 were subsequently rescued by preservationists.

Nothing is left of the scrapyard today – an Asda supermarket and a housing estate have long since replaced it. You can read more about The Barry Scrapyard Story here.

SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ being removed from storage on Portland. No. 35018 was withdrawn from service in 1964 and arrived at Woodham Brothers scrapyard in March 1965 where she remained until 1980 following her purchase by Richard Heather and John Bunch at the end of 1979 – 24/04/2012 (Image: John Chappell)
Tender for SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ on Portland – 24/04/2012 (Image: John Chappell)
SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ on Portland – 24/04/2012 (Image: John Chappell)
Wagons ready to roll as SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ prepares to depart Portland where she had been stored between 2003 and 2012 – 24/04/2012 (Image: John Chappell)

Thank you for joining us. We appreciate your comments and corrections. We’ll be back again soon and hope you’ll join us. Be seeing you!

2 comments

  1. Your nocturnal video footage hanging out of a carriage pulled by 34070 had us in palpitations.

    And your school railway society drawings had us clapping our paws in delight.

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