GBRf Class 73/9 PLPR Test Train at Weymouth – 04/05/2026

GBRf Class 73/9 No.’s 73961 ‘Alison’ & 73962 ‘Dick Mabbutt’ at Weymouth working the monthly PLPR Test Train 1Q51 1150 Derby R.T.C.(Network Rail) to Eastleigh East Yard on Bank Holiday Monday, May 4th 2026

The Road to the 2026 Swanage Diesel Gala – the guest locos arrive!

The road to the 2026 Swanage Diesel Gala began with the arrival of the first locomotive convoy of visitors at Wareham on 6th May 2026. Swietelsky Class 37 No. 37607 leads Class 58 No. 58023 ‘Leicester Depot’ + Class 20 No. 20066 + Class 26 No. 26007 working 0Z40 1400½ Peterborough to Swanage.

The next day, GBRf Class 99 No. 99004, the first example of the class to visit Dorset, hauled the London Underground Class 4TC with Class 73 No. 73141 ‘Spa Valley Railway 25 Year Anniversary’ at the rear. We saw the consist crossing Holes Bay, Poole and then passing through Hamworthy reporting as 5Z73 1621 Eastleigh East Yard to Swanage.

Also on 7th May 2026, West Coast Railways Class 33 No. 33025 worked to the Purbeck Heritage railway as 0Z33 2010 Southall Wcr to Swanage. The WCR Crompton was a late replacement for Class 45 “Peak” No. 45041 ‘Royal Tank Regiment’ which was unable to attend the gala due to a derailment in the yard at Wansford and subsequent track damage and it was trapped behind the incident. We saw No. 33025 at Poole.

The Swanage Railway 2026 Diesel Gala – Preview Day 07/05/2026

Swanage Diesel Gala preview day with the timetable operated by visiting Class 26 No. 26007 and resident SR Bulleid Pacific “Battle of Britain” Class No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’

The Swanage Railway 2026 Diesel Gala: Day One – 08/05/2026

The first full day of diesel action for the 2026 Swanage Diesel Gala, featuring visitors Swietelsky Class 37 No. 37607, Class 58 No. 58023 ‘Leicester Depot’ (Courtesy of Ed Stevenson), Class 20 No. 20066 (Courtesy of Shaun Wright), Class 26 No. 26007 (Courtesy of Victor Korzeniewicz), London Underground’s Class 438 4TC Multiple Unit No. 428, GBRf Class 73 No. 73141 ‘Spa Valley Railway 25 Year Anniversary’ + Class 99 No. 99004, along with home fleet Class 33’s No.’s 33053 and D6515 ‘Lt. Jenny Lewis RN’. Sadly the Class 58 only managed one trip before being withdrawn from service following a fault.

The Swanage Railway 2026 Diesel Gala: Day Two – 09/05/2026

For the second day of diesel action at the 2026 Swanage Diesel Gala, we chose to ride the trains, which I’m pleased to say were very busy.

The Class 58 No. 58023 ‘Leicester Depot’ (Courtesy of Ed Stevenson) which had failed the previous day was on display at Swanage station, still leaking coolant. Really feel for the owners and organisers, but well done on making the locomotive available for photographs.

The remaining visitors Swietelsky Class 37 No. 37607, Class 20 No. 20066 (Courtesy of Shaun Wright), Class 26 No. 26007 (Courtesy of Victor Korzeniewicz), London Underground’s Class 438 4TC Multiple Unit No. 428, GBRf Class 73 No. 73141 ‘Spa Valley Railway 25 Year Anniversary’ + Class 99 No. 99004, along with home fleet Class 33’s No.’s 33053 and D6515 ‘Lt. Jenny Lewis RN’ put in fine performances. The Class 73 stood in for the Class 58’s turns, with the “58” headcode being a nice touch!

The Swanage Railway 2026 Diesel Gala: Day Three – 10/05/2026

The third and final day at the 2026 Swanage Railway Diesel saw us taking a look at a couple of trains working “across the road” to the River Frome before returning to Swanage railway station.

This compilation also includes the triple headed Class 33 run passing Harmans Cross filmed by Scott Lewis and included by kind permission.

The Road Home from the 2026 Swanage Railway Diesel Gala

The first move away of the visiting locomotives which appeared at the 2026 Swanage Diesel Gala featured GBRf Class 73 No. 73141 ‘Spa Valley Railway 25 Year Anniversary’ + Class 99 No. 99004 with the London Underground 4TC. Reporting as 5Z73 0930 Swanage to Eastleigh Works GBRf is seen crossing Holes Bay, Poole – 11/05/2026

The second convoy away from Dorset following the 2026 Swanage Railway Diesel Gala featured Swietelsky Class 37 No. 37607, Class 26 No. 26007 and Class 58 No. 58023 ‘Leicester Depot’. The trio is seen at Parkstone reporting as 0Z37 0719 Swanage to Leicester L.I.P.

Saphos Rail “Welsh Marches Express” with LSL Class 47’s & LNER B1 No. 61306 ‘Mayflower’ – 13/05/2026

13th May 2026 Saphos Rail “Welsh Marches Express” ran from Bournemouth for a visit to historic Shrewsbury.

We see Locomotive Services Limited Class 47 No.’s 47805 (D1935) ‘Roger Hosking MA 1925-2013’ + 47810 (D1924) ‘Crewe Diesel Depot’ arrive with the empty coaching stock working 3Z60 0402 Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) to Bournemouth, before departing as 1Z61 0533 Bournemouth to Shrewsbury.

Then later the same day, we are in Craven Arms to see LNER Thompson Class B1 4-6-2 No. 61306 ‘Mayflower’ hauling the return working 1Z62 1615 Shrewsbury to Bournemouth with 47810 (D1924) ‘Crewe Diesel Depot’ providing support from the rear.

Severn Valley Railway Spring Diesel Festival 2026

Action from the first two days of the 2026 Severn Valley Railway Spring Diesel Festival featuring home fleet and visiting locomotives.

The video also includes the arrival in Kidderminster of:

Colas Class 56 No. 56049 ‘Robin of Templecombe 1938-2015’ reporting as 0Z57 1555 Doncaster West Yard to Kidderminster S.V.R. on May 13th 2026 and GBRf Class 57 No. 57306 ‘Branch Line Society’ + GW Class 57 No. 57604 ‘Pendennis Castle’ – 0M04 1246 Reading Traincare Depot to Kidderminster S.V.R. on 15th May 2026

Chiltern Class 68’s & The Parry People Mover at Stourbridge Junction – May 2026

A little video of Class 68’s arriving at Stourbridge Junction along with some footage of Class 139 Parry People Mover No. 139001 which is one of a pair traversing the line between the Junction and Stourbridge Town at regular intervals throughout the day.

This video was filmed over two days, and isn’t necessarily presented in date / time order. Featured Chiltern Class 68 movements are:

13/05/2026

68022 – 1J55 1837 London Marylebone to Stourbridge Junction

68022 – 5J55 2119 Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Jn Depot

14/05/2026

68022 – 1J47 1637 London Marylebone to Stourbridge Junction

68022 – 5J47 1912 Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Jn Depot

68031 – 1J55 1837 London Marylebone to Stourbridge Junction

68031 – 5J55 2119 Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Jn Depot

Grateful thanks to the crew of No. 139001 during our visits. For more information on the Parry People Mover Stourbridge Shuttle, visit this website: Stourbridge Shuttle

34028 ‘Eddystone’ returns to Dorset with The Railway Touring Company’s “The Swanage Belle” 20/05/26

SR 4-6-2 West Country Class No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ returned to Dorset heading up The Railway Touring Company’s “The Swanage Belle”. We saw the train passing to and from Swanage at Hamworthy. On the return journey, West Coast Rail Class 47 No. 47848 was the leading locomotive with the Bulleid at the rear in readiness for taking over further along the route.

The reporting numbers of each leg were:

1Z88 0821 London Victoria to Swanage

1Z89 1635 Swanage to London Victoria

First Great British Railways liveried Class 701 breaks cover – 21/05/2026

South Western Railway Class 701 No. 701006 breaks cover at Branksome as the first SWR unit to have the Great British Railways livery applied working 5Y53 2246 Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D to Wimbledon Park Depot Sdgs

Classic Traction In Action! Clan Line at Yeovil Junction & Western Champion at Castle Cary: 23/05/26

Two railtours to the West Country on Saturday 23rd May 2026 demanded our attention.

First up was The Railway Touring Company run “Atlantic Coast Express” featuring SR Merchant Navy Class No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ + West Coast Railway Class 47 No. 47802. We headed to Yeovil Junction to see this one which reported as 1Z28 0714 London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids.

Then a quick drive to Castle Cary where we arrived just in time to witness Western Class 52 Diesel Hydraulic No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ speeding through with Vintage Trains “The Golden Hind”1Z33 0955 London Paddington to Plymouth.

Then we headed for Hampshire to see more classic traction as Class 56’s passed through Totton. You can watch our video of 56051 + 56094 + 56302 + 56049 here: https://youtu.be/QLswZCj6cfM?si=kWoCHwULYrUbeBuj

With thanks to my brother, Gerry Barrett for additional video of Clan Line at Yeovil!

Grid Farewell! Class 56 Convoy as 56094 + 56302 head to Marchwood for export – 23/05/2026

We visited Totton to see four Class 56 locomotives heading to Marchwood. Colas Railfreight Class 56 No.’s 56051 + 56049 provided a top and tail escort for ex-stablemate Grids No.’s 56094 + 56302 which are destined for export to Ghana. The consist order and movement reporting number was 56051 + 56302 + 56094 + 56049 – 0Z55 0854 Rectory Jn (Colwick Colas) to Marchwood

No.’s 56051 + 56049 returned after dropping off their white painted classmates as 0Z56 1657 Marchwood Mod GBRf to Westbury Down T.C.

Thanks for reading! We’ll be back again with more of Yoshi’s adventures – be seeing you!