The Railway Dog

Tag: Heritage Railways

  • Mostly Britannia

    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ on the turntable at the Yeovil Railway Centre – 22/03/2023

    Hello there – after a week away, we are back with a lot to catch up on. We hope you found last times Beeching blog of interest – it’s certainly a period in railway history which incites discussion and reflection. This time we are concentrating on more recent events concerning the Swanage Railway including our visit to their excellent March 2023 Steam Gala – which featured British Rail Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ – and the first diesel multiple unit train departing Wareham connecting the Purbeck heritage railway to the main line. 

    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ approaches Yeovil Junction working 5Z70 Crewe HS to Swanage having used the connecting curve from Yeovil Pen Mill – 22/03/2023

    On Wednesday 22nd March 2023, we headed over to Yeovil to see No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ arrive at Yeovil Junction in readiness for her being turned on Yeovil Railway Centre’s turntable. I always enjoy watching locomotives on the turntable, and despite a few initial barks form Yoshi, he mostly watched on with quiet fascination.

    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ is turned on the Yeovil Railway Centre turntable – 22/03/2023
    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ after being turned at the Yeovil Railway Centre – 22/03/2023

    Following her spin on the turntable, ‘Britannia’ backed out onto the main line at Junction station and we drove down to Yeovil Pen Mill so that we could capture a pair of Class 37 diesel locomotives working test train 1Z22 Derby Railway Technical Centre to Bristol Kingsland Road via Weymouth which was scheduled to pass through at around 1500, 20 minutes or so before ‘Britannia’ was due to arrive at Pen Mill prior to a tender first run down to Weymouth. The test train, however, top and tailed by Colas No.’s 37116 and 37254 arrived at Pen Mill almost thirty minutes late and by this time ‘Britannia’ had already made the run down from Junction with her support coach. We were also able to see a Great Western Railway (GWR) Class 800 IET pass through on a divert as engineering work was taking place on the Taunton line and services to Exeter were taking the West of England route. 

    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ having turned at Yeovil Junction nears Yeovil Pen Mill where she will run round her support coach before proceeding to Weymouth – 22/03/2023
    Colas Class 37 No. 37116 arrives at Yeovil Pen Mill with 1Z22 Derby Railway Technical Centre to Bristol Kingsland Road. British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ stands in the sidings waiting to run round her support coach before proceeding to run tender first to Weymouth – 22/03/2022
    Colas Class 37 No’s. 37116 and 37254 depart Yeovil Pen Mill top and tailing 1Z22 Derby Railway Technical Centre to Bristol Kingsland Road as No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ waits to reverse out of the station and back on to her support coach – 22/03/2023
    Great Western Railway Class 800 IET No. 802102 works the diverted 1C84 1404 London Paddington to Plymouth service through Yeovil Pen Mill – 22/03/2023
    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ prepares to reverse out of Yeovil Pen Mill and run back in to couple up with her support coach – 22/03/2023
    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ at Weymouth here she again ran around her support coach in preparation for the journey to Poole, where she again changes ends on the coach, before working back down to Swanage (Image courtesy of Scott Lewis) – 22/03/2023
    Video from Yeovil, Dorchester, Upwey and Hamworthy as British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ makes her way to Dorset having departed Crewe earlier in the day as working 5Z70 Crewe HS to Swanage (additional video courtesy of G E Barrett and Scott Lewis – 22/03/2023

    I had an idea that I would pop over to Yeovil Pen Mill at 2am some point during the week to see the Penzance sleeper services cross via the diversionary route, but decided to wait until warmer weather later in the year should the diversions take place again. However, our North Dorset Correspondent was far more intrepid and caught the following exchange as No. 57604 ‘Pendennis Castle’ passed No. 57602 ‘Restormel Castle’:

    GWR Sleeper trains on divert pass at Yeovil Pen Mill. Video courtesy of Scott Lewis – 24/03/2023

    Over the final March weekend, the Swanage Railway ran their popular Spring Steam Gala which featured ‘Britannia’ and BR Standard Class 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76084 as guest locomotives alongside home fleet Southern Railway U Class No. 31806 and Southern Railway Bulleid Pacifics No. 34070 ‘Manston’ and No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’. I headed down to join in the fun on the Saturday leaving Yoshi with his mama. I had planned on seeing the first train of the day which was scheduled to be double headed – but I also needed to pop into Wareham and visit the Post Office – so my arrival at the National Trust car park at Corfe Castle was delayed and I just missed the ensemble pass. To make things worse, the National Trust tea room at the car park was closed, so no breakfast for me as I had left home with the idea of catching refreshment between trains. However, luckily for me, Jamie came to my rescue and very kindly shared his packed lunch so I didn’t waste away through the lack of nourishment. 

    A video snap shot of the 2023 Swanage Steam Gala – 25/03/2023
    Unrebuilt Battle of Britain Class Bulleid Pacific No. 34070 ‘Manston’ between Norden and Corfe Castle – 25/03/2023
    Rebuilt West Country Class Bulleid Pacific No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ nears Cat’s Eye Crossing with a train bound fro the River Frome boundary – 25/03/2023
    Bulleid Pacific No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ approaching Cat’s Eye Crossing – 25/03/2023
    BR Standard Class 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76084 nears Cat’s Eye Crossing – 25/03/2025
    BR Standard Class 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76084 approaching Cat’s Eye Crossing – 25/03/2023
    Bulleid Pacific No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ approaches Holme Lane Bridge on the Swanage Railway – 25/03/2023
    Bulleid Pacific No. 34070 ‘Manston’ hauls a train away from the River Frome boundary – 25/03/2023
    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ with a train heading towards the River Frome boundary passing under Cat’s Eye Bridge – 25/03/2023
    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ nears Cat’s Eye Crossing – 25/03/2023

    Undoubtably the star of the gala; No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ was built at Crewe Works to a new design and entered servive in January 1951. She was the first British Railways Standard locomotive to be constructed and was the initial locomotive in the Britannia Class which went on to number 55 examples. The design of the ‘Britannias’ was based on best practice from the pre-nationalisation “Big Four” railway companies. The new classes were designed by Ernest Stewart Cox, under Robert Riddles who had previously designed the War Department Austerity 2-8-0 and 2-10-0  locomotives for use during World War 2. No. 70000 was named ‘Britannia’ during a ceremony held at Marylebone station by Minister for Transport Alfred Barnes on the 30th January 1951. ‘Britannia’ had the honour of hauling the funeral train of King George VI from King’s Lynn to London in February 1952, for which she had her cab roof painted white as was the custom for royal locomotives. No. 70000 was withdrawn after only 15 years of service in May 1966 and was initially destined for the National Collection, but was passed over for sister locomotive No. 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’. She was saved from the cutter’s torch by the Britannia Locomotive Company Ltd. She is currently operated by Locomotive Services Limited (LSL). One of most memorable main line steam locomotives when I used to enjoy the chase in the mid 1990’s, a video with footage of ‘Britannia’ from this period is below:

    No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ also visited the Swanage Railway in 2015 and I’ve dug out a few images of that time to share:

    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ heads a Swanage bound service with Corfe Castle in the background – 18/04/2015
    British Railways Standard Class 4 2-6-4 No. 80104 double heads with BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ having just left Norden – 18/04/2015
    British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ works a demonstration freight nears Corfe Castle – 18/04/2015
    Another view of British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ working the Swanage Railway demonstration freight – 18/04/2015

    The Swanage Railway has also been in the news following their launch of a trial train service from main line Wareham through to the heritage branch line. Operating from April to September 2023, tickets for the service will also be available from South Western Railway (SWR) from late April so passengers can add tickets for Corfe Castle and Swanage to their main line tickets. This is the first time in 51 years that through ticketing to Corfe and Swanage has been possible. The last day of British Rail passenger services between Wareham, Corfe Castle and Swanage was on Saturday 1st January 1972 when the branch was closed. The eleven mile service, one mile of which running from Worgret Junction into Wareham station will be over main line Network Rail metals, will utilise restored and upgraded 1950’s Class 117 and Class 121 heritage diesel multiple units. The trial service will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 4th April to 10th September 2023, with the first train departing Wareham at 1119 and the last train leaving Swanage for Wareham at 1620 giving visitors the opportunity to spend four hours in Swanage or Corfe Castle. The timetable is subject to change on special event days. We popped over to Wareham to see the first service arrive and depart from Wareham.

    Swanage Railways Class 117 DMU leads into Wareham with the first trail service onto the main line – 04/04/2023
    South Western Railway staff pose at Wareham with an actual sized ticket to promote through ticketing to Corfe Castle and Swanage – 18/04/2023
    Dignitaries pose in front of the single car Class 121 DMU at Wareham ahead of the first departure to Swanage – 04/04/2023

    A surprise run to Winfrith occurred on March 23rd 2023, timings only appearing on Real Time Trains late the previous day. Two new to Dorset Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 68 locomotives top and tailed the train which interestingly returned empty to Crewe. It is thought that the high winds in evidence on the day meant it was unsafe to use the crane at Winfrith employed to load the low level nuclear waste onto the wagons.

    DRS Class 68 No. 68003 ‘Astute’ heads up 6Z62 0100 Crewe Coal Sidings DRS to Wool Winfrith Sidings with classmate No. 68009 ‘Titan’ behind passing through Hamworthy – 23/03/2023
    DRS Class 68 No. No. 68009 ‘Titan’ trails No. 68003 ‘Astute’ having passed through Hamworthy working 6Z62 0100 Crewe Coal Sidings DRS to Wool Winfrith Sidings – 23/03/2023
    DRS Class 68 No. 68003 ‘Astute’ at Dorchester South working 6Z95 1554 Wool Winfrith Sidings to Crewe Coal Sidings DRS (image courtesy of G E Barrett) – 23/03/2023
    DRS Class 68 No. No. 68009 ‘Titan’ prepares to lead 6Z95 1554 Wool Winfrith Sidings to Crewe Coal Sidings DRS away from Dorchester South (image courtesy of G E Barrett) – 23/03/2023
    Video of the DRS Class 68 No.’s 68003 ‘Astute’ and 68009 ‘Titan’ working a Winfrith train. Additional video courtesy of G E Barrett – 23/03/2023

    South Western Railway (SWR) have unveiled Class 444 Electric Multiple Unit No. 444019 in a new version of their ‘Pride’ livery. The unit was wrapped at Bournemouth Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance depot on 25th/26th March 2023 and displays the LGBTQIA+ flag on the driving ends.

    SWR Class 444 No. 444019 displays the new ‘Pride’ livery at London Waterloo before working IP65 2000 London Waterloo to Portsmouth & Southsea – 30/03/2023
    SWR Class 444 No. 444019 awaits departure from Poole with the 2W56 1100 service to London Waterloo – 31/03/2023
    SWR Class 444 No. 444019 in an earlier ‘Pride’ livery stands at the buffer stops in London Waterloo – 05/03/2022
    How Class 444 No. 444019 used to look, seen at Weymouth – 12/10/2019

    That’s it for this week, thanks for joining us! We’ll be back in seven days or so when we have a look at the Crewe Heritage Centre amongst other things.

    Yoshi watches on as British Railways Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ turns on the Yeovil Steam Centre turntable – 22/03/2023

  • Gotcha Week!

    Wednesday 15th March 2023 to Tuesday 21st March 2023

    Gotcha Day!

    On Thursday we celebrated the annual ‘Gotcha Day’ when Yoshi first decided to adopt me as his hooman. He really was a tiny little pup with razor sharp baby teeth. We’ve both got bigger since then and I can hardly believe it’s been four years!

    Colas Class 66 No. 66850 ‘David Maidment’ at the head of a rake of autoballasters pauses at Poole to pick up a crew member just after midnight working 6C15 2303 Eastleigh East Yard to Worgret Junction – 15/03/2023

    This week I was a bit of a night owl on three consecutive occasions as I stayed up past my bedtime to see three engineers trains and a test train visit our patch, all operated by Colas Rail.

    Class 66 No. 66848 at Hamworthy on the rear of the 6C17 2356 Eastleigh East Yard to Hamworthy autoballaster working – 16/03/2023
    Colas Trains in Poole and Hamworthy – March 2023

    Colas Rail is a subsidiary of Bouygues, a French industrial group headquartered in Paris. Originally a railway construction and maintenance company named Seco Rail, they became a freight operator in the UK market during 2006 acquiring their first locomotives in 2007 after a successful period using leased rolling stock. In 2008, Seco Rail merged with AMEC-Spie and Carillion Rail under the Colas Rail banner and today they are one of the five largest contractors working for Network Rail. Colas Rail were involved with major improvement works at London Waterloo railway station. The current fleet of locomotives include Class 37, Class 43 (HST Power Cars), Class 56, Class 66 and Class 70 as well as a mixed fleet of on-track plant, such as tampers, for maintenance operations which by 2016, was reportedly the largest of its type in the UK. Previously they counted ten Class 60 locomotives amongst their fleet, and for a short while Class 86 No. 86701 which gained the Colas Rail yellow and orange livery in October 2012. The locomotive was withdrawn from mainline use in January 2013 and subsequently transferred to Europhoenix and exported to Bulgaria where she is still in use running as No. 85001.

    I quite like the bright Colas Rail livery, and I’ve added some photos from recent years showing some examples:

    Class 37 No. 37175 pauses at Dorchester West – 16/07/2015
    Class 37 No. 37099 speeds through Upwey on a test train – 27/04/2017
    Class 37 No. 37099 shelters from the rain at Weymouth – 31/10/2020
    Class 37 No. 37116 at Weymouth – 24/01/2018
    Class 37 No. 37219 on track data recording duties (with extra, technical equipment mounted on its ends) reverses at Weymouth – 06/05/2020
    Class 37 No. 37219 on track data recording duties (with extra, technical equipment mounted on its ends) at Weymouth  – 06/05/2020
    Class 37 No. 37421 makes a nocturnal visit to Weymouth on a test train – 03/08/2020
    Class 47 No. 47749 ‘Demelza’ on the Weymouth Quay branch siding – 24/02/2012
    Close up detail for Class 47 No. 47749 ‘Demelza’ – 24/02/2012
    Nameplate for Class 47 No. 47749 ‘Demelza’ – 24/02/2012
    43274 about to depart from Maiden Newton having picked up the token to traverse the single line section to Dorchester West. Dorset Council is currently in talks with the Railway Heritage Trust over renovation plans for Maiden Newton – 23/03/2022
    Class 43 HST power cars No.’s 43274 and 43251 about to enter Bincombe Tunnel between Weymouth and Dorchester working the New Measurement Train 1Z23 0747 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road – 26/01/2022
    Class 56 No. 56105 works through Cardiff Central on a train of logs – 07/05/2013
    Class 56 No. 56049 at Westbury – 03/09/2022
    Class 56 No. 56096 hauling a Class 701 delivery through Eastleigh –
    Class 66 No. 66847 on the Weymouth Quay branch siding – 24/12/2012
    Class 66 No. 66849 at Weymouth on an engineers train during rail replacement work – 15/12/2015
    Class 66 No. 66848 on an engineers train at Monkton, Dorchester – 24/04/2016
    Class 67 No. 67027 working the New Measurement Train at Weymouth – 19/06/2019
    Class 67 No. 67023 at the platform in Weymouth – 15/07/2020
    Class 70 No. 70805 at the head of an engineers train at Weymouth – 11/04/2015
    Class 70 No. 70809 on the approach to Dorchester South – 11/04/2015
    Class 70 No. 70806 in Weymouth – 15/12/2015
    Class 70 No. 70807 sits in Weymouth station – 11/04/2015

    South Western Railway (SWR) Class 444 EMU No. 444023 has been named ‘The Alex Wardle Foundation’ to celebrate a partnership between SWR and the Alex Wardle Foundation to help raise awareness of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest, particularly young, apparently healthy, people. The railway company is investing more than half a million pounds installing publicly accessible automated external defibrillators at its 154 staffed stations it operates across South West London, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Wilshire, Somerset, and Devon. The installation of the lifesaving defibrillators comes as part of the rail operators’ commitment to support safety and serve local communities. Located in protective cabinets as close as possible to the front of stations, the defibrillators will be available for use day and night in the instance of cardiac issues in the surrounding area.

    South Western Railway (SWR) Class 444 EMU No. 444023 ‘The Alex Wardle Foundation’ arrives at Hamworthy working 1W23 0855 London Waterloo to Weymouth – 19/03/2023

    The charity was set up in memory of Alex Wardle, a medical student and son of an SWR operations trainer. Alex passed away from SADS in March 2016. His father, Steve Wardle, has worked for SWR for 38 years and, along with other members of Alex’s close family and friends, he set up the charity to help further understanding of SADS and prevent deaths from the condition.  The Class 444 was named ‘The Alex Wardle Foundation’ on 15th March 2023. Unit number 23 was chosen as this was Alex’s age when he passed away.

    BR Standard Class 4MT No. 76084 having been unloaded at Norden – 17/03/2023

    On Friday I slipped out to Norden as visiting British Railways (BR) Standard Class 4MT No. 76084 was delivered by road on the back of two lorries; one for the locomotive and one for the tender.  No. 76084 is spending time on the Purbeck Heritage line for the Swanage Railway Spring Steam Gala running between 24th and 26th March 2023. The Gala will also feature BR Standard Class 7 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’, scheduled to arrive at the heritage line on 22nd March.  Resident Class 33 diesel locos No.’s 33111 and D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ were scheduled to assist the BR Standard down to Swanage once it had been unloaded onto the tracks at Norden. The locomotive was already sitting in the sidings when I arrived and, unfortunately, issues with a wagon meant that her departure was delayed and I was unable to wait for the consist to be formed and depart as Yoshi had an appointment with the dog groomer. I was, however, able to capture some images via the Swanage Railway webcams.

    Class 33 diesel locos No.’s D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ and 33111 as seen on the Swanage Railway Webcam passing through Corfe Castle – 17/03/2023
    Class 33 diesel locos No.’s D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ and 33111 top and tail BR Standard Class 4MT No. 76084 as seen on the Swanage Railway Webcam passing through Corfe Castle as Jamie Smith Going Loco leans out of the cab door to collect the token giving permission for the consist to move on to Harmans Cross – 17/03/2023
    Class 33 diesel locos No.’s 33111 and D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ top and tail BR Standard Class 4MT No. 76084 as seen on the Swanage Railway Webcam arriving into Swanage – 17/03/2023
    Yoshi post groom and sporting his Easter Bandana – 17/03/2023

    Congratulations to Derby which has been chosen as the headquarters of Great British Railways (GBR HQ), beating five other short listed locations, none of which were in the West Country. There followed lots of bluster about the government going “full steam ahead” with reforms for the railways and promotion for Rolls-Royce.

    RMT members working for Network Rail voted to accept the company’s pay offer; 12,047 voted yes and 3,709 voted no which brings to an end to their campaign of strike action. Disputes with 14 rail companies, represented by the Rail Delivery Group – including SWR and Great Western Railway (GWR) – are ongoing with further walk outs planned for 30th March and 1st April.

    SWR is investing over £400,000 on improving waiting rooms at ten of its stations, including locations on the London Waterloo to Weymouth line including Basingstoke, Brockenhurst, Southampton Central and Totton. There are no stations on the list to be found in Dorset.

    That’s it for another week – thank you for joining us. Please keep your comments and corrections coming, we really appreciate you having taken the time to read our little page.

  • Sprat & Winkle Week

    Wednesday 8th March 2023 to Tuesday 14th March 2023

    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ and 66750 ‘Bristol Panel Signal Box’ working 3Y88 0905 Totton Yard to Totton Yard passes South Western Railway Class 444 No. 444018 at Poole – 10/03/2022

    The Network Rail Snow & Ice Treatment Train (SITT) graced us with its presence twice this week – firstly on Wednesday and then again on Friday. Both visits were top and tailed by the same pair of GBRf Class 66 locomotives which have also made it to Weymouth in the previous week or so on other SITT runs. Large logo retro British Rail liveried Class 66 No.’s 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ is a favourite amongst enthusiasts because of its special livery. Here’s a video showing the SITT workings at Hamworthy and Poole:

    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66750 ‘Bristol Panel Signal Box’ and 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ having passed through Poole working 3Y88 0900 Totton Yard to Totton Yard – 10/03/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ and 66750 ‘Bristol Panel Signal Box’ at Hamworthy working 3Y88 0900 Totton Yard to Totton Yard – 08/03/2022
    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66750 ‘Bristol Panel Signal Box’ at the rear of 3Y88 0905 Totton Yard to Totton Yard with 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ leading exit Hamworthy – 08/03/2022

    Monday evening the monthly 1Q51 test train made it to Dorset, this time back in the hands of GBRf Class 73 Electro-Diesel locomotives No.’s 73964 ‘Jeanette’ and 73963 ‘Janice’. We popped up to Hamworthy to see this heading towards Weymouth. Although I was planning to head out and see the return pass up to Eastleigh East Yard, the train ran 25 minutes ahead of its timings and I was otherwise avidly engaged in watching “Married At first Sight Australia”.

    Yoshi takes a breather on our visit to National Trust Mottisfont – 12/03/2023

    On Sunday, we went spent an afternoon at National Trust Mottisfont, an 18th-century house with a medieval priory at its heart, which was transformed into a Neo-classical home in the 1930’s.  Understandably Yoshi was not allowed in the house or the on the formal lawns in front and behind of the house, but there was still plenty to see and we had an enjoyable riverside walk. On our way to the National Trust property we drove past Mottisfont & Dunbridge railway station which is the nearest station to Mottisfont. This station opened in March 1847 as Dunbridge but was renamed in 2006 to reflect its close proximity to Mottisfiont and is apparently the second least frequently used station in Hampshire, with Beaulieu Road taking the wooden spoon by having fewer passengers. We could hear the sounds of Class 158 diesel multiple units (DMU’s) passing by on the Wessex main line as we wandered around the grounds at Mottisfont. The station is served by stopping trains run by South Western Railway (SWR) which run from Romsey to Salisbury via Southampton Central. Great Western Railway (GWR) run services which pass through the station but no longer stop. As we left Mottisfont we drove through the village and found ourselves driving down Station Road. This gave away the fact Mottisfont once had a station of its own. Investigations revealed this station had been situated on the now closed ‘Sprat and Winkle Line’ which ran between Andover and Redbridge.

    Yoshi takes shelter in a shepherds caravan at Mottisfont and wonders what it would like to be a sheepdog – 12/03/2023

    It’s not clear how the line earned the ‘Sprat and Winkle’ name. Various suggestions have been put forward; principally that the southernmost part of the line brushes the mudflats of the River Test where winkles might sometimes be found, although there are doubts that the sprat would also be found there.

    The January 1910 edition of “The Railway Magazine” included an article on the origins of the line written by John Moreton. The railway is unique in that it is built over the course of an earlier canal; The Andover and Redbridge which originates from 1792. The London & South Western Railway (LSWR) had been the first to promote a route along the canal in 1847 in an attempt to steal an advance over the Great Western Railway (GWR) and had already agreed to give those behind a Manchester and Southampton railway running powers over the line. Parliamentary assent was given to the Andover and Redbridge, but the LSWR failed to act on this and their proposal came to nothing. Ten years later, in 1858, the GWR were asked to construct a broad gauge line between Andover and Redbridge, again by means of converting the canal. With the addition of a 14 mile stretch of track between Pewsey and Andover, a broad gauge route between Southampton and Bristol / South Wales was proposed. A new terminus at Southampton along the western shore mudflats was going to be built with the broad gauge line crossing over the LSWR line to Dorchester at Redbridge. There followed a “Battle of the Gauges” with the LSWR opposed to the project attempting to secure a clause in the new Parliamentary bill that the line be built to 4ft 8.5 inch gauge. When this failed they moved to ensure the railway would be built to mixed gauge. 

    The first sod on the new railway was cut by Lord Palmerston at Ashfield Bridge, very close to his Broadlands residence near Romsey, on 28th September 1859 accompanied with the sound of a 14 gun salute. Over the next few years, there followed many changes and alterations to the scheme and in a June 1863 Act of Parliament the Andover and Redbridge Railway was amalgamated with the LSWR which meant the line would in fact be built to what we now call standard gauge, finally opening on 6th March 1865. As originally built following the route of the canal and to avoid the cost of building bridges over the rivers Test and Avon, the railway had many tight curves. In his 1910 RM article, John Moreton recalled, “many journeys on the line where sticking to one’s seat was a matter of considerable difficulty, and the luggage placed on the racks frequently provided a minute bombardment to those seated beneath before the end of the journey was reached.” The curves would eventually be straightened out by the LSWR, the exercise being completed by November 1885 and with the opening of the Midland & South Western Junction Railway linking Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham with Southampton via Cheltenham and Swindon, crossing the Cotswolds and the Wiltshire Downs, the original idea of a railway providing direct passage between the North and the Solent was practically realised.  The railway was an important link during the 1st and 2nd World Wars, carrying troops from Salisbury Plain for embarkation to France via Southampton. 

    The final British Rail timetable issued for the period 15th June to 6th September 1964 shows a more or less hourly weekday service along the line between 0640 and 2200 with Sunday working also maintaining a similar level of service between the hours of 0855 and 2101. Trains would have been worked by Eastleigh built Diesel-Electric Multiple Units (DEMU) ‘Hampshire Units’ first introduced in 1957. Despite this level of service, the Beeching report of 1963 declared that fewer than 5000 passengers used the trains each week and services were therefore withdrawn on 7th September 1964.

    Map of the ‘Sprat and Winkle’ Line from ‘The Railway Magazine’ January 1910

    The closed Mottisfont station is now a private house called, appropriately enough, “The Old Station House”. The old platforms have been incorporated into a garden feature. We didn’t stop to peer over the garden gate, as that would have been rude. Further up the line, and one for our bucket list, is Horsebridge station which boasts the best preserved remaining station building on the former line. It has, at least pre-Covid,  been used as a tea rooms and wedding venue. There is a Southern Railway carriage acquired from Bournemouth which can be rented for holiday accommodation.

    The next station heading North is Stockbridge, which has some resonance to me as two of my uncles worked on the railway here. George Downton was a signalman and Gus Robertson a platelayer. Sadly Gus died from injuries he sustained during the Great War and my mum, at the age of 8 or 9, was asked to spend her summer holiday in Stockbridge with his widow, my Aunty Gertrude, in the early 1940’s to keep her company. This was extended after the holidays and mum eventually ended up attending Stockbridge school. My mother recalls George’s wife, Aunty Bess, preparing a cooked meal for George on Fridays and asking mum to take it up to him in the signal box, a place she was not really allowed to visit. Mum doesn’t recall why this happened most Friday’s but she does remember Chipperfield’s Circus temporarily keeping their animals in the station sidings when their headquarters were at nearby Down Farm and helping to feed the tigers. I’m pleased we no longer allow wild animals to be exploited for a travelling circus.  

    These days, the trackbed between Westdown, near Fullerton, Stockbridge and Mottisfont forms part of the Test Way, a 44 mile footpath along the River Test.

    As we drove home from Mottisfont, I inadvertently turned left at Romsey and somehow found myself in Eastleigh. I took this, most unexpected, opportunity to photograph the first of the Southern Coastway Class 313 electric multiple units (EMU’s), No.’s 313203 313214 & 313217, which have been withdrawn from service and moved to Eastleigh Arlington to be scrapped. The units had arrived on Friday 10th March and indeed, I had been very tempted to pop over the county border to see them being delivered by Rail Operations Group (ROG) Class 37 No. 37800 on a working from Brighton Lovers Walk.

    Class 313 No. 313217 at the rear of fellow classmates 313203 and 313214 awaiting their fate at Eastleigh Arlington – 12/03/2023
    Class 313 No. 313217 at Eastleigh Arlington – 12/03/2023
    Direct Rail Services Class 37 No. 37602 in the yard at Eastleigh Arlington works – 12/03/2023
    Direct Rail Services Class 37 No. 37602 in the yard at Eastleigh Arlington works – 12/03/2023

    Also viewable on the works from the adjacent public road was London Underground’s (LU) 4-TC (Trailer Control) set which had arrived at Eastleigh Arlington in February following its visit to St Leonards for the fitting of retention toilet tanks. The 4-TC’s were unpowered fixed formations of 4 carriages with a driving position at each end of the set, converted by BR’s Colgate Road Carriage Works from locomotive hauled Mark 1 carriages in 1966-1967 and 1974 and were once the mainstay of the Weymouth to Bournemouth line coupled with Class 33/1 push-pull locomotives. At Bournemouth the 4-TC unit would be joined up with one or two 4-REP EMU’s for the onward journey to London Waterloo. Down trains to Weymouth would carry out the same operation in reverse.

    London Underground’s 4-TC set at Eastleigh – 12/03/2023
    Close up of London Underground’s 4-TC set at Eastleigh – 12/03/2023

    Two complete 4-TC units as well as other odd carriages have been preserved. The London Underground unit is notionally numbered 428 but contains coaches from other units making up its four car formation. Another set previously owned by LU and again made up of coaches from several units is being restored at The Swanage Railway and will be numbered 413. I am looking forward to seeing this project come to fruition and paired with a Class 33/1 will bring back memories of old.

    The Swanage Railway 4-TC which is undergoing restoration is seen at Swanage in February 2022 – 12/02/2022
    4-TC No. 405 heading a Weymouth to London Waterloo service stops at Dorchester South – 26/01/1982
    BR&CW Class 33/1 No. 33104 propels the 1533 Weymouth to London Waterloo service which consists of two 4-TC units having passed Syward Crossing, Dorchester – 15/04/1983
    In fading light Class 33/1 No. 33107 at Bournemouth has attached to the 4-TC Weymouth section of a service from London Waterloo – 27/02/1982

    For The Record

    Swanage Railway’s Class 117 DMU at Creech Bottom with a River Frome to Norden service during the February “Behind the Scenes” event – 12/02/2023

    The Swanage Railway have announced they are to operate a trial heritage diesel train service on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from the main line at Wareham between 4th April and 10th September 2023. The first train departs Wareham at 1119 and the last train of the day will depart Swanage at 1620. The trains will be operated and staffed on behalf of Swanage Railway by West Coast Railways utilising restored and upgraded 1950’s Class 117 Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) with the option of adding a single car Class 121 DMU at busy times and is the result of working in partnership with the UK Government’s Coastal Communities Fund, the Department of Transport, the former Purbeck District Council, Dorset Council, British Petroleum, Perenco, Network Rail and South Western Railway (SWR). Tickets for the service will also be available from SWR so passengers can add tickets for Corfe Castle and Swanage to their main line tickets. This will be the first time in 51 years – since the last day of British Rail passenger trains between Wareham, Corfe Castle and Swanage on Saturday 1st January, 1972, before the branch line was controversially closed – that such a main line ticket facility for travel to Swanage has been possible. During the summer of 2017, the Swanage Railway operated a 60 selected day trial train service from Wareham using hired-in diesel locomotives and carriages again operated and staffed by West Coast Railways. Plans to operate a second year 90 selected day trial train service from Wareham during 2018 were delayed and then the Covid pandemic hit which caused further delays because of its practical and economic effects.

    If interested, you still have time to take part in Dorset Council’s survey on proposals to make the main route between the two Dorchester railway stations along Fairfield Road in Dorchester, which has no dedicated footway, safer for pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users. The survey is open until 17th March 2023. Funding for any work will come from the Government’s Active Travel Fund which aims to improve walking, wheeling and cycling for all.

    Thanks for joining us, as always your visit is much appreciated! This weeks blog was put together listening to: ‘From Nothing To A Little Bit More’ by The Lathums, ‘Space Oddity’ by David Bowie and ‘The Wall’ by Pink Floyd… “Mother should I trust the government?”

  • Scotsman 100

    Gresley A3 Pacific No. 4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’ at Southampton Docks in an unauthentic condition in LNER Apple Green but with double chimney and smoke deflectors from BR days – 16/04/2000

    Wednesday February 15th to Tuesday February 21st 2023

    The week kicked off with the delivery of a little Yoshi from ArtemisFibreArt, which the boy himself was rather intrigued about. Thankfully he decided against tearing it apart as is his usual reaction to soft toys. He recognises a handsome boy when he sees one!

    Yoshi meets…. Little Yoshi
    Yoshi and the fabulous replica Little Yoshi from ArtemisFibreArt

    24th February 2023 marks 100 years since the third A1 Class 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive left Doncaster Works for the very first time and entered service with the London & North Eastern Railway. As if we haven’t written enough about this particular loco in previous blog entries, here’s another look at her history. Designed by Sir Nigel Gresley and originally numbered 1472 in a sequence originated by the Great Northern Railway who had placed the order for 51 Class A1’s prior to the “Big Four” Grouping of January 1923. A year later the LNER renumbered her No. 4472 and she gained the name ‘Flying Scotsman’ after the eponymous titled train in readiness for display at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley.

    In 1928, ‘Flying Scotsman’ ran a non-stop passenger service between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh, this was achieved by means of another Gresley innovation; a corridor tender allowing drivers and firemen to pass through to the locomotive footplate from the leading train carriage. Water for the engine was picked up en-route from troughs set between the rails.

    1st November 1934 No. 4472 became the first steam locomotive to be officially recorded at travelling at 100 miles per hour as she passed between Little Bytham and Essendale on the East Coast Main Line.

    In 1946 the LNER introduced an extensive renumbering scheme with the aim of placing all locomotives of the same type in a numerical sequence. ‘Flying Scotsman’ was renumbered twice this year, firstly in January as No. 502 by Gresley’s successor Edward Thompson and then No. 103 in May. After the Nationalisation of the railways in 1948 60000 was added to LNER engine numbers and consequently No. 103 became No. 60103.

    January 1947 ‘Flying Scotsman’ was converted from a Class A1 locomotive to an A3 under a programme initiated by Gresley in 1928 which added a larger boiler with a higher boiler pressure. A double Kylchap chimney was added in 1959 to improve performance with German style smoke deflectors being added in 1961 as the exhaust from the new chimney blocked the drivers view.

    Things looked bleak in October 1962 when it was announced ‘Flying Scotsman’ would be withdrawn from service in January 1963 and sent for scrap. Holder of the steam speed record Gresley A4 4-6-2 Pacific No. 60022 ‘Mallard’ was to be saved for the nation and it was deemed that only one locomotive of any given wheel arrangement per designer could be preserved.

    After a failed public appeal to “Save Our Scotsman” by raising the £3000 scrap value, businessman Alan Peglar, fresh from selling his Northern Rubber business and with money to burn stepped in and purchased No. 60103 from British Railways in 1963. As part of the deal, Peglar negotiated an agreement for ‘Flying Scotsman’ to run on the main line until 1966 with options to 1971. The locomotive was overhauled at Doncaster emerging in LNER Apple Green and carrying the number 4472 once again. In 1969, the locomotive was heading for USA and Canada on a tour where she travelled 15,400 miles to promote British exports where, after initial success, UK Board of Trade backing was withdrawn and by 1970 money was running out. As a result, in 1972 Peglar was declared bankrupt and ‘Flying Scotsman’ was put into storage in the US Army Sharpe Depot to keep her safe from creditors.

    No. 4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’ working the “Cumbrian Mountain Express” over the Settle & Carlisle stops at Garsdale for water – 22/07/1981

    Enter Sir William McAlpine, who stepped in and bought the locomotive, shipping her home in 1973. Following restoration at Derby, ‘Flying Scotsman’ embarked on a career running on the UK main line and heritage railways. In October 1988 she made a trip to Australia where over the next year she travelled more than 28,000 miles and set the record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive totalling 422 miles having journeyed between Parkes and Broken Hill in New South Wales. On her return to the UK, ‘Flying Scotsman’ would eventually come under new ownership, that of a new consortium “Flying Scotsman Railways” which included Sir William McAlpine and record producer and railway enthusiast Pete Waterman. In 1993, she was outshopped in BR Brunswick Green, complete with double chimney and smoke deflectors representing how she looked at the end of her working life on BR.

    Following restoration to final BR condition, No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ headed for the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway where her visit lasted from 25th July to 11th September 1993
    No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ visited Llangollen in 1995

    April 1995, while working an empty coaching stock movement on the Llangollen Railway, ‘Flying Scotsman’ derailed and suffered a crack between her boiler and cab. She was deemed to be a complete failure and was taken to Southall to face an uncertain future. Experiencing financial difficulties, the consortium sold ‘Flying Scotsman’ to biotech entrepreneur Dr Tony Marchington in 1996 for £1.5m in a deal which included a set of coaches. Over the next three years Dr Marchington spent a further £1m restoring the locomotive which he returned to the main line in 1999. Following a failed attempt to create a “Flying Scotsman Village” in Edinburgh and the collapse of his company Oxford Molecular, Dr Marchington was bankrupted in September 2003. ‘Flying Scotsman’ was put up for sale in 2004 and there was a real fear that the locomotive would be sold abroad. However, to the relief of many, a huge public appeal was launched by the National Railway Museum (NRM) and on 5th April 2004 it was announced that the NRM had been successful with their sealed £2.2m auction bid, which had been boosted by a £1.8m grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. ‘Flying Scotsman’, a locomotive which perhaps more than any other represents the people’s engine had finally been saved for the nation. Unfortunately No. 60103 required a great deal of work to return her to steam with an estimated 12 month £750,000 restoration commencing in 2005. In reality, it would take 10 years and £4.2m before a warming fire could be lit in the overhauled firebox of ‘Flying Scotsman’. On her first public runs in January 2016 following restoration, she was seen in a wartime black livery on the East Lancashire Railway.

    Still in wartime black livery with No. 60103 on the smokebox and No’s 103 and 502 on opposite cab sides, her first mainline outing following overhaul was on 6th February 2016 at the head of “The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express” from Carnforth to Carlisle. Myself and @da_buckley967 decided to drive from Dorset to Cumbria to see the spectacle of ‘Flying Scotsman’ climbing Shap on the West Coast Main Line.

    “The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express” – 06/02/2016
    Showing just how popular No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ has become is evident in this scene as she passes through Romsey with “The Cathedrals Express” rail tour on 21st May 2016
    Steam Dreams ‘Flying Scotsman’ London to Winchester and Afternoon Tour from Southampton – 06/06/2021

    Ahead of her centenary year celebrations, ‘Flying Scotsman’ underwent another overhaul at Riley & Son in Bury, the first event following this being her attendance at London King’s Cross to help celebrate the railway station’s 170th anniversary and launch her own event programme before she arrived in Dorset for a stint on the Swanage Railway.

    For more ‘Flying Scotsman’ goodness, you might like to check out these “Railway Dog” blog entries from 2022 which feature more images and video:

    Flying Scotsman
    Flying Scotsman… Again
    More Flying Scotsman

    From 27th February to 3rd March 2023 no weekday trains will run between Yeovil Pen Mill and Dorchester West to allow Network Rail to lay new track and carry out other maintenance, including station improvements at Maiden Newton. The closure extends to include the Yeovil to Castle Cary section on 6th and 7th March affecting Great Western Railway (GWR) and South Western Railway (SWR) services.

    In no way connected to the forthcoming closure “up the West”, Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st February 2023 saw Freightliner Engineering Trains head to Dorchester South. A further train was scheduled to depart Eastleigh East Yard for Upwey on Wednesday 22/02/2023.

    Dorset Freightliner Engineering Trains w/c 20/02/2023

    In another of our occasional visits to cafes which happen to be situated in former railway stations, on Wednesday 15th February, we popped over the county border to Hampshire in order to visit The Old Station Tea Rooms at Homsley.

    The Old Station Tea Rooms at Homsley – 15/02/2023

    Opened in 1874 as Christchurch Road railway station by the Southampton & Dorchester Railway it was, at the time, the closest station to Bournemouth and Christchurch, becoming Holmsley station in 1894. Prince Edward, the eldest son of Queen Victoria was a regular user of the station with his mistress Lillie Langtry as it was here where they would embark on their way to their private residence in Bournemouth. Holmsley was also the inspitration for Browndean station in Robert Louis Stephenson’s novel “The Wrong Box”.

    Porters Lunch Box
    Station Managers Rarebit

    Holmsley station was closed on May 4th 1964 as a result of the Beeching Report. Today the main station building lives on, repurposed as a tea room with several items of railway memorabilia and photographs on display. Dogs are welcome at outside tables, of which there are many, and the food is delicious. Walks along the Castleman Railway utilising the old rail road to Ringwood, Wimborne and Poole can be enjoyed nearby.

    An example of the railway themed memorabilia which can seen at The Old Station Tea Rooms, Homsley
    Review the fleet at Weymouth!

    That brings us to the end of another entry. Thanks for visiting and we hope to see you again another time. Your comments, corrections and observations are very much appreciated. Recommendations for cafes situated in former railway stations are welcome! This weeks blog was mostly written with the aid of tea, Galaxy Milk Chocolate Digestive biscuits to the accompaniment of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side Of The Moon” – which, amazingly, is 50 years old next Wednesday (1st March 2023). Time, eh?

    Yoshi has spotted a squirrel, or a possibly Class 444 Electric Multiple Unit. They both deserve being barked at….

  • Shillingstone

    Shillingstone Railway Station built in the Dorset Central Railway style of red brick with cream decorative brickwork around windows and doors and featuring a Welsh slate roof – 11/02/2023

    Wednesday February 8th to Tuesday February 14th 2023

    South Western Railway Class 444 Electric Multiple Unit No. 444023 departs Weymouth – 07/01/2021

    On Friday, it was announced that South Western Railway had received a two-year extension on its existing contract from the Department of Transport. Scottish parent company FirstGroup PLC said their national rail contract would now run until May 2025. With no sense of irony Chief Executive Officer Graham Sutherland said, “We welcome the contract extension for South Western Railway, which enables us to build on the achievements of the first two years of the contract and continue improving the customer offering.” FTSE 250-listed FirstGroup operates another three rail franchises in the UK: Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway (GWR), and TransPennine Express (TPE), plus an open access passenger service, Hull Trains. It also has a bus division, which operates around a fifth of local bus services in the UK. 

    In other SWR related news, it is hoped that Network Rail will complete work on the landslip at Hook to allow the full restoration of normal timetabled train services from 24th February 2023.

    Yoshi takes a look at the short section of track representing the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway which is displayed in Railway Gardens, Sturminster Newton – 11/02/2023

    Saturday 11th February 2023, Yoshi, his mama and I headed to North Dorset to walk a section of the former Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) trackbed which is now part of the North Dorset Trailway. We decided to walk four miles from Sturminster Newton to beyond Shillingstone and back, so that we could visit the North Dorset Railway and enjoy a refreshing cup of tea and a slice of cake before retracing our footsteps back to our starting point. However, we wish we had asked our North Dorset Correspondent where we could have found a cup of tea on our arrival back in Sturminster!

    Yoshi amongst the snowdrops along the North Dorset Trailway – 11/02/2023
    Abandoned railway furniture on the North Dorset Trailway – 11/02/2023
    Lamb House Bridge, Shillingstone – 11/02/2023

    On arrival at Shillingstone we were able to watch some shunting manoeuvres which were taking place around the station site. The station which opened on the 31st August 1863 and is the last remaining building of the Dorset Central Railway which later formed part of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway running from Bournemouth West to Bath Green Park until falling victim to the Beeching cuts in March 1966.

    There are several posters from the age of steam as well as a museum packed with railway artefacts on view at Shillingstone railway station – 11/02/2023

    During World War I Shillingstone saw additional trains in the form of troop and supply workings. One such instance, in February 1915, saw the Naval Battalion based at Blandford Camp march en masse to Shillingstone to board a train bound for Avonmouth and ultimately to take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. Included in their number was the war poet Lt. Rupert Brooke who died of septicaemia en route off Skyros, Greece.

    A few years after the station at Shillingstone closed to rail traffic, the Dorset County Council purchased the trackbed for a proposed road which would by-pass the village. This plan never came to fruition and the council eventually decided to dispose of the station site. Following protracted negotiations, the North Dorset Railway Trust signed a lease in 2005.

    I loved this imaginary painting of what might have been and the S&DJR survived the Beeching cuts which hangs in the station tea rooms (Steve Hiscocks, 2012)

    The North Dorset Railway Trust aim to relay track in the direction of Sturminster Newton over Lamb House Bridge. Maybe one day we may even see a Class 9F or similar working part of the route once again.

    Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 Diesel Loco Works No. D1186 ‘Ashdown’ passes Shillingstone signal box – 11/02/2023

    ‘Ashdown’ was built by Hudswell Clarke, Leeds in 1959 for use on the Manchester Ship Canal Railway (MSCR), numbered D1 and based at Partington coal basin she was the first of a small fleet of diesel locomotives working on the MSCR. She has had an illustrious career being sold on to Hunslet Engine Co. of Leeds, who leased the locomotive to the National Coal Board (NCB) Crompton colliery in Lancashire, before returning to Hunslets as their works shunter. In 1986 she was subject to a re-build before moving to the NCB Gwent Coal Distribution centre in Newport, South Wales. She was renumbered No. 8526 and named ‘Pride of Gwent’ lasting up to 1991 when she entered preservation firstly at the Butetown Historic Railway Society in Cardiff until 1997 before moving to the Vale of Glamorgan Railway. In 2008, she was purchased by the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway. In July 2013, she was exchanged for a diesel locomotive located at Peak Rail in Derbyshire and reunited with the ‘Ashdown’ name. The North Dorset Railway purchased ‘Ashdown’ in 2020. She is of a unique design and therefore the only locomotive of this type preserved.

    Ruston & Hornsby Diesel Shunter No. RH305302 (DS1169) ‘Little Eva’, Shillingstone – 11/02/2023

    No. RH305302 (DS1169) ‘Little Eva’ was built by Ruston & Hornsby, at their Boultham Works, Lincoln in 1951, for the Ransome and Marles Bearing Co of Newark, where she was used to move steel casings around the factory site. She retired from service in 1978 and donated to the Market Overton Industrial Railway Trust before moving to the Statfold Barn Railway in Tamworth.  She was purchased in 2015 and moved to Shillingstone and underwent full restoration.

    Yoshi strikes a pose alongside Class 62 Yankee 0-6-0 Tank Locomotive No. 30076, Shillingstone – 11/02/2023

    The Class 62 “Yankee Tank” steam locomotives were built from the US Army Transportation Corps template of S100 Shunters of World War II designed in 1941 by Colonel Howard G Hill. The class was extremely successful, proving powerful, economical to operate and relatively easy to maintain. More than 400 of these locomotives were deployed across Europe after the war, with over 100 ending up in Yugoslavia earning the designation Class 62. A further 90 of the class were built in Yugoslavia by Djuro Djakovic of Slavonski Brod between 1952 and 1961. Four original US built locomotives are preserved in the UK, one at the Bluebell Railway, two at the Kent & Sussex Railway and one at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

    Here in the UK, 14 (plus one for spare parts) of the S100 Class were purchased by the Southern Railway (SR) from the United States Army Transportation Corps in 1946, mainly for shunting in Southampton Docks, between the end of World War II and the end of steam in the 1968. Other examples saw use as industrial locomotives with Austin Motors/BMC at Longbridge, the NCB and on the Longmoor Military Railway.

    There are two examples of these locomotives currently at Shillingstone. Firstly No. 30075, built in 1960 and acquired from Store Steel in Slovenia in 1990 after clocking up only 25,000 miles in service. She was transported to the Swanage Railway, where she was completely overhauled and returned to steam in late 1992. The locomotive suffered a major steam pipe failure in 1998 and was withdrawn from traffic. No. 30075 was then dismantled and moved to the East Somerset Railway in July 2002 and was returned to traffic in July 2004. August 2009 saw her being relocated to the Mid-Hants Railway and later visited the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, the Bristol Docks Railway, Yeovil Junction Steam Centre, the Churnet Valley Railway and the Dartmoor Railway. Following withdrawal due to leaks in the inner firebox, No. 30075 was eventually moved to Shillingstone for repairs in January 2016 where she is undergoing full restoration to operational service. On our visit, No. 30075 was under cover from the elements away from public view.

    The second “Yankee” No. 30076 was built in 1954 with factory No. 62-521. She was purchased by the P62 Group in 2006 from Mittal Steel Zenica in Bosnia & Herzegovina and arrived at Shillingstone in 2016 after spending many years in store at Allelys Heavy Haulage in Studley near Birmingham. She will be a spares donor for her sister locomotive and as such will be on static display.

    Yoshi enjoyed spending time on a sniffari during our walk along the former S&DJR track bed – 11/02/2023

    Over the weekend of 11th / 12th February 2023, the Swanage Railway held a special “Behind the Scenes” event with the aim of encouraging more volunteers to help out maintain and run the railway. Passengers were able to enjoy beautiful Purbeck countryside views not often enjoyed from a train thanks to a special heritage diesel train service employing the Class 117 DMU on the occasionally used four-mile line between Norden and the River Frome, within sight of Wareham. At Swanage railway station, SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ was available for footplate visits and Class 08 diesel shunter No. 08436 ‘Beighton’ was the focus of a “driver for a fiver” experience while SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ ran passenger trains between Swanage and Norden.

    Class 08 No. 08436 waits patiently in the bay platform at Swanage – 12/02/2023
    Side detail of Class 08 No. 08436 – 12/02/2023

    I was joined by my brother and @da_buckley967 at Swanage railway station at 0930 on the Sunday morning as we had managed to book the first three available slots of this sell out escapade. Once the doors to the booking hall were unlocked, we made ourselves known and signed our lives away on a safety declaration. We then learned that the driver who was conducting the driver experience was marooned in Eastleigh because of transportation issues and an emergency relief driver had been called in to take their place, necessitating a thirty minute delay. This gave us the opportunity to grab a cuppa and take a look at ‘Eddystone’ parked up in the station and to watch ‘Manston’ depart with the first steam hauled train of the day while I constantly complained about not having any gloves with me because I was finding it cold. Diddums. At 1020 we were ushered over to No. 08436 and I was first to be allowed to climb onboard and take the controls.

    It really was a fun and interesting ten minutes being supervised at the number 2 driver position. I think was a bit harsh on the brake, and I’m amazed at the poor visibility looking out of the windows down the nose of the Class 08 and drivers, past, present and future have my full admiration! Grateful thanks to The Swanage Railway for including the chance for a taste of driving the loco as one of the ‘open weekend’ attractions – you can share our experience in the video below:

    Driver for a Fiver! – 12/02/2023
    Swanage Railway’s Class 117 DMU at Creech Bottom with a River Frome to Norden service – 12/02/2023
    Swanage Railway’s Class 117 DMU on the Norden to the River Frome section, February 2023
    SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ on display in Swanage enabling visitors the opportunity to view the locomotive’s footplate – 12/02/2023

    Monday evening saw a Class 37 top and tailed test train actually find its way to Dorset in 2023 with 1Q51 1115 Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard via Weymouth. I decided to see Colas liveried Class 37 No. 37254 ‘Cardiff Canton’ and on hire No. 37610 pass through Poole on the outward run and couldn’t resist a second shot at Hamworthy as they returned on the final leg to Eastleigh East Yard. It was a foggy evening and the sound of the two English Electric built veterans could be heard from several miles away – pure bliss!

    Colas Class 37 No. 37254 ‘Cardiff Canton’ passing through Poole (video screen grab) – 13/02/2023
    Harry Needle Railroad Company owned Class 37 No. 37610 on hire to Colas Rail accelerates through Hamworthy (video screen grab) – 13/02/2023
    1Q51 1115 Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard – 11/02/2023

    Thank you, dear reader, for visiting and your comments and corrections which are very much appreciated! We’ll be back next week for a delve into our archives for video of ‘Flying Scotsman’ as we celebrate 100 years of the world’s most famous steam locomotive.

    Sturminster Newton – the start and end point of our walk this week – 11/02/2023

    The Night Journey 

    Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)

    Hands and lit faces eddy to a line;
        The dazed last minutes click; the clamour dies.
    Beyond the great-swung are o’ the roof, divine,
        Night, smoky-scarv’d, with thousand coloured eyes

    Glares the imperious mystery of the way.
        Thirsty for dark, you feel the long-limbed train
    Throb, stretch, thrill motion, slide, pull out and sway,
        Strain for the far, pause, draw to strength again. . . . 

    As a man, caught by some great hour, will rise,
        Slow-limbed, to meet the light or find his love;
    And, breathing long, with staring sightless eyes,
        Hands out, head back, agape and silent, move

    Sure as a flood, smooth as a vast wind blowing;
        And, gathering power and purpose as he goes,
    Unstumbling, unreluctant, strong, unknowing,
        Borne by a will not his, that lifts, that grows,

    Sweep out to darkness, triumphing in his goal,
        Out of the fire, out of the little room. . . .
    —There is an end appointed. O my soul!
        Crimson and green and signals burn; the gloom

    Is hung with steam’s far-blowing livid streamers.
        Lost into God, as lights in light, we fly,
    Grown one with will, end-drunken huddled dreamers.
        The white lights roar. The sounds of the world die.

    And lips and laughter are forgotten things.
        Speed sharpens; grows. Into the night, and on,
    The strength and splendor of our purpose swings.
        The lamps fade; and the stars. We are alone. 

  • Cirencester Adventure

    A view of Grosvenor Road Carriage Sidings and the approach lines to London Victoria as seen from Lift 109 aloft Battersea Power Station – 04/02/2023

    Wednesday February 1st to Tuesday February 7th 2023

    A very quiet period on our patch these last seven days with no test trains or unusual visitors to report or complain about not reaching Weymouth. I would have at least expected a run of the Snow & Ice Treatment Train to Dorchester with the frosts we have been experiencing. Maybe next week we’ll have something to update you on, dear reader!

    However, the Swanage Railway was able to provide some local interest when, on Friday, test runs using the restored mainline certified Class 117 Diesel Multiple Unit ran between Norden and the River Frome, within sight of Wareham, which does not normally see regular use. Hopefully the long planned rail service between Wareham and Swanage using the Class 117 will finally launch later this year. 

    Class 117 Diesel Multiple Unit consisting of power cars No.’s 51346, 51388, and trailer car 59486 working 1R91 River Frome to Corfe Castle approaching Furzebrook – 03/02/2023

    On Saturday while Yoshi was being well looked after, I joined Yoshi’s mama and @da_buckley967 on a train to London Waterloo. Through services have been partially restored following the recent landslip at Hook and our train which originated from Weymouth arrived at its destination only a couple of minutes late.

    South Western Railway trains at London Waterloo on Saturday morning – 04/02/2023

    The purpose of our trip to London was for an expedition to Battersea Power Station to sample the delights of Lift 109 which ascends 109 metres to the top of the north-west chimney providing 360 degree views across London.

    The Lift 109 experience starts in the Power Station’s Art Deco Turbine Hall A where, a collection of original information and media displays outline the history of the building while a lighting installation whirls and glows above as visitors interact with a giant multiplayer touchscreen to collectively ‘generate energy’ – 04/02/2023
    Looking up inside the chimney from Lift 109 – 04/02/2023
    Looking down upon Battersea Power Station from Lift 109 after it emerges from the chimney stack – 04/02/2023
    A view looking east along the River Thames – 04/02/2023

    One of the main attractions for me, with the purpose of this blog in mind, was the opportunity to look down over Grosvenor Bridge which carries eight railway tracks for the use of trains coming from, or approaching London Victoria.

    Grosvenor Bridge as viewed from Lift 109 – 04/02/2023

    The bridge, engineered by Sir John Fowler (1817-1898) was originally constructed between 1859 and 1860. Fowler was also engineer for the world’s first underground railway, London’s Metropolitan Railway which celebrated its 160th anniversary last month (and was discussed here: Birthday Week – The Railway Dog) as well as chief engineer on the Forth Bridge, which as everyone knows, is the best railway bridge in the world. Returning our attention to Grosvenor Bridge, or Victoria Railway Bridge as it was once known, as originally built it carried two tracks and was the first railway bridge across the Thames in London. Between 1865 and 1866 the bridge was widened to allow an additional four tracks by Sir Charles Fox working for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. This was still not enough for the LB&SCR which added another track in 1907 again increasing the width of the bridge. The Southern Region of British Rail carried out extensive work between 1963 and 1967 when they renewed the structure to a design by Freeman Fox & Partners leaving only the core of the original bridge piers in place, which were enlarged by concrete, reducing the span to 164 feet, but the arches and deck were entirely replaced. Each of the four river spans now comprises ten steel box-section arches. Supported between each pair of arches is a steel trough span, carrying ballast and track. The bridge could accommodate ten tracks, although currently carries nine. The land spans were replaced by welded steel girders. The design of the bridge allowed its reconstruction to be advanced progressively, resulting to minimal disruption to railway services.

    Southern Railway services on the approaches to London Victoria – 04/02/2023

    Lift 109 provides stunning views across London, and is well recommended should you have the opportunity to visit. I would have liked a little longer time to observe, take photographs across the City and to soak the vistas in. We conducted a debrief afterwards in Control Room B which is

    Control panels form a backdrop to the Control Room B bar – 04/02/2023
    Battersea Power Station’s Control Room B where you can buy the smallest bottle of Diet Coke for the princely sum of £4.50 – 04/02/2023

    After a trip along the Thames to Greenwich by Uber Boat from Thames Clippers we returned to Battersea to view the third light festival to be held at the Power Station which runs from January 19th to March 5th 2023.

    ‘Jupiter Clipper’ an Uber Boat from Thames Clippers approaches Battersea Power Station pier – 04/02/2023
    The view of Battersea Power Station from the pier – 04/02/2023

    There are 8 pieces of illuminated artwork curated in partnership with Light Art Collection on display. Three of my favourites were the following:

    “End Over End”, The Light Festival Battersea Power Station – 04/02/2023
    “Badstop, The Light Festival Battersea Power Station – 04/02/2023
    “Moonburn”, The Light Festival Battersea Power Station – 04/02/2023

    You can read about our previous visit to Battersea Power Station here

    On Sunday, Yoshi re-joined his mum and I as we headed off to meet up with lovely friends in Cirencester, Capital of the Cotswolds, and as we discovered, a beautiful market town.  

    St John Baptist towers over Cirencester and is one of the largest parish churches in England. During the 1880’s George Gilbert Scott lead a restoration team seeking to strengthen the building. Scott was the architect responsible for the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Railway Station in London and grandfather of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott known for being the architect responsible for the exterior of Battersea Power Station as well as the iconic K2 and K6 red telephone boxes – 05/02/2023
    Yoshi with “Pink Lady Dancing with Big Brown Dog” (Bronze 2020) on loan from the artist, Sophie Ryder, who is also a passionate dog breeder. Ryder has devoted herself throughout her career to the representation of part-human, part-animal beings as allegories of human characteristics, emotions and desires. One such hybrid is “Lady Hare”, a figure with a woman’s body and a hare’s head which Ryder developed at an early date into a central motif within her work. The hare can be found throughout art history as a symbol of fertility and lust, of resurrection, power and wisdom. Sophie Ryder inscribes these meanings into her female figures, which she frequently portrays in company with the mythical Minotaur as a male vehicle of expression, or with dogs as man’s trusty companion (Yeah, I pinched that bit from elsewhere) – 05/02/2023

    On our walk around Cirencester, punctuated by stops for cups of tea and the smallest halloumi filled brioche roll in the known universe (always upgrade to sourdough bread if you have the option), we happened upon the remnants of the 1841 Brunel designed Town Railway Station, one of three stations which used to grace the town (the others being Cirencester Watermoor and Chesterton Lane Halt). Cirencester lost its passenger rail service in 1964 with goods traffic surviving for another year. The town was connected to the mainline by means of a five mile, single track branch line from Kemble. In contrast to Grosvenor Bridge in central London, the Cirencester branch crossed the River Thames near its source and formed the highest rail crossing point on the river. 

    The 1841 Brunel Cirencester Town Railway Station buildings survived the closure of the branch line which terminated in the Cotswold Market Town – 05/02/2023

    The old station building now finds itself located in the middle of a car park, with a Waitrose supermarket occupying the site of the former goods yard. The building is currently owned by Cotswold District Council with its future under review, options being considered include its conversion into a cultural centre or being put up for sale. 

    Now within Old Station Car Park, the remains of Cirencester Town railway station – 05/02/2023

    The Cirencester Community Railway project has ambitions to restore the rail link to Kemble, although building work post closure, such as the ring road dating from the 1970’s, means that some of the former track bed has since been built upon and any new line will have to follow a different route on the final run into Cirencester. The project was accepted into the Department for Transport’s “Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund” in December 2020 and was offered £50,000 to develop a business case for the proposed Very light Railway Scheme utilising a single self-powered electric carriage with a battery powered propulsion system.

    The rather wonderful frontage of Kemble Railway Station – 05/02/2023

    On our way home we stopped all too briefly at Grade II listed Kemble railway station which was opened by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1882 and is situated on the railway line between Swindon and Gloucester. The truncated branch line to Cirencester can still be seen as a short length of track ending in a buffer stop alongside a curved platform which also survives as part of the Kemble station complex.

    The buffer stop which marks the end of the line for the former Cirencester branch. Now used for the occasional stabling of track machines, will the line to Cirencester return in the future? – 05/02/2023
    The truncated remains of the Cirencester branch is to the right of the picture with the main running lines to the left – 05/02/2023

    There was also another line which branched off at Kemble which in this case served Tetbury between 1889 and 1964. Despite being the test beds for a new railbus service employing four wheeled vehicles built by AC Cars Ltd, the branch lines to Cirencester and Tetbury were the first casualties of the Beeching closures in the Wessex region. The railbuses later transferred to Yeovil to work between Yeovil Junction, Yeovil Town and Yeovil Pen Mill, and Bodmin before they were withdrawn from service in 1968. Successive closures of branch lines during the 1960’s and 1970’s were often marked by protests and Cirencester was no exception when a lady who had hosted a drinks party on one of the last railbus services attempted to set fire to an effigy of the Transport Minister, Ernest Marples, replete with a 3-foot axe. She was restrained by police in front of a 200 strong crowd of locals. 

    A view from the platforms at Kemble looking North – 05/02/2023

    Kemble railway station is virtually complete as built and is in a good state of preservation. The toilets, we discovered, are currently out of use. Original track at Kemble and the branches would have been of Brunel’s broad gauge with this being changed to standard gauge in 1892. The stone station buildings are built in a Tudor style featuring arched doorways. A covered footbridge links the up and down platforms and a rectangular cast iron water tank, itself Grade II listed, stands on the down platform complete with pumping machinery below. Today, all services are operated by Great Western Railway with typically one train in either direction each hour linking London and Cheltenham using Class 800 bi-mode IET’s, and Class 158 and Class 166 DMU’s.

    GWR Class 158 DMU No. 158745 passes the water tank on departure from Kemble working 2G09 1530 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa – 05/02/2023

    As luck would have it, our route home to Dorset also conveniently passed through Westbury, so with fading light, but an impressive sunset, I spent twenty minutes or so busying myself by increasing my daily step count wandering up and down the station platforms taking in the locomotive shaped delights on offer. Our North Dorset Correspondent later informed me that I had missed a Colas Class 56 which had worked into Westbury that afternoon, but I’m not one to bear a grudge.

    DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66075 stands adjacent to Westbury railway station – 05/02/2023
    Freightliner Duo: Class 66 No. 66618 ‘Railways Illustrated Annual Photographic Awards Alan Barnes’ and Class 59 No. 59002 ‘Alan J day’ sporting Aggregates Industries livery at Westbury – 05/02/2023
    Class 59 No. 59002 ‘Alan J day’ in Aggregates Industries livery at Westbury – 05/02/2023
    DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66172 ‘Paul Melleney’ prepares to leave Westbury working 6W05 1721 Westbury Down T.C. to Barry – 05/02/2023

    Also this past week, we took a quick look at the demolition work being carried out at Dorchester South where the canopy and postal office is being removed. It was dark at the time of our visit, but it was clear that much progress had been made (contrast and compare with the images posted last week )

    Work to remove the postal office and canopy at Dorchester South – 03/02/2023
    Freightliner Class 66 No. 66503 ‘The Railway Magazine’ stands adjacent the parcels office during engineering work being carried out at Dorchester South – 12/12/2020
    Nameplate detail of Class 66 No. 66503 ‘The Railway Magazine’ – 12/12/2020
    Engineering work relaying track at Dorchester South provides a view of the canopy being removed in 2023 – 24/10/2020

    That brings us to the end of another weeks blog entry. Thank you so much, as always for your comments and corrections. We hope you’ll join us again next time!

  • Pokesdown

    Yoshi vista Pokesdown railway station – 28/01/2023

    Wednesday January 25th to Tuesday January 31st 2023

    Dorset railway station Pokesdown (or to quote current station signage; “Pokesdown for Boscombe”) has been in the news recently and on Wednesday January 11th 2023 was subject to an Adjournment debate at the House of Commons as Tobias Ellwood,  Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, raised the question of when customer lifts would be installed at the location. Describing the station as “pretty grim” Mr. Ellwood, who has been campaigning for improvements to the station since 2016, pressed Minister of State, Department of Transport, Huw Merriman for an update on promised improvements. At the weekend, Yoshi and I decided to go along and take a look at the station ourselves. 

    The ground level exterior entrance to Pokesdown railway station – 28/01/2023

    Pokesdown railway station serves the Pokesdown, Boscombe and Southbourne areas of Bournemouth and is on the South West Main Line, situated 106 miles 24 chains (171.1 km)  from London Waterloo (Railways in the UK historically are measured in miles and chains, there being 80 chains to one mile). The station is served by South Western Railway (SWR), who operate semi-fast services from London Waterloo to Weymouth and stopping services from London to Poole. The station was originally opened on 1st July 1886 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) at an estimated cost of £2,000. It was originally named Boscombe, but was changed to Pokesdown (Boscombe) on 1st October 1891 as it is situated noticeably closer to Pokesdown than Boscombe. On 1st May 1897, when (the now closed) Boscombe station was opened, the station was renamed to just Pokesdown. In 1930, the station was again renamed, becoming Pokesdown for Eastern Bournemouth, but was once more changed to Pokesdown following the formation of British Railways in 1948. At one time there were two centre roads allowing non-stopping services to pass through the station without being encumbered by stopping trains at the platforms. These up and down fast lines were removed in the 1970’s.

    The booking hall at Pokesdown – 28/01/2023

    The station entrance at Pokesdown is at ground level with the platforms 20 meters below, access can only be currently gained by two 42-step flights of stairs, one to catch trains in the Weymouth direction and the other for stations to London.  The goods lifts at Pokesdown are 90 years old and have not functioned for over 35 years. In 2021, the BBC reported that at least two passengers had suffered broken bones after falling on the steep steps. One, Jacky Dempsey, broke both arms.  There is no alternative access for passengers with restricted mobility and wheelchair users are advised to use the main Bournemouth station instead. 

    The up platform steps – 28/01/2023
    The bridge across the platforms – 28/01/2023

    Installation of lifts for passenger use was an obligation in SWR’s 2017 franchise agreement and although the franchise has since been replaced by a new National Rail Contract in the wake of the pandemic, SWR has reconfirmed its £1.6m contribution, subject to third-party funding to meet any shortfall.  In January 2022, Bournemouth Christchurch Poole Council (BCP) pledged £2.6m from its Future Fund, with Network Rail (NR) providing the balance of the overall project cost of £5.7m which in addition to new lifts include refurbishment works on the bridge across the railway line to connect both lifts and other much needed modernisation of the Station facilities. The steelwork on the bridge is of around the same age as the redundant goods lifts and requires assessment prior to the construction of new lifts.

    The main road in the area is the A35 which crosses the main line east of Pokesdown station on this bridge. As originally built there was a single island platform – this was removed and two platform faces created allowing space for four running lines through the station. SWR Class 444 EMU No. 444036 leading No. 444017 with the 1W61 0950 London Waterloo to Weymouth and Poole stopping service approaches. One of the goods lift shafts can be seen behind the station bridge – 28/01/2023

    SWR and NR are hoping to be in a position to put the job out to tender later this year which will give all parties a final construction cost for the lift project. In the meantime work to upgrade the platform canopies is expected to be completed by mid-2023. Local Premiership football club, AFC Bournemouth, whose ground is only a stone’s throw from the station, has offered to help to give the station some local personality by donating large football montages to brighten the platform spaces. Other opinions on this addition may vary! I would much prefer the mural by Krishna Malla, aka Tech Moon a Bournemouth based artist specialising in photorealism, which currently adorns the down platform walls remain in situ. The mural, entitled “Hope”, was created at the request of Network Rail and SWR in 2020 to create a positive image and help uplift an area which has been beset with hard times over the past few years for depressing circumstances surrounding mental health. Doves were chosen as the subject matter because “The dove represents peace of the deepest kind”.

    “Hope” dove detail by Krishna Malla, aka Tech Moon – 28/01/2023
    “Hope” plaque – 28/01/2023
    Hands detail from “Hope” by Krishna Malla, aka Tech Moon – 28/01/2023
    The final section of the “Hope” is designed to move from the view on the train. The shadows offer a metaphor that every shadow has a light on the other side – 28/01/2023

    Regular stopping services are operated using SWR Class 444 or Class 450 electric multiple units with a weekday and Saturday service of two trains an hour. Sunday’s see one stopping train an hour.  CrossCountry Voyagers are regular visitors as they pass non-stop through the station. 

    Class 450 No. 450066 working 2B21 1056 Southampton Central to Bournemouth stops at Pokesdown – 28/01/2023
    Class 444 No. 444017 at the rear of the 1W61 0950 London Waterloo to Weymouth and Poole stopping service – 28/01/2023
    Looking west towards Bournemouth from the footbridge, XC Voyager Class 221 No. 221127 passes Pokesdown on 1M46 1145 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly. The space once occupied by two through tracks can clearly be identified – 28/01/2023

    So, is the station “pretty grim”, as opined by Tobias Ellwood? I liked the mural, but I think I’d describe Pokesdown station as unloved and in urgent need of TLC. We look forward to making a return visit to Pokesdown in the future to see the results of the £5.7m upgrades.

    Dorchester South is also seeing some ‘Railway Improvement Work’ as Network Rail undertake the demolition of the station canopy and removal of the former postal office at the end of platform 1. The major part of the work is planned to take place over the weekend of 4th / 5th February 2023 with follow up work expected to be completed by Friday 10th February 2023. 

    With the Brewery Square development rising up above it the Dorchester South postal office and canopy awaits demolition – 28/01/2023
    Another view of the postal office / canopy at Dorchester South SWR Class 444 No. 444016 waits in the down platform working 1W21 1020 London Waterloo to Weymouth – 28/01/2023
    SWR Class 444 No. 444016 departs with the 1W21 1020 London Waterloo to Weymouth – 28/01/2023
    The dilapidated condition of the Dorchester South parcels office / canopy can clearly be seen in this view – 28/01/2023
    Time travelling back to the 1980’s, the parcels ramp at Dorchester South was a favourite spot for rail enthusiasts and train spotters on a summer Saturday afternoon.
    Class 31 No.’s 31152 and 31154 make a rare visit to Dorchester South. The original station building still stands in the right of the image although the addition of an up platform meant trains no longer had to reverse into the original platform – October 1983
    Class 33 No. 33106 working a “Channel Islands Boat Train” through Dorchester South. On arrival at Weymouth, the train famously traversed the streets before arriving at the Quay station. The Dorchester South parcels area and canopy is seen on the left – 28/08/1982
    London Midland Scottish Stanier Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 44932, the sole survivor of this type of locomotive constructed in 1945 at Horwich Works, brings Railway Touring Company “The Dorset Coast Express” 1Z96 0845 London Victoria to Weymouth railtour past the parcels office and station canopy into Dorchester South – 01/09/2010
    Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 66 No. 66415 arrives at Dorchester South with a train of empty wagons destined for Wool sidings where they would be loaded with sand. The locomotive would run around the train at Dorchester before returning to Wool for reversal into the sidings situated on the Up side of the station – 10/04/2012
    Our final modern day glimpse of the parcels office and station canopy as SWR Class 444 No. 4440135 awaits departure from Dorchester South working 1W20 1303 Weymouth to London Waterloo – 28/01/2023

    Our regular reader may remember a couple of weeks ago when one of the monthly test trains scheduled to visit Weymouth via Bournemouth and Poole did not materialise because of the landslip at Hook. A cause of much disappointment as the train was being hauled by Class 37 locomotives instead of the usual Class 73 electro-diesels. We had a sense of déjà vu this week when a Class 37 hauled test train to Weymouth via Yeovil also terminated early without visiting the Dorset seaside as 1Z22 0752 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road with No.’s 37610 and 37612 went off route at Wootton Bassett Junction and instead of heading south carried on a westerly trajectory and arrived at its final destination 481 minutes early because of lack of train crew to take over for the afternoon / evening shift.

    Thursday 26th January saw SWR Class 458 EMU No. 458503 working 5B39 1001 Wimbledon Park Depot Sidings to Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. To my knowledge, I have not previously seen a Class 458 in Dorset, so armed with a long lens for the camera, Yoshi and I stopped off at Bournemouth Traincare depot on our way to Pokesdown and from the safety of the car park took the following photos. 

    SWR Class 458 No. 458503 at Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. – 28/01/2023
    Class 701 No. 701043 at Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. – 28/01/2023
    A line up of SWR EMU’s at Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. including No.’s 444005, 701041, 701042 and 444003 – 28/01/2023

    Two other Class 458’s could be seen stabled on the depot amidst the Class 444’s, Class 701’s and Class 455 EMU’s. 

    SWR Class 458 No.’s 458530 and 458519 stand adjacent the train wash with an unidentified Class 455 behind, Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. – 28/01/2023

    Our final port of call on Saturday was a brief visit to the Swanage Railway and Corfe Castle station. As track work has been ongoing at Swanage this week, resident Class 33 diesel locomotives No. D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ and No. 33111 have taken it in turns to be stabled adjacent to the signal box in Corfe. On our visit it was the turn of BR Blue liveried No. 33111 which made an interesting composition with a brake van and carriage.

    Class 33 No. 33111 rests at Corfe Castle railway station – 28/01/2023

    From The Archive

    The only 8mm video footage I recorded at Pokesdown station is of SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ working the return LSW Railtours “The Strong Counrtyman” on 11th June 1995. My intention was to clip this shot and include it with this weeks blog section on Pokesdown. However, I enjoyed the complete 38 minute sequence and I thought you might be interested in seeing the whole thing as well. Starting at Eastleigh with views which could not be replicated today because of new building developments (Lidl, I’m looking at you) and including Class 47’s, a Class 58, a Class 07, Class 442 Wessex Electrics and Slam Door EMU’s the video also includes shots of ‘Clan Line’ at Bournemouth Traincare Depot before they erected an annoyingly huge fence. The appearance of No. 35028 at the Bournemouth depot was the first visit of a ‘Merchant Navy’ Pacific locomotive to the approaches of the former Bournemouth West station, on which the depot now resides, in almost 30 years. Has there been one since I wonder?

    Video of SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ working LSW Railtours “The Strong Countryman’ – 11/06/1995

    This was LSW Railtours, run by Paul Blowfield formerly of the British Rail Special Trains Unit, first ever steam hauled tour. Looking back at the pages of the August 1995 edition of “The Railway Magazine” we discovered most of the seats on the tour had been sold in advance, with well over 300 passengers travelling on the train. It appeared to be a difficult time for rail tour operators with a whole page in the magazine devoted to readers letters discussing the topic dramatically entitled “Main Line Steam In Crisis”. From the small section of letters included from amongst the many apparently received on the subject by the editor it is apparent that tour organisers were generally failing to market and promote trains aggressively to a wide audience. In addition, poor time-keeping and the lack of photo opportunities for these onboard coupled with the uncertainty as to if the tour would run or not did little for the future confidence of main line steam. Mr Blowfield admitted that it was difficult to promote trains in a climate when more and more tour operators were competing for the same market, often with several trains running on the same date.

    Many thanks for your corrections, comments, contributions and observations – they are all most welcome. This weeks blog was brought to you courtesy of caramel latte and Twirl bars.

    If you, or someone you know, have been affected by mental health here are a few links below that may help. Two specific to Dorset and an NHS index of further support: 

    http://www.dorsetmentalhealthforum.org.uk

    Home

    https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/

  • Winter Warmer

    Thursday 4th January to Tuesday 10th January 2023

    Southern Railway Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ arrives at Corfe castle in the rain working 2N03 1115 Norden to Swanage – 07/01/2023

    With no trains running in Dorset until Sunday 8th January, it was down to the Swanage Railway to provide railway based entertainment, which they did admirably with their Winter Warm Up event over the weekend of 7th / 8th January 2023. The timetable involved four locomotives running passenger services between Swanage and Norden as well as each loco taking turns on a demonstration freight train which, to be honest, was the main attraction for me. The outlook for the weather forecast was poor, so it was decided Yoshi would remain home with his mama and join me later in the day.

    We started off by seeing Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ passing SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ at Harmans Cross with the first workings of the day.

    Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ in Network South East livery departs Harmans Cross working 2N01 1030 Norden to Swanage – 07/01/2023

    The rain held off until we arrived at Corfe Castle. Waiting for the late running first freight of the weekend in the charge of SR U Class No. 31806 the heavens opened. It was at this point where I think my Canon DSLR camera must have suffered from water ingress. I should have switched the camera off and removed the battery and lens, but I foolishly carried on using it throughout the day until the point it gave up the ghost and would not switch on at all.

    Southern Railway U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 working the first demonstration freight 6N04 1102 Herston Halt to Norden on the Saturday Winter Warm Up event – 07/01/2023
    Here I am getting soaked watching SR Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ departing Corfe Castle working 2N03 1115 Norden to Swanage – 07/01/2023 (Photograph courtesy of @da_buckley967)
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ approaches Harmans Cross with the 2N12 1245 Swanage to Norden service – 07/01/2023
    SR Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 stands at Harmans Cross carrying a “Locomotive Club of Great Britain” (LCGB) headboard 2N09 1245 Norden to Swanage – 07/01/2023
    Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ takes a turn on the freight working 6N11 1302 Norden to Swanage seen here passing Harmans Cross – 07/01/2023
    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 nears Harmans Cross 2N14 1330 Swanage to Norden – 07/01/2023
    The final image taken with my Canon D1200 DSLR camera before it shut down for the last time; Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ prepares to depart Swanage with the 6N22 1527 Swanage to Norden demonstration freight running as part of the Winter Warm Up – 07/01/2023
    Video from Saturday 7th January 2023 Swanage Winter Warm Up

    In 2016 the Winter Warm Up was on 27th December and I recall a frosty start to the day, as can be seen in the set of photographs below:

    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 approaches a frosty Harmans Cross with an early morning service from Swanage – 27/12/2016
    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 arrives at Harmans Cross in cloud of steam with the first steam hauled service of the day from Swanage – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ departing Harmans Cross – 27/12/2016
    A Diesel Multiple Unit set catches the sun at Harmans Cross sidings – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ nears journeys end at Norden – 27/12/2016
    London & South Western Railway (LSWR) 0-4-4T M7 Class No. 30053 being serviced at Swanage shed. No. 30053 is owned by the Drummond Locomotives Limited, and has been running regularly on the Swanage Railway since 1992. No. 30053’s boiler certificate expired in early 2017 but an extension to the certificate was obtained as the boiler had been re-tubed in 2011. The locomotive was in service until the end of October 2017 when the boiler certificate finally ran out.
    In December 2017 the boiler was lifted off the frames to enable the overhaul of the locomotive to start. The boiler was returned to the frames in September 2022 and it is planned that the locomotive will be back in service during 2023. She’s a particular favourite of mine and I look forward to seeing her running again – 27/12/2016
    London & South Western Railway (LSWR) 0-4-4T M7 Class No. 30053 taking shape once again at Swanage Railway’s Herston Works – 01/11/2022
    Three Class 33’s at Swanage, from left to right, No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’, No. 33111 and behind SR Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’, No. 33201 – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. 33111 heads out of Swanage with a train destined for Norden – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ passes the observation area opposite Swanage depot while taking a turn on the freight wagons – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. 33111 recreating a bygone era with a loose coupled freight – 27/12/2016
    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 approaching Corfe Castle – 27/12/2016
    With Corfe Castle in the background, another image of Class 33 No. 33111 working the demonstration freight train – 27/12/2016
    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 takes her turn on the Winter Warm Up freight consist – 27/12/2016
    London & South Western Railway (LSWR) 0-4-4T M7 Class No. 30053 nears Corfe Castle working a demonstration freight – 27/12/2016

    London & South Western Railway (LSWR) 0-4-4T M7 Class No. 30053 stands at Harmans Cross while working a demonstration freight – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. 33111 double heads with sister locomotive No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ on the final working to Swanage on 27/12/2016
    The front end differences can be clearly seen in this image of Class 33 No.’s 33111 and D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No.’s 33111 and D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ are observed by the train crew of a Swanage bound train on their departure to Norden – 27/12/2016

    Tuesday 10th January 2023 and I decided an outing to Eastleigh was in order to test out a replacement camera body and hopefully put it through its paces. It was set to be a busy day in the Hampshire railway town with Class 33 No. D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ scheduled to haul Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ from Swanage to Eastleigh Arlington Works where the Hoover is to undergo a period of winter maintenance, Freightliner Class 47 No. 47830 ‘Beeching’s Legacy’ passing on a trip to Banbury and the release of the latest Class 69 conversion from the Works and its onward journey to Tonbridge. However it transpired that the Class 50 move from Swanage was revised to run the next day, Wednesday 11th January (photos next week my lucky reader!), the Class 47 was replaced by FL Class 66 No. 66596. The Class 69, however was in a reasonably good position for a photograph on the Works following a special naming ceremony earlier in the day.

    GBRf Class 69 No. 69007 ‘Richard Trevithick’ at Eastleigh Works. The locomotive was converted from Class 56 No. 56037 which also carried the same name. Earlier in the day at a private ceremony for the benefit of ex Cardiff Canton employees the loco carried her former number and a double BR arrow emblem underneath the nameplate on one side. Before being released into traffic the 69007 number and GB Railfreight decals were affixed – 10/01/2023

    The Class 69 was scheduled to depart the Works at 1424, but by 1515 she still had to make her way out onto the mainline. At this point, conscious that Yoshi needed a bit of a comfort break, I decided not to wait any longer and instead decided to work our way towards home, stopping briefly to drop off a packet for a couple of Yoshi’s feline friends who are in the area.

    Package duly delivered we drove back through Eastleigh to see No. 69007 had moved up to Works gates and set to head into Eastleigh railway station to reverse before carrying onto Tonbridge. I made my own reversal and headed back into the station where I was just in time to get a photograph of the locomotive standing at platform 3 and video of her departure.

    GBRf Class 69 No. 69007 ‘Richard Trevithick’ reverses at Eastleigh railway station working the delayed 0Z07 1424 Eastleigh Works GBRf to Tonbridge West Yard GBRf – 10/01/2023
    Nameplate detail of Class 69 No. 69007, Eastleigh – 10/01/2023
    Class 56 No. 56037 and an unidentified member of the class working the heavy Port Talbot to LLanwern iron ore train through Cardiff Central. Class 56’s were employed in pairs on this working having replaced the perhaps even more impressive triple headed Class 37’s! At this point in time No. 56037 was yet to be named – 25/05/1981
    Now named ‘Richard Trevithick’, Class 56 No. 56037 is on display at Old Oak Common Open Day – 20/09/1981
    Nameplate detail of Class 56 No. 56037, Old Oak Common – 20/09/1981

    On our way home from Eastleigh as we neared Junction 1 of the M27 my car suddenly lost power and we cautiously limped off the motorway to the relative safety of The White Hart pub at Cadnam where we awaited assistance from the AA and our eventual recovery home. The car is booked in with the garage for Friday. If things happen in three’s, I am nervously awaiting incident number three!!

    My car being checked over by the AA. Unfortunately, it was not a problem that could be fixed at the roadside and we required a lorry to take us home – 10/01/2023
    Yoshi enjoys the delights of The White Hart, Cadnam as we await the arrival of the tow truck – 10/01/2023
    Video of Class 69 No. 69007’s first outing at Eastleigh – 10/01/2023

    Meanwhile, on the Hamworthy Branch, which has yet to see a train run along its length following the recent upgrade work, more remedial effort will be required following the damage to fencing and road crossing lights, as seen in the images below:

    An update to the long running South Western Railway (SWR) Class 701 Electric Multiple Units (EMU) saga has been reported with SWR formally accepting 24 finished units and repeating their commitment to introduce the fleet into service “as early in 2023 as possible”. A concurrent statement from the Department for Transport indicated that work to finalise a service-standard software package for the trains was still underway and that driver training had not yet commenced.

    A number of SWR Class 701 units standing in Eastleigh depot – 10/01/2023
    Class 701 No.’s 701031 and 701025 stabled in Eastleigh Works – 10/01/2023

    Thank you for joining us again this time. All being well, we’ll be back next week as long as I can avoid breaking anything else! This weeks blog was brought to you accompanied by the sounds of Stephen Sanchez, Ludovico Einaudi and Everything But The Girl.

    Endpiece:

    SR Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ at rest on Swanage shed following the first day of the Swanage Railway Winter Warm Up – 07/01/2023

  • Who Nothe?

    30th November to 6th December 2022

    Yoshi at the top of the Fusee Steps at The Nothe, Weymouth – 04/12/2022
    Fusee Steps, The Nothe Weymouth – 04/12/2022
    Broad gauge rail attached to Fusee Steps, The Nothe Weymouth – 04/12/2022

    On Sunday we had a wander around the Nothe in Weymouth where we had a close look at these rails fixed to walls either side of Fusee Steps and wondered what their origin was. Historic England dates the steps and inclined tramway as circa 1860 and describes them as “Three flights of steps with low flanking walls of rendered brick, on which are placed wrought-iron plate rails, forming an inclined tramway for trolleys with double-flange wheels. It was constructed for hauling trolleys transporting ammunition, spares and stores from the quay to Nothe Fort.” We asked the Nothe Fort for any information about the rails, and although there is some dispute about the age and purpose of the them it is believed the tracks themselves are Great Western Railway broad gauge rail, of which large amounts became redundant in the late 19th Century when the GWR converted to standard gauge and much of the track was recycled for use in engineering projects. Many thanks to Geoff Culver from the Nothe Fort Curatorial Team for responding to our questions.

    Yoshi previously visited the Nothe Fort for a silent disco around Luke Jerram’s “Museum of the Moon” – 13/07/2019

    Wednesday 24th November 2022 and it was time for the appearance of the regular 1Z22 0644 Derby Railway Technical Centre to Bristol Kingsland Road via Weymouth test train. This month the train was once again in the charge of two Class 37 locomotives, and we chose to see the train at Maiden Newton as it worked its way down to Weymouth running around eleven minutes late at this point.

    Class 37 No. 37612 approaching Maiden Newton leading 1Z22 0644 Derby Railway Technical Centre to Bristol Kingsland Road – 30/11/2022
    Class 37 No. 37610 having departed Maiden Newton at the rear of 1Z22 0644 Derby Railway Technical Centre to Bristol Kingsland Road – 30/11/2022
    30/11/2022 1Z22 0644 Derby Railway Technical Centre to Bristol Kingsland Road via Weymouth – many thanks for additional video from G E Barrett and @da_buckley967

    We saw both of these locomotives, which are on hire from the Harry Needle Railroad Company at Barrow road earlier in the year:

    Class 37 No. 37612 on static display at Barrow Hill 150+2 – 28/08/2022
    Class 37 No. 37610 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022
    The same pair of locomotives worked the equivalent test train in December 2020 which originated at that time from Tyseley LMD – 02/12/2020
    Class 37 No. 37610 at Weymouth having worked the 0820 Tyseley TMD to Bristol High Level Siding – 22/05/2019
    Class 37 No. 37521 assisted 37610 on this run of the 0820 Tyseley TMD to Bristol High Level Siding test train, seen here at Weymouth – 22/05/2019

    With Christmas fast approaching, it’s the time of year when many UK heritage railways run steam and lights trains, and the Swanage Railway is no exception. Thursday 1st December 2022 saw festive light adorned Southern Railway (SR) U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 and SR Bulleid West Country Pacific 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ top and tailing a trial run for staff and volunteers. The previous evening saw the train operated empty with resident Class 33 diesel locomotives as the final Christamassy tweaks were made to the service.

    SR U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 prepares to depart Swanage with a special outing pre-season opener for the 2022 Steam and Lights train for staff and volunteers – 01/12/2022
    Video of the pre-season steam hauled lights train – 01/12/2022

    The Railway Touring Company ran a steam hauled excursion from London Victoria to Yeovil, stopping to drop off passengers at Sherborne for a Christmas carol service held at Sherborne Abbey on Tuesday 6th April 2022. The rail tour, top and tailed by London Midland & Scottish (LMS) Stanier Black Five 4-6-0 No. 44871 and West Coast Railway Company Class 47 No. 47813, continued on to Yeovil Junction for servicing before heading back to Sherborne to pick up passengers for the return to London.

    Ian Riley’s LMS Stanier Black Five 4-6-0 No. 44871 approaches Sherborne working 1Z82 0830 London Victoria to Yeovil JN DN Main Platform – 06/12/2022
    WCRC Class 47 No. 47813 pauses at Sherborne at the rear of “The Sherborne Christmas Carol” 1Z82 0830 London Victoria to Yeovil JN DN Main Platform – 06/12/2022
    “The Sherborne Christmas Carol” rail tour at Sherborne – 06/12/2022 with additional video kindly provided by Caroline Smith
    While we were in Sherborne, we visited the Castle Garden Centre where Yoshi enjoyed watching the trains on the festive themed model railway – 06/12/2022

    While waiting for the Class 37 test train at Maiden Newton last Wednesday, I remembered that previously the equivalent test train in recent years was often top and tailed by Colas Class 67 locomotives. During this period, the test train was often turned around at Dorchester and missed out the section to Weymouth, very frustrating for those of us waiting at the seaside terminus. The two Colas Class 67 locomotives which were repeatedly turned out for the Tyseley TMD to Bristol High Level Siding via Weymouth test train were No.’s 67023 ‘Stella’ and 67027 ‘Charlotte’. Formerly part of the DB Cargo fleet, in January 2017 these two Class 67’s were sold to Colas Rail and they were repainted into Colas orange and black at Toton Traction Maintenance Depot for use on Network Rail (NR) infrastructure monitoring trains. They received their nameplates in June 2017. In December 2018, the pair were included in a sale of 67 France and UK based locomotives to Beacon Rail Leasing. They were subsequently leased back to Colas Rail. More recently they have been acquired by GBRf for use on operations including charter, passenger and stock moves including hauling the Highland section of the Caledonian Sleeper.

    The Bo-Bo Class 67 diesel-electric locomotives were built for DB Cargo forerunner English Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS) between 1999 and 2000 by Alstom at Meinfesa in Valencia, Spain with the engine, generator and traction motors provided by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. The locomotives are able to supply Electric Train Supply for passenger train heating and air-conditioning. They were at first primarily utilised for mail trains, but with diminishing traffic, the contract finally ceased in March 2004.

    High speed running tests were undertaken with No. 67002 at Alstom’s facility at La Sagra, Toledo, Spain and running on the standard gauge Madrid-Toledo high-speed rail line where a top speed of 143 miles per hour was realised. 

    Colas Class 67 No. 67023 ‘Stella’, Weymouth working 0820 Tyseley TMD to Bristol High Level Siding – 22/04/2020
    Colas Class 67 No. 67023 ‘Stella’ arrives at Weymouth heading 0820 Tyseley TMD to Bristol High Level Siding – 19/06/2019
    Nameplate detail for Colas Class 67 No. 67023 ‘Stella’, Weymouth – 19/06/2019
    Nameplate detail for Colas Class 67 No. 67027 ‘Charlotte’, Weymouth – 19/06/2019
    Colas Class 67 No. 67023 ‘Stella’ at the buffer stops at Weymouth having arrived with 0820 Tyseley TMD to Bristol High Level Siding – 15/07/2020
    Colas Class 67 No. 67027 ‘Charlotte’ ready to depart Weymouth with 0820 Tyseley TMD to Bristol High Level Siding – 15/07/2020
    A dirty Colas Class 67 No. 67027 ‘Charlotte’ at Weymouth working 0820 Tyseley TMD to Bristol High Level Siding – 19/06/2019
    Various visits to Weymouth by Colas Freight Class 67 locomotives all mashed up

    Another blog entry draws to a close. Thank you for reading and for your comments, corrections and contributions. We’ll leave you with this thought; “Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them, filling an emptiness we don’t even know we have.” – Thom Jones (1945-2016)

    Yoshi and I meet for the first time – 16/03/2019

  • We’re One Year Old!

    17th November to 22nd November 2022

    Yoshi with SR Unrebuilt Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ at Corfe Castle railway station on the Swanage Railway – 17/11/2022

    We first posted in Yoshi’s blog on 22nd November 2021 so I, for one, am very pleased we have completed a year of entries. Thank you for joining us if this is your first time or your 58th time. We really do appreciate everyone who has taken time out to read our words, look at our pictures or watch our video clips. Thank you for your comments, updates, suggestions and corrections over the past year.

    This last week began with a Thursday lunchtime trip to Corfe Castle on the Swanage Railway to see SR Unrebuilt Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ which was out on test running light engine. The locomotive has only recently been returned to traffic and later in the day she also hauled two carriages in a loaded test run from Swanage.

    SR Unrebuilt Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ departs Corfe Castle during a running in test run – 17/11/2022
    SR Unrebuilt Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ at Corfe Castle during a running in test run – 17/11/2022
    Nameplate and crest detail of SR Unrebuilt Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ – 17/11/2022
    Yoshi takes a closer look at SR Unrebuilt Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ while at Corfe Castle – 17/11/2022

    In the evening we went along to the Dorset Museum’s “Museum after Hours” event in Dorchester. It was the first time I had visited the museum since its £16.4m refurbishment and May 2021 re-opening. The new museum galleries are spacious, the displays well thought out with a child friendly leaning. The railways of Dorset are covered by one display panel and a Brio style model track circle as part of the Trade and Industry section within the “People’s Dorset” gallery on the first floor.

    Dorset Museum celebrates the railways in Dorset – 17/11/2022

    I very much enjoyed seeing a number of sculptures from Dame Elisabeth Frink (1930 – 1993) who I have very fond memories of meeting at the museum many years ago while on a school visit. The “Artists’ Dorset” gallery was perhaps my favourite of what is currently on offer at the museum.

    Leonardo’s Dog (Bronze, edition of 6, 1990) – on a visit to the Loire, Dame Elisabeth Frink came across a stone dog at the entrance to Leonardo Da Vinci’s house that inspired her to create this work. Frink admired the traits of loyalty and dignity which she felt were often lacking in humans – 17/11/2022
    In August 1996 Dame Elisabeth was one of five ‘Women of Achievement’ selected for a set of British stamps 

    In 2016/17, the Dorset County Museum (as we called it then) held an excellent exhibition of railway posters and station roundels called “Speed to the West” curated by “Antiques Roadshow” expert Paul Atterbury and collector Richard Furness. I was, of course, particularly pleased that some Terrence Cuneo posters were included and I’d be very pleased if the museum did a repeat showing!

    Dorset County Museum’s “Speed to the West” curated by Antiques Roadshow expert Paul Atterbury and collector Richard Furness – 19/03/2016
    Dorset County Museum’s “Speed to the West” curated by Antiques Roadshow expert Paul Atterbury and collector Richard Furness – 19/03/2016
    Dorset County Museum’s “Speed to the West” curated by Antiques Roadshow expert Paul Atterbury and collector Richard Furness – 19/03/2016

    Friday morning was the start of a long weekend with a return trip to the Naval Dockyards at Portsmouth. Our intention this time was to see the Submarine Museum which we didn’t have time for on our previous visit in the summer, but with the special boat which is used to ferry visitors across to Gosport not running, we elected instead to postpone clambering around the submarines and instead visited the ships on show in Portsmouth.

    There are still a few remains of the once extensive Portsmouth dockyard railway system still in evidence:

    Began in 1843 within the walls of the dockyard, the railway was connected to the national network in 1846 via the “Admiralty Line” between Unicorn Gate and Portsmouth Town station (now Portsmouth & Southsea). By 1952, at its peak, there were around 27 miles of track within the docks used for transporting goods, equipment and personnel. In the 1970’s the railway declined and the link to the main line was closed in 1977 with the dockyard railway closing entirely a year later.

    HMS M.33 built in 1915 is not only the sole remaining British veteran of the bloody Dardanelles Campaign of 1915-1916, but also of the Russian Civil War which followed. The ship is one of just three British warships from World War I still in existence. Behind the ship you can see two railway wagons which remain in evidence – 18/11/2022
    According to a list of crew on board HMS M.33 in 1915, there were two ship’s dogs. Squab belonged to the captain, Preston-Thomas and Nell belonged to the crew. There was also a ship’s cat, Miss Muggins and the wheelhouse had a cat flap – 18/11/2022
    I didn’t video many trains on this Portsmouth outing – but this video clip includes DB Class 66 No. 66013 working 4021 0915 Trafford Park Euro Terminal to Southampton Western Docks Berth 109, GWR Class 166 No. 166215 working 1F26 1623 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central, GWR Class 165 No. 165129 with Class 166 No. 166203 working 1F24 1523 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central, Southern Class 377 No. 377158 working 1S24 1400 Brighton to Portsmouth Harbour and an RHTT configured MPV working 3S82 0611 Totton Yard to Totton Yard – 18/11/2022

    Saturday evening saw Yoshi’s mum and myself in West Bay for dinner at the Station Kitchen which is situated at the former West Bay railway station. Originally called Bridport Harbour, the name was changed by the Great Western Railway to make it sound a more desirable holiday destination. Passenger services between Bridport and West Bay ended in 1930 with goods traffic remaining until closure in 1962. The restaurant comprises the dog-friendly 1884 station building and two railway carriages which have been transported to the site. The first carriage, which we dined in, GWR No. 2370 named ‘Brunel’ is a toplight brake corridor coach built in 1911 and purchased for use by the Station Kitchen in 2015. The carriage has quite a history having been used as a makeshift hospital in France during World War I and a tool coach in Worcester in the 1950’s before its restoration in Oswestry.

    The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 19/11/2022
    Station building interior – The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 19/11/2022
    ‘Brunel’ – The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 19/11/2022
    ‘Brunel’ interior – The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 19/11/2022
    ‘Brunel’ interior – The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 19/11/2022

    The second coach at West Bay is BR MK1 corridor second No. 25646 built in Gloucester in 1958 and was being used as a mess coach at Toddington when it was purchased for its new life at West Bay. This carriage has been named ‘Beeching’.

    ‘Beeching’ – The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 19/11/2022
    ‘Beeching’ interior – The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 19/11/2022

    The food was amazing, with perhaps the best cheesecake I’ve tasted. The staff were friendly, professional and attentive. If Yoshi had joined us, he would not have hesitated in giving the Station Kitchen five barks out of five.

    Yoshi visited The Station Kitchen, West Bay in April – 15/04/2022
    The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 15/04/2022
    The Station Kitchen, West Bay before the addition of the carriages – 31/03/2016
    The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 31/03/2016
    The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 31/03/2016

    On our Sunday morning walk, Yoshi and I went along to Lake Road in Hamworthy to see work being carried out on the railway bridge. Rotten timbers on which the railway line is carried were replaced and the area re-ballasted involving a team from Sonic Rail Services, who specialise in bridge strengthening and Network Rail. We await news of the first train to make it down the restored Hamworthy Branch with anticipation!

    Lake Road bridge works – 20/11/2022

    Lake Road bridge works – 20/11/2022
    The crossing at Ashmore Road looking towards Poole Port was managed by Network Rail staff – 20/11/2022
    A Network Rail Mercedes-Benz lorry reverses into the compound where the original Poole station was located. This later became Hamworthy Goods. The lorry, from Eastleigh, had arrived to collect the old timbers which had been removed from Lake Road bridge – 20/11/2022
    Bridge works at Lake Road – 20/11/2022

    Finally, Monday evening once again saw the regular Class 73 hauled track inspection test train heading to Weymouth. We elected to see the train pass through Poole on its outward journey working as 1Q51 1115 Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard in the capable charge of GBRf No.’s 73965 ‘Des O’Brien’ and 73961 ‘Alison’.

    1Q51 1115 Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard – 21/11/2022

    That’s it for another week! This entry was brought to you accompanied by the sounds of rainbow frog biscuit, Zeph, Ron Grainer & Delia Derbyshire (happy 59th birthday Doctor Who!). Until next time, remember; “The most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog” – Ambrose Bierce (1842 – 1914 or thereabouts).