THE GLORIOUS YEARS

The Swanage Railway’s official photographer and press officer ANDREW P.M. WRIGHT showcases the Isle of Purbeck line’s swansong.

Remembering the 50th anniversary of steam’s finale on the Swanage branch

The Swanage Railway has literally reversed its closure. Fifty years ago, on September 4 1966, steam operations on the branch came to an end, when BR Standard ‘4MT’ 2‑6‑0 No. 76010 hauled the final timetabled train over the Purbeck line. The next day, three‑ coach ‘Hampshire’ DEMUs took over until services were withdrawn altogether on New Year’s Day 1972. Official closure took place two days later, and BR soon tore up the rails. How ironic is it that the 11½‑mile branch between Swanage and Wareham has been reinstated; that the line’s northern extension and link to the main line is on the verge of re‑opening fully; and that DMUs will once again be the mainstay of regular passenger services to Wareham in a year or so? The reversal of fortunes doesn’t stop there. Steam will supersede the multiple units before long as the railway’s fleet is brought up to main line standards. It will be the realisation of a 40‑year‑old dream. The Swanage branch was the last refuge for the Drummond ‘M7’ 0‑4‑4Ts, the last survivors of the class being stabled at Bournemouth to work the Purbeck line. The last was withdrawn in 1964 but, happily, sole operational survivor No. 30053 has made Swanage its home in preservation. Soon, ex‑Southern designs would give way to Ivatt 2‑6‑2Ts and then BR Standard ‘4MT’ 2‑6‑0s and 2‑6‑4Ts. Steam would not end altogether in 1966, as the branch was a common haunt for Southern ‘End of Steam’ railtours the following year. Steam’s demise on the Swanage branch may not have the same significance as other high‑ profile closures in 1966 ‑ such as the S&D in March that year, and the Great Central, also in September ‑ but it demonstrated even on the Southern Region, one of steam’s last redoubts, that steam was very much on the way out. + In many instances, the photographer is unknown.