Swanage Railway commemorates 50th closure anniversary
Railway operated a special event on January 1-3 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the closure of the Wareham to Swanage line on January 3, 1972. The final British Rail-operated passenger service – operated by two three-car DEMUS – actually ran on January 1, 1972 as there was no winter Sunday services on the route. Five hundred passengers marked the closure by travelling on the last service, with departure from Swanage at 10.15pm for the 25-minute journey to Wareham. To commemorate the anniversary, the Swanage Railway operated one of its three-carriage Class 117 DMUS, working five trains each day between Norden, Corfe Castle, Harman’s Cross, and Swanage. The railway also offered the first 50 passengers who booked their tickets online the unbeatable offer of paying the 1972 fare for the journey of 50p per person.
Swanage Railway’s Peter Frost was one of the drivers who drove the DMU during the 50th anniversary celebration – and he had been one of the passengers to travel on the final Br-operated train half a century earlier. He said: “It’s a great privilege to be chosen to drive the last British Rail train 50th anniversary service because, in 1972, bringing the railway back seemed impossible.
“It doesn’t seem 50 years ago since I rode on the last British Rail train to Swanage and back to Corfe Castle as a 13-year-old. The train was packed and it was a deeply sad occasion because everyone though the line was gone forever.
“I had known the Swanage branch as a child and its staff were extended members of my family. It was very sad to watch British Rail run down the train service and make staff redundant during its five-year attempt to close the line.”