Crowds gathered at Swanage Railway in Dorset, to hear a heritage steam locomotive blow its whistle to signal the start of the 200th anniversary celebrations of the modern railway.
At 12 noon on Wednesday 1st January 2025, the crew of the Swanage Railway Trust’s unique Victorian T3 class steam locomotive No. 563 blew its whistle as the engine departed Swanage station hauling a passenger train to Corfe Castle and Norden.
The event at Swanage Railway marked the start of a year-long celebration of the 200th anniversary of the modern railway
Inspiring a new generation of young people
Railway 200 is a year-long nationwide campaign to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway with the aim of inspiring a new generation of young people to choose a career in rail.
The locomotive crew that proudly blew the whistle of the 1893 built T3 were volunteer driver Billy Johnson from Swanage and volunteer fireman Aidan Strand from Poole.
Fireman Aidan Strand (left) with T3 driver Billy Johnson (right) with his hand on the whistle at Swanage station
“Incredible privilege”
Fireman Aidan Strand said:
“The Swanage Railway means a lot to me as it provides the incredible privilege of operating steam locomotives preserved by groups of hopeful enthusiasts decades ago. I consider myself extremely lucky to have such an opportunity.
“When I first started volunteering, the main appeal to me was working with various steam and diesel locomotives. However, the more time I’ve spent volunteering at the Swanage Railway, the more the other benefits have made themselves clear – such as being surrounded by a large number of like-minded people who share the same interest and the friends, banter and feeling of camaraderie which results.
“It was great to participate in the Railway 200 Whistle Up, as it was to be a part of history and the legacy of railways as a whole. I doubt that two centuries ago those initial entrepreneurs, or the public, would have even considered railways powered by steam locomotives still being around 200 years on.”
Organised by the Heritage Railway Association, other railways taking part in the whistle off included North Dorset Railway, Isle of Wight Steam Railway and Didcot Rail Centre.
T3 loco crew and cleaners taking part in the Railway 200 Whistle Up at Swanage station
Railway timeline
- 1825 – Stockton and Darlington Railway opened
- 1847 – first railway in Dorset opened
- 1885 – Swanage branch line opened
- 1972 – Swanage branch line closed
- 1976 – Start of restoration of Swanage branch line
- 2025 – 140th anniversary of Swanage Railway on Tuesday 20th May
- 2025 – 200th anniversary of the modern railway on Tuesday 27th September
The first railway was the Stockton and Darlington Railway which opened on Tuesday 27th September 1825 while the first to be built in Dorset opened in 1847.
It wasn’t until 1885 that a ten mile branch line railway linking Swanage and Corfe Castle with Wareham, on the main railway line to London, was opened – an historic move that turned Swanage from a fishing and quarrying town into a popular seaside resort and the picturesque village of Corfe Castle into a desirable day-trip destination.
In 1885, the new 25 minute train journey from Swanage to Wareham cost eleven pence compared with a traditional horse and carriage journey which took one and a half hours at a ticket price of two shillings and sixpence.
Swanage station in the 1880s
“Railway 200 celebrates the past, present and future”
Swanage Railway Trust chair, Frank Roberts said:
“The Swanage Railway was proud to mark the start of the Railway 200 celebrations highlighting the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway which changed Britain and the world.
“Railway 200 celebrates the past, present and future of rail and we are delighted that our two museums – the museum in the restored goods shed at Corfe Castle station and the Purbeck Mining Museum next to Norden station – showcase the important contributions that railways, both standard gauge and narrow gauge, have made to the Isle of Purbeck across almost two centuries.”
Swanage Railway celebrates the 140th anniversary of its opening on Tuesday 20th May 2025.
It took almost 40 years of battling by Isle of Purbeck businessmen before they were allowed to build the ten mile branch line linking Wareham and Swanage, and then a further two years of construction work costing more than £80,000 in Victorian money, before the first steam train departed Swanage on Wednesday 20th May 1885.
After being controversially closed by British Rail in January 1972, Swanage Railway volunteers started another battle in February 1976, this time lasting 30 years to rebuild the line and restore the boarded up Swanage station.
The Victorian T3 loco will be back for the Winter Warm Up
Warm up at Swanage Railway
The first weekend event of 2025 for Swanage Railway is the Winter Warm Up which takes place on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th January 2025.
Back in action will be the Victorian T3 steam locomotive, alongside the 1940s rebuilt Battle of Britain class Bulleid Pacific No. 34070 Manston and the 1920s Southern Railway U class No. 31806.
The classic heritage diesel locomotive to be featured over the weekend will be the 1960 ex-British Railways Class 33 diesel-electric No. D6515 Lt Jenny Lewis RN.
There will also be a recreation of a freight train of wagons and box vans of the type that ran across the south of England – including the Swanage branch – in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Event organiser and volunteer Swanage Railway Trust deputy chair Alex Atkins said:
“The Winter Warm Up will be a wonderful and nostalgic weekend celebrating the best of steam and diesel trains with the undoubted star of the show being the Swanage Railway Trust’s unique and delightful Victorian T3 class London and South Western Railway steam locomotive No. 563 built in 1893.”
Watch the Whistle Up filmed by The Southerner
Further information
- Railway 200 website
- More about Swanage Railway events for 2025 including the Winter Warm Up
