Steaming into 2026, a special Winter Warm Up event at Swanage Railway in Dorset will celebrate 50 years since work started to restore the branch line.
It was in February 1976, that a small group of volunteers started rebuilding the disused and boarded up Swanage station, undoing the work of British Rail which had closed down the line and ripped up the train tracks in 1972.
Swanage station on Saturday 14th February 1976 – the first day volunteers started the railway’s restoration
Five heritage locomotives
Taking place on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th January 2026, the Winter Warm Up will feature five heritage locomotives – three steam and two diesel – dating from the 1890s through to the 1960s.
The passenger and freight trains will run from Swanage to Harman’s Cross, Corfe Castle and Norden – with some passenger trains running beyond Norden on the four-mile line to the River Frome, within sight of Wareham.
Built in the late 1920s, Southern Railway U class No. 31806 used to haul holidaymaker trains to Corfe Castle and Swanage from Basingstoke and Eastleigh during the 1950s
Bulleid Pacific No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ has returned to Swanage after hauling excursion trains on the national railway network
The newly restored T3 No. 563 from the 1890s is quite a showstopper
Steam locomotives
- Southern Railway U class No. 31806 from the 1920s
- Southern Railway West Country class Bulleid Pacific No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ from the 1940s
- London and South Western Railway T3 No. 563 from the 1890s
Diesel locomotives
- British Railways Class 33 No. D6515 ‘Jenny Lewis RN’ from the early 1960s
- British Railways Class 33 No. 33 053 from the early 1960s
Built in the Midlands in 1960, ex-British Railways Class 33 diesel-electric No. D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ hauled London to Swanage trains during the summer of 1966
Built in 1961, ex-British Railways Class 33 diesel-electric No. 33 053 was based at the Hither Green and Stewarts Lane depots of British Rail during its working career
“Special 50th anniversary year”
Swanage Railway chief executive officer Abbie King said:
“The Winter Warm Up is a fitting way to launch the Swanage Railway’s special 50th anniversary year.
“With our home fleet of steam and diesel locomotives out for the weekend, along with refreshments and a bar on some of the trains, it promises a relaxed and sociable start to this milestone year.
“Watch out for more exciting announcements about what’s coming to the Swanage Railway in 2026.”
Bulleid Pacific No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ was recently restored and updated so it could run on the mainline for the Railway Touring Company
Eddy is back at Swanage
Operating to an intensive timetable there will also be a re-creation of a nostalgic freight train of wagons and box vans of the type that ran across the south of England, including the Swanage branch line, in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Newly upgraded for main line running, No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ has returned to the Swanage Railway after hauling several excursion trains on the national railway network for the first time since 1964, when the locomotive was withdrawn from British Railways service.
Bulleid Pacifics like ‘Eddystone’ hauled trains from London to Corfe Castle and Swanage from the 1940s up until the end of the 1960s.
Freight trains will also be running along the tracks showing how goods used to arrive in Swanage
Museum, shop, and refreshments
Swanage station shop is expected to be open during the Winter Warm Up weekend, while refreshments and snacks will be available at Swanage and Norden stations, as well as on some of the trains.
At Corfe Castle station, it’s planned that the Swanage Railway museum – housed in the restored Victorian good shed – will be open across the special weekend.
Swanage Railway events 2026
- Winter Warm Up: Saturday 3rd to Sunday 4th January
- Community Weekend: Saturday 14th to Sunday 15th February
- Railway 200 Exhibition Train: |Monday 16th to Wednesday 18th February
- Spring Steam Gala: Friday 27th to Sunday 29th March
- Peter Rabbit Easter Experience: Friday 3rd to Monday 6th April
- Model Railway Weekend: Saturday 11th to Sunday 12th April
- Diesel Gala and Beer Festival: Friday 8th to Sunday 10th May
- Roads to Rail Steam Rally: Friday 26th to Monday 29th June
- Autumn Steam Gala: Friday 11th to Sunday 13th September
Further information
- More about Swanage Railway events
