April 2008

Hot Reminder - ‘Railway at Work’ Weekend, 5-6 April.

See behind the scenes and talk to the people who make our Railway work. At Swanage, visit the footplate of a loco and tour other parts of the Railway, including the Signal Box and the Carriage & Wagon Workshops. Events also at Corfe Castle, Norden and Herston Loco Works. Learn about the opportunities for volunteers. Open from 10.00 am on both days.

Branch Line Weekend

Make a date for 12-13 April, when we re-create the aura of a typical Southern seaside branch line of the 1960s, with a variety of steam and diesel-hauled passenger trains. A goods train will run and there will be vintage motorcycles and cars at Corfe Castle and Norden Stations. On Saturday only there will be evening trains with bar & dining facilities.

Evening Trains.

Our evening diesel service between Swanage and Corfe Castle now operates every Friday and Saturday until the end of September. Enjoy unlimited travel after 5.00 pm for £4 (concessions £3). The 18.10 diesel from Swanage works through to Norden Park & Ride.

For train times call at the Station, phone 01929 425800 or visit www.swanagerailway.co.uk.

Purbeck Railway Circle

We next meet on Friday 18 April when Colin Boocock will give us a slide show about ‘Eastleigh Locomotive Works’. Colin worked there in the 50’s and 60’s and he will cover its history, some detail of his times there, and a brief summary of the Works' later years and the reasons for its demise. He is co-author of a book on the Works, which is on sale in Swanage Railway Bookshop. We meet in the Catholic Church Hall, Rempstone Road, Swanage, at 7.00 for 7.30 pm. and all are welcome.

Michael Walshaw, Secretary PRC, Station House, Swanage, BH19 1HB, phone 01929 421913.

Back in Harness!

If anyone had told me back in 1967 that 40 years later I would still be involved with steam locomotives, I would have thought them ‘off their heads’. Likewise, when BR pulled up the track from Furzebrook to Swanage, I thought the Swanage Railway people were ‘off their heads’, thinking that they would never get it running again. Thankfully for me they succeeded against all odds and have created a major player in the Purbeck tourist industry. And I am now able to do the very thing that I set out to do when joining BR in 1964, that is become a steam engine driver!

It began for me at Swanage when a volunteer on the Railway invited me for a footplate ride in 1991. It only took a trip to Harmans Cross to fire up that passion again, and I promptly signed up to become a member of the Southern Steam Trust and joined the roster as an engine cleaner - back to where I began when I left school in 1964.

It was special for me too because I was the fireman on the last steam loco in BR days to work down the branch on the Furzebrook clay train. The loco was West Country Class 34021 Dartmoor on 7 July 1967 and I was on the job all the week with Bournemouth driver Percy Stone.

Anyway, back to my second coming as a steam engineman – it was a bit different this time round, because I was doing the work as a volunteer. I noticed straight away that we came from all walks of life but shared this common interest. It struck me, as a professional railwayman, that most of these people were going about their work as if they’d been doing it all their working lives, and in a very professional manner.

Mel Cox back on the footplate. Photo A.P.M. Wright

After 18 months as a cleaner, I was passed as a fireman, and surprisingly I was as nervous this time as I was the first time as a young lad passing out in front of the Locomotive Inspector. In 1994 I was passed as a driver. One of my first jobs was to drive Flying Scotsman. The thing about working on the Swanage Railway is you get to work on locos you would never have worked on in BR days! The engineer of Flying Scotsman, Roland Kennington, said “Once you step on this locomotive, you are in show business”. It was true, I couldn’t believe the number of times I signed my autograph that week!

The years have flown by and the Railway has moved on in leaps and bounds. I took early retirement from Virgin Trains in September 2007 and am now a member of the paid staff on the Swanage Railway, thoroughly enjoying working alongside a great bunch of people. I still very much enjoy volunteering for footplate duties - it’s a grand life and I can recommend it to anybody - no matter what your talent is, the railway can use it!

Mel Cox

If you are interested in helping us in any way, contact our Volunteer Liaison Officer, Mike Whitwam, SRT, Station House, Swanage, BH19 1HB or leave a note for him at Swanage Station Booking Office, phone him on 01929 422555 or email him on volunteer@swanagerailwaytrust.org.uk.