Swanage Railway claim £1.47 million grant (From Bournemouth Echo)

Well done to all the staff and volunteers who have worked so hard over the past 40 years to make The Swanage Railway such a great asset to the area.

Good news! As a teenage train-spotter in Bournemouth back in the late 50's, I look forward in my dotage, catching a train from Bournemouth and changing at Wareham for Swanage. Can't wait!

Graham Rees wrote:
Good news! As a teenage train-spotter in Bournemouth back in the late 50's, I look forward in my dotage, catching a train from Bournemouth and changing at Wareham for Swanage. Can't wait!

Ditto Graham. I remember doing that trip as a schoolboy in the early 60's.

A wonderful job has been done by the volunteers at Swange Railway.
This matter of the reconnection to Wareham is however in danger of getting boring to the layman.

Many times over the past several years we have been informed this is about to happen, has happened, will happen when the signals are upgraded...., cannot happen until..., will happen when this that or the other.....
Sorry, but this just seems to be going on forever and costing a fortune.

The physical track connection to Wareham and Network Rail certainly took place a long time ago and trains/locomotives have indeed used it.

Maybe the real problem is when the ambitious and capable Swanage Railway volunteers try to connect with feet-dragging, jobsworth railway professionals who are trying to make money from this at every opportunity.

Somehow I think our Victorian Railway builders would have had this sorted in a few inexpensive days, not many, many costly years!

muscliffman wrote:
A wonderful job has been done by the volunteers at Swange Railway.
This matter of the reconnection to Wareham is however in danger of getting boring to the layman.

Many times over the past several years we have been informed this is about to happen, has happened, will happen when the signals are upgraded...., cannot happen until..., will happen when this that or the other.....
Sorry, but this just seems to be going on forever and costing a fortune.

The physical track connection to Wareham and Network Rail certainly took place a long time ago and trains/locomotives have indeed used it.

Maybe the real problem is when the ambitious and capable Swanage Railway volunteers try to connect with feet-dragging, jobsworth railway professionals who are trying to make money from this at every opportunity.

Somehow I think our Victorian Railway builders would have had this sorted in a few inexpensive days, not many, many costly years!

Very true.
I remember hearing about a possible service between Wareham and Swanage a while back, and talking about how myself and fellow pupils attending the Purbeck School could take the train to school.
I left the Purbeck School in 1994.....

Made that trip for seven long years to school and work.

You can shove it up your sidings.

Absolutely fantastic news, I cannot wait to make that trip.
At least now we are not stuck with having no choice but to pay the ferryman and being stuck in queues of traffic all summer when we take a trip to Swanage.

This will be a great boost to the local economy as well as the town itself.

All I would add is that it should never have been taken off in the first place.

always great to see really negative stuff in the comment section. makes me glad i made the right choice and left the UK
nearly fifty years ago.
Good luck to the SR, their volunteers and indeed to the people who will get the jobs, I would have thought that might have brought out the positive side in some!!

jollife - "always great to see really negative stuff in the comment section. makes me glad i made the right choice and left the UK
nearly fifty years ago."

Speaking of negative!

Melanie.Read12 wrote:

muscliffman wrote:
A wonderful job has been done by the volunteers at Swange Railway.
This matter of the reconnection to Wareham is however in danger of getting boring to the layman.

Many times over the past several years we have been informed this is about to happen, has happened, will happen when the signals are upgraded...., cannot happen until..., will happen when this that or the other.....
Sorry, but this just seems to be going on forever and costing a fortune.

The physical track connection to Wareham and Network Rail certainly took place a long time ago and trains/locomotives have indeed used it.

Maybe the real problem is when the ambitious and capable Swanage Railway volunteers try to connect with feet-dragging, jobsworth railway professionals who are trying to make money from this at every opportunity.

Somehow I think our Victorian Railway builders would have had this sorted in a few inexpensive days, not many, many costly years!

Very true.
I remember hearing about a possible service between Wareham and Swanage a while back, and talking about how myself and fellow pupils attending the Purbeck School could take the train to school.
I left the Purbeck School in 1994.....

Quite a few weekend volunteers down at Swanage are full time railwaymen who work for Network Rail and South West Trains during the week. The fact is, it has taken a lot longer to reconnect than many people would have liked, and sadly many supporters from the early days have passed away without seeing regular passenger trains connecting Swanage with Wareham. The connection was indeed made years ago, but there has been only limited signalling in place, the track between Norden and Worgret needed upgrading and nobody had the money to do it. Without this grant, it could have been years before completion of the link, so I would rather applaud the people who have made it possible, rather than denigrate the very capable railway professionals who have gone out of their way to help Swanage Railway over the years. Some of these professional railwaymen joined BR as the line was being closed, but were unable to do anything as youngsters, and have now risen to levels where they have been able to help put right what they knew as youngsters was wrong. From me, it is a huge thanks to everybody involved in the work behind the scenes, as well as the more visible jobs that have been done over the years.

davecook wrote:

Melanie.Read12 wrote:

muscliffman wrote:
A wonderful job has been done by the volunteers at Swange Railway.
This matter of the reconnection to Wareham is however in danger of getting boring to the layman.

Many times over the past several years we have been informed this is about to happen, has happened, will happen when the signals are upgraded...., cannot happen until..., will happen when this that or the other.....
Sorry, but this just seems to be going on forever and costing a fortune.

The physical track connection to Wareham and Network Rail certainly took place a long time ago and trains/locomotives have indeed used it.

Maybe the real problem is when the ambitious and capable Swanage Railway volunteers try to connect with feet-dragging, jobsworth railway professionals who are trying to make money from this at every opportunity.

Somehow I think our Victorian Railway builders would have had this sorted in a few inexpensive days, not many, many costly years!

Very true.
I remember hearing about a possible service between Wareham and Swanage a while back, and talking about how myself and fellow pupils attending the Purbeck School could take the train to school.
I left the Purbeck School in 1994.....

Quite a few weekend volunteers down at Swanage are full time railwaymen who work for Network Rail and South West Trains during the week. The fact is, it has taken a lot longer to reconnect than many people would have liked, and sadly many supporters from the early days have passed away without seeing regular passenger trains connecting Swanage with Wareham. The connection was indeed made years ago, but there has been only limited signalling in place, the track between Norden and Worgret needed upgrading and nobody had the money to do it. Without this grant, it could have been years before completion of the link, so I would rather applaud the people who have made it possible, rather than denigrate the very capable railway professionals who have gone out of their way to help Swanage Railway over the years. Some of these professional railwaymen joined BR as the line was being closed, but were unable to do anything as youngsters, and have now risen to levels where they have been able to help put right what they knew as youngsters was wrong. From me, it is a huge thanks to everybody involved in the work behind the scenes, as well as the more visible jobs that have been done over the years.

Fair comment and very diplomatic!

Best wishes to the Railway, I think we can agree better frustratingly late than not at all.

davecook wrote:

Melanie.Read12 wrote:

muscliffman wrote:
A wonderful job has been done by the volunteers at Swange Railway.
This matter of the reconnection to Wareham is however in danger of getting boring to the layman.

Many times over the past several years we have been informed this is about to happen, has happened, will happen when the signals are upgraded...., cannot happen until..., will happen when this that or the other.....
Sorry, but this just seems to be going on forever and costing a fortune.

The physical track connection to Wareham and Network Rail certainly took place a long time ago and trains/locomotives have indeed used it.

Maybe the real problem is when the ambitious and capable Swanage Railway volunteers try to connect with feet-dragging, jobsworth railway professionals who are trying to make money from this at every opportunity.

Somehow I think our Victorian Railway builders would have had this sorted in a few inexpensive days, not many, many costly years!

Very true.
I remember hearing about a possible service between Wareham and Swanage a while back, and talking about how myself and fellow pupils attending the Purbeck School could take the train to school.
I left the Purbeck School in 1994.....

Quite a few weekend volunteers down at Swanage are full time railwaymen who work for Network Rail and South West Trains during the week. The fact is, it has taken a lot longer to reconnect than many people would have liked, and sadly many supporters from the early days have passed away without seeing regular passenger trains connecting Swanage with Wareham. The connection was indeed made years ago, but there has been only limited signalling in place, the track between Norden and Worgret needed upgrading and nobody had the money to do it. Without this grant, it could have been years before completion of the link, so I would rather applaud the people who have made it possible, rather than denigrate the very capable railway professionals who have gone out of their way to help Swanage Railway over the years. Some of these professional railwaymen joined BR as the line was being closed, but were unable to do anything as youngsters, and have now risen to levels where they have been able to help put right what they knew as youngsters was wrong. From me, it is a huge thanks to everybody involved in the work behind the scenes, as well as the more visible jobs that have been done over the years.

Don't get me wrong, I am very pleased for SR and all the volunteers. I have spent many a happy hour travelling between Norden and Swanage.
I just hope for all, that this comes off after so many years of waiting

"Somehow I think our Victorian Railway builders would have had this sorted in a few inexpensive days, not many, many costly years!"


The Swanage Branch was first proposed in 1847 and opened in 1885, so it wasn't days and it wasn't inexpensive!