HUNDREDS of rail and real ale enthusiasts packed out Purbeck at the weekend for Swanage Railway’s annual Diesel Gala and associated Dorset Beer Festival.

The three-day event, which started on Friday, included a poignant tribute to three soldiers killed in Afghanistan last month.

Among the 11 diesel locomotives taking part in the was the 1961 engine, Royal Highland Fusilier.

It carried a wreath in honour of Cpl William Savage and Fusilier Samuel Flint, of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, and Territorial Army soldier Pte Robert Hetherington, of the 51st Highland, 7th Battalion.

The men were killed when their armoured Mastiff vehicle was hit by a huge roadside bomb in Helmand on April 30.

Royal Highland Fusilier was one of eight visiting locomotives taking part in the gala.

Graham Clarke, of the Deltic Preservation Society, said: “We wanted to honour the memory of the three fallen heroes from the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

“We’re proud to bear the name on our locomotive and we have a duty to show respect to the Royal Highland Fusiliers.

“That’s why we displayed the wreath on the front of our locomotive to show our respect to the fallen – and to show our support for those who are injured.”

Corfe Castle’s Bankes Arms pub, where the associated beer festival was based, remained busy throughout the weekend.

There was even an anniversary edition of ‘Old Pusher’ pale ale among the 50 or so beers on offer.