A STEAM locomotive that starred in a landmark documentary film of the 1930s has visited Purbeck for the first time.

The 1920s Royal Scot class express steam locomotive ran on the Swanage Railway line at the head of a special excursion train from London.

It starred in the 1936 film, Night Mail, which documented the way post was delivered by train in the 1930s.

It featured the poem Night Mail, by W H Auden, which he wrote for the film.

Swanage Railway general manager Matt Green explained: "A commercial, aesthetic and nostalgic success, Night Mail was made by the General Post Office (GPO) film unit and highly praised by the film critics of the time.

"Widely considered a masterpiece of the British documentary film movement of the 1930s and the 1940s, the documentary told the story of a London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) mail train running from London to Scotland.

"Starring Royal Scot locomotive No. 6115 'Scots Guardsman', the film became a classic of its kind and has been frequently imitated in modern short films and advertisements."

In 1947 No. 6115 was rebuilt by Sir William Stainer and repainted in the London Midland and Scottish Railway's post war 1946 livery.

The Scots Guardsman visited the Swanage Railway on July 14.

Mr Green said: "It was great to see lots of happy passengers spill off the train at Swanage in perfect weather – blue skies, full sun and with a refreshing breeze – before spending three hours enjoying the delights of the seaside town which sits on the Jurassic Coast.

"The Royal Scot is an impressive steam locomotive and it was wonderful to see it running into Swanage at the head of the Swanage Belle.

"The fact that Scots Guardsman starred in the classic and landmark 1936 documentary film Night Mail makes the locomotive even more special."