THE railwayman who signalled the very last British Rail train out of Swanage station has attended a rather special anniversary.

Retired Network Rail signalman Bob Richards joined passengers to mark the 40th anniversary of that last historic journey.

The Corfe Castle resident was reunited with two pieces of signalling equipment he last used on New Year’s Day 1972.

He also met passengers, Malcolm Munro, Peter Sills and his father Frederick, who travelled on that last British Rail train, Mr Munro recalled: “I was 16 years old in 1972 and had to pay the adult fare of 50p for a special commemorative ticket to ride on that last British Rail train from Swanage to Wareham.

“It was a very sad occasion and after the railway was demolished, nobody thought it would come back.”

Since then volunteers at Swanage Railway have rejuvenated the line into a popular heritage railway.

However, plans to reconnect Swanage with the Network Rail mainline are very much alive after local transport chiefs pledged £3million funding, in 2010, to reconnect as part of Poole to Wool re-signalling work which takes place later this year.

Campaigners, councillors and Purbeck business leaders have pushed for the reconnection since the branch line closed four decades ago.

Mr Richards was reunited with two pieces of signalling equipment, a single line staff and an electric key token.

He said: “It was great to hold the staff and key token again after 40 years. The British Rail signalling system at Corfe Castle in 1972 was a traditional Edwardian style manual system, but it worked very well.”

Peter Sills remembers Mr Richard’s because he rode the local trains as a child.

“The people who operated the branch line were like a huge family,” he said. “It was very sad indeed when the railway closed after a period of decline.”