Moving tributes have been paid to a ‘pioneering’ Swanage Railway campaigner who has died aged 92.

Moyra Cross was a founding member of the Isle of Purbeck Preservation Group, formed in 1969. She went onto become a key member of the Swanage Railway Society, as well as the Swanage to Wareham Railway Group.

The railway group was formed to rebuild the branch line after - despite all her campaigning efforts - British Rail decided to stop running mainline services along the Swanage branch line.

Founder Swanage Railway member and volunteer Peter Frost, who knew Moyra for almost four decades, said: “Everyone owes a huge debt of thanks to Moyra and her fellow campaigners for volunteering to stand up in the community in the face of opposition during the early years, as well as for such a magnificent contribution in making Swanage Railway so successful.

“Moyra’s contribution to the Swanage Railway over so many years will never be forgotten. She was, and is, an inspiration to the generations of Swanage Railway volunteers who follow in her footsteps.”

Moyra was one of the first volunteers in the fledging station shop at Swanage when it first opened in 1976, at the start of the railway’s rebuilding.

She was still on duty at the shop in 2009, when the first diesel and steam trains ran from London into the Swanage for the first time since 1972 and 1967 respectively.

Swanage Railway Trust chairman Gavin Johns said: “Everyone was saddened to her of Moyra’s death as she was a much-loved and appreciated long-standing supporter of the Swanage Railway, who was always dependable and devoted to the cause.”

Attended by her family and many friends, Moyra’s funeral took place at St Mary’s Church, Swanage, last week.

It was followed by a private burial at the town’s Godlingston Cemetery next to her late husband Ronald, within sight and sound of the rebuilt railway which had played a major role in her life for more than 40 years.