THE ‘dedicated’ team behind Swanage Railway are celebrating after receiving a trophy at this year’s Dorset Tourism Awards.

In their first year of entering the prestigious awards, the volunteer-led team and staff were handed a Bronze Award in the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year category.

Peter Sills, chair-man of Swanage Railway Company, and the heritage line’s general manager, Richard Jones, joined 200 other invited guests for the glittering awards presentation ceremony, which was held at the Tank Museum at Bovington, near Wareham.

After they were handed the accolade, Peter said: “Everyone at the Swanage Railway is delighted to win this coveted award which is a real accolade.

“The recognition rewards the hard work and commit-ment that our staff and volunteers put into running and maintaining our herit-age line throughout the year.

“Visitors can enjoy the award-winning Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum next to Norden station, while at Corfe Castle station there is the superb Swanage Railway museum, housed in the restored Victorian good shed, and a fascinating cinema coach – all of which offer free admission.”

Richard added: “Our dedicated staff and volunteers work very hard to ensure that our many visitors have an enjoyable and value for money visit to the Swanage Railway.

“The Swanage Railway has so much to offer, including reduced price travel for families as well as groups of 15 people or more.

“There are also special events for all the family, dining trains, cream tea trains and our festive ‘Santa Special’ steam trains which take to the rails from the end of November to Christmas Eve.”

Rebuilt from nothing since 1976 after being closed and demolish-ed by British Rail, the Swanage Railway now carries more than 210,000 passengers a year, with trains running daily from April to October, and on weekends during the rest of the year.

The Swanage Railway will now be entered into the South West Tourism Excellence Awards in February 2015.

For more information about the attraction, you can visit swanagerailway.co.uk