AN Edwardian steam locomotive will be bringing a Scottish flavour to Swanage Railway's Spring Steam Up event when it makes its furthest trip south later this month.

The Caledonian Railway 439 class tank No. 419 will be hauling trains between Swanage, Harman’s Cross, Corfe Castle and Norden at the three-day event from March 29 until March 31.

Built in Glasgow during 1907 for hauling branch line and suburban trains, Scottish Caledonian Railway tank No. 419 will be joined by Victorian London and South Western Railway T9 class steam locomotive No. 30120.

Following withdrawal from service by British Railways in the early 1960s, the 'Caley Tank' was one of the first locomotives to be acquired by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society and is the society's proud emblem.

A long-scrapped Scottish-based steam locomotive will also be recreated and remembered for the event which will see the world famous Flying Scotsman steam locomotive on display along with Devon Belle Pullman observation carriage Car 14 at Corfe Castle station until April 10.

The Swanage Railway-based 1955 Brighton-built British Railways Standard Class 4 tank No. 80104 will become the No. 80126 in honour of its long-scrapped sister which operated in Scotland and was also built at Brighton in 1955.

That transformation will include the locomotive being given a Scottish blue smokebox door number plate as well as blue numbers on the sides of its coal bunker.

Spring Steam Up will also see nostalgic freight trains run on the Swanage Railway between some of the passenger trains.

Swanage Railway Company business division director Mick Gould said: “Our ‘Spring Steam Up’ event will be bringing an interesting Scottish flavour to the Swanage Railway thanks to the Caledonian Railway tank No. 419 which is a charming locomotive.

“It will be interesting to see the John Macintosh-designed No. 419 operate with the temporary re-creation of the Scottish-based Standard Class 4 tank No. 80126 which was based in Perth – giving an evocative taste of railways north of the border from the 1900s through to the 1960s," he added.