Latest news with #SwanageRailway
BBC News
15-07-2025
- BBC News
Swanage Railway steam train 'causes seventh summer fire'
A steam train on a heritage line has caused a seventh fire by the attraction this summer, a fire service has & Wiltshire Fire Service sent three vehicles to a field blaze near Corfe Castle at about 13:15 BST on said the fire was quickly put out and crews spent some time damping Railway, which operates between Swanage and Norden - via Corfe, has been approached for comment. According to its website on Tuesday, the line is currently running heritage diesel rather than steam trains due to a "high fire risk".In a statement, the fire service said: "It is believed to have been caused by the steam train."Since 1 June 2025, we've had seven similar incidents reported in this area."Temperatures have now cooled following the UK's third heatwave of the year. Highs of 20C (68F) are expected in Corfe Castle on Tuesday. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- BBC News
Horn marks 140 years since Swanage station's first departure
A brass horn, believed to have marked the departure of a station's first passenger train 140 years ago, has been sounded to mark the handheld horn is said to have been blown at Swanage Station in Dorset when the first service left for Corfe Castle and Wareham in May the horn was Swanage Railway volunteer Peter Sills who, as a teenager, travelled on the line's last British Rail passenger train on 1 January and railway volunteers attended a special event to mark the station's 140th anniversary on Saturday. Event organiser Clive Hardy described the opening of the line in 1885 as a "seismic shift" for the Isle of Purbeck, turning the small fishing town of Swanage into a "day-trip destination".He said: "The new 25-minute train journey from Swanage to Wareham cost 11 pence, compared with a traditional horse and carriage journey taking one-and-a-half hours at a ticket price of two shillings and sixpence."Most of the 10-mile branch line was ripped up following its closure in 1972 but has been reinstated as a heritage railway after years of work by Railway Trust chair Frank Roberts said: "The afternoon was not just a commemoration of 140 years of history but also a celebration of almost five decades of devoted volunteer efforts by several generations of determined men and women who have battled and campaigned to rebuild the Swanage Railway." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
