The Swanage Branch - Then & Now
The true story of Dorset's much-loved Swanage branch line 'then' and 'now' is incredible - and certainly stranger than any fiction could be. It is a rousing, bitter-sweet tale about a Victorian railway line that just refused to die after its controversial closure by British Rail in 1972.
Against all odds - and despite doubting opinion at the time - a small band of volunteers started to rebuild the Purbeck line from scratch in 1976 after four years of fierce local campaigning. Then began the slow yard-by-yard progress as the track was gradually relaid and the complete infrastructure of a railway line restored from the Dorset seaside resort of Swanage, through the mediaeval village of Corfe Castle, towards the market town of Wareham and a connection with British Rail's London-Weymouth main line.
In 1990, the grit, determination and sheer stubbornness of the volunteers were rewarded as the Swanage Railway triumphantly reached the five mile point at Corfe Castle - 14 years after the restoration project had started.
Lavishly illustrated with contrasting 'then' and 'now' photographs, The Swanage Branch Then and Now is a fascinating, humorous and touching human history that stretches from 1929 to the present day. It is about the people who worked on the branch 'then' in Southern Railway and British Rail days - and about the volunteers, some of them ex-branch line railwaymen, who are rebuilding the Swanage Railway's Purbeck Line 'now'.
Hardback with dust jacket, 128 pages, black & white photographs
Condition: Very Good
ISBN: 9780711020467
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Updated: 2 January 2025