Swanage Railway Spring Steam Gala 2025

The Spring Steam Gala makes a welcome return for 2025 and is taking place between Friday the 28th and Sunday the 30th of March. Our Steam Galas are the best chance to see our home fleet of steam locomotives operating alongside each other on both passenger and freight services.

Services will be running between Swanage and Norden and most trains will call at Harmans Cross, Corfe Castle as well as Herston Halt by request. If you wish to stop at Herston Halt then please make the guard aware during your journey and for a full list of all trains and where they stop then please consult our timetable for the event.

Brake van rides will also be available as part of our recently repainted engineering train. Spaces will be available from the Swanage end of the trip, meaning you get to enjoy the beautiful scenery during one half of your journey and then watch locomotive hard at work during the other! Tickets for brake van rides will be available as a stand alone purchase or to add on to your rover ticket at a discounted rate.

The current list of locomotives taking part in our Spring Steam Gala includes;

Visiting Locomotives

• GWR 4900 (Hall) Class Number 4953 “Pitchford Hall”, attending courtesy of the Epping Ongar Railway.
• Ivatt Class 2 Number 41313 – visiting from the Isle of Wight Steam Railway

Home Fleet

• LSWR T3 Class Number 563
• Maunsell U Class Number 31806
• Battle of Britain Class Number 34070 “Manston”
• Battle of Britain Class Number 34072 “257 Squadron”

What’s on at each Station?

Swanage
• Main terminus of the railway
• Station Gift Shop full of model railway items and other gift ideas
• Large viewing area with picnic tables which a short walk from the station with great views of the shed area and is perfect to watch locomotives shunting and to see trains arrive and depart

Herston Halt
• Request Station – Please make guard aware before departing and clearly signal to driver if you wish to board an approaching train
• Garden area looked after by a team of volunteers

Harmans Cross
• Passing point for trains offering great photo opportunities
• Recently restored Station Master’s office in the station building
• Please note there is no footbridge to cross platforms – access is via a road bridge outside of the station

Corfe Castle
• Passing point for trains offering great photo opportunities
• “Have a go” signalling museum
• Swanage Railway Museum in the Goods shed
• The Book Van will be open for the sale of second-hand books, DVDs, railwayana, etc. to raise funds for the Swanage Railway Museum.
• “Steam Café” Station Buffet serving hot and cold food and drinks

Norden
• Large long stay car park a short walk from the platform
• Purbeck Mining Museum open for visits and their Narrow Gauge Railway operating on the demonstration line
• Station buffet open for hot and cold drinks and snacks

UPDATE

As a last minute addition to our Spring Steam Gala, we will be hosting a Beer Festival at Steam Cafe in the goods yard at Corfe Castle Station. The Beer Festival will be open between 12:00 and 18:00 each day, with hot food served between 10:00 and 16:00.

Drinks on offer will include 8 local real ales, 3 local ciders and a lager on tap from Isle of Purbeck, Hatties The Purbeck Cider Company and Dorset Brewing Company.