From next Saturday, 23rd July, the Swanage Railway is re-creating the 1950s ‘Royal Wessex' express steam train with trips in a historic 1930s Maunsell heritage carriage.
A group of dedicated volunteers has restored the carriage to its former glory so that visitors can re-create a trip on “The Royal Wessex” that used to run between Waterloo and Bournemouth, Weymouth, to Corfe Castle and Swanage.
“The Royal Wessex” headboard will be carried on the front of the steam locomotive, and reserved seats can be booked for a ride in the carriage between Norden, Corfe Castle, Harman's Cross, and Swanage. Subject to availability, ‘Royal Wessex' Maunsell carriage seats can be purchased on-line in advance at swanagerailway.co.uk or on the day at the Norden, Corfe Castle, and Swanage station ticket offices.
Richard Maunsell, chief mechanical engineer of the Southern Railway company designed the carriage in the 1930s. They were used on the Swanage branch line from the 1930s through to 1965 when they were withdrawn.
Operating Mondays to Saturdays, “The Royal Wessex” also carried holidaymakers from London's Waterloo station to Swanage, Bournemouth West, and Weymouth as the country recovered from the deprivations and shortages of the Second World War. At Wareham, two carriages from the train were attached to the branch line train bound for Corfe Castle and Swanage. British Railways ceased the ‘Royal Wessex' carriages for Corfe Castle and Swanage in the autumn of 1962.
In 1951, the ‘Royal Wessex' departed from Swanage at 7.38 am and Corfe Castle at 7.49 am before arriving at Wareham at 8.10 am. On the return journey, the ‘Royal Wessex' carriages arrived at Wareham at 7.21 pm, Corfe Castle at 7.42 pm, and Swanage at 7.52 pm.
Swanage Railway Company chairman Robert Patterson said: “We're very excited about this new opportunity for the public to experience the thrill and excitement of travelling through the beautiful Isle of Purbeck in a lovingly restored 1930s heritage carriage sporting ‘Royal Wessex' name boards.
“The steam locomotive hauling the train will be carrying a ‘Royal Wessex' headboard on its smokebox which will give the train an added air of recreating both main line and branch line railway history from between 1951 and 1962.
“Our volunteers work hard to carefully and lovingly restore our heritage carriages which give the public an evocative taste of what it was like to travel by train on the Swanage branch line during the days of steam,” added Robert who is a volunteer porter on the heritage line that has been rebuilt since 1976.
I used to go to school, in Swanage, catching the morning Wessex, at Wool at 8am, and changing to the ‘school train’ at Wareham.
The article is incorrect, passenger services were withdrawn 1st Jan 1972 not in 1965 as mentioned in the article.
Well spotted. That part of the article related to the Maunsell carriages, and has been updated to remove the ‘passenger services’ part of the sentence.