Bill Trite, a long-time stalwart, director, and chairman of the Swanage Railway, passed away unexpectedly at 77.

Bill was a volunteer trustee and director of the railway, and in 1991, he led a campaign to save the railway from a financial crisis that threatened the railway’s existence. Swanage Railway volunteers received the sad news of Bill’s passing on Sunday, 11th May.

He was a volunteer director of the Swanage Railway Trust for 22 years, a volunteer director of its trading subsidiary, the Swanage Railway Company, for 15 years, and for many years chairman of both organisations.

Outside his railway life, Bill was a former mayor of Swanage, chairman of Purbeck District Council, and a Swanage town councillor. At the time of his unexpected death, he was Dorset County Councillor for Swanage.

While working as a marketing consultant in London in the late 1980s, Bill joined the Swanage Railway as a volunteer when its extension from Herston to Harman’s Cross was nearing completion. In 1991, with the railway facing a major financial crisis that threatened its existence, Bill assumed the chairmanship of the Swanage Railway Trust and led the challenging recovery plan that made critical decisions to keep the railway going.

Bill realised the only way the railway could survive was to limit expenditure to coal, water, and the telephone, with any other expenditure being banned. His approach proved essential for the railway’s survival, and through his diligent attention and professionalism, the railway was saved, to become a thriving heritage line, contributing more than £15 million a year to the local economy.

When the railway faced a financial crisis in 1991, Bill was the right man in the right place at the right time. His death is a shock across the Swanage Railway and the wider community on the Isle of Purbeck and Dorset.

Tomorrow, Saturday, 17th May, a brass horn believed to have been blown in May 1885 to signal the departure of the first passenger train from Swanage to Corfe Castle and Wareham, is to be blown again at Swanage station as part of the railway’s 140th Birthday celebrations.

Next week, from Monday 19th to Friday 23rd May, the Swanage Railway will be hosting an information and recruitment stand at Waterloo Station.

”Bill lived and breathed the Swanage Railway for many years with his dedicated contribution being vital to the survival and development of the heritage line loved and cherished by so many people. Bill performed a significant role on the Swanage Railway that has ensured the longevity of the heritage railway and its historic reconnection with the national rail network near Wareham in 2007. Even in later years, Bill brought rigour to Swanage Railway Trust meetings – ensuring, as best he could, the continued well-being and prosperity of his legacy. To have achieved this enduring legacy is remarkable and all who love the Swanage Railway, as well as the Isle of Purbeck, will share some gratitude for the vision and hard work that Bill led on that has achieved this.”

Gavin Johns, volunteer Swanage Railway Company chairman