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| Santa comes to town |
Taken at Corfe Castle, Dorset. I'd spotted in the
Blackmoor Vale Magazine (my local freebie) that the Swanage Railway was running 'Santa Specials'. For more information about this heritage line have a look at the railway's website –
http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk.
The special trains were running from Swanage to the present end of the line and return and did not stop at intermediary stations. The Swanage park-and-ride scheme that uses the railway from the car park at Norden provided a feeder service to Swanage for the specials at a discounted rate.
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| Diesel feeder service |
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| The Santa Special |
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| An original 0-4-4 locomotive from the times of steam on this line |
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| Adorned for the occasion |
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| The signal box at Corfe Castle station |
The railway station at Corfe Castle is preserved as a 1950s time-capsule. All the rolling-stock is authentic for that period.
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| Approaching from Norden towards Swanage |
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| Passing the tally – northbound diesel |
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| Up-line platform |
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| Passing the tally – steam service |
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| 'Lt Jenny Lewis RN' |
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| The general waiting room, Corfe Castle station |
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| The ticket office |
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| Ladies' waiting room |
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| The castle at Corfe Castle |
Cromwell did his best to destroy this castle and used tons of gunpowder, but it wouldn't fall down.
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| The keep |
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| The village from the castle |
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| The railway station |
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| A passing diner-train |
This set was being used to serve Christmas lunches. The service ran (leisurely) from Swanage to Norden and return twice 'non-stop'. The total time was about 2 hours. All the food was cooked on board.
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| Corfe Castle church |
