Swanage Railway - 'Diesel Gala' 09/05/2025

The ‘Diesel Gala’ at the Swanage Railway is one of the most hotly anticipated diesel events in the heritage railway calendar, with the 2025 edition featuring a fleet of 9 diesel locomotives taking to SR metals over the weekend of May 9th-11th. Class 33 - D6515 would represent the home-fleet, while heritage visitors included Class 20 - 20066 and Class 47 - 47715. Class 45 - 45108 would make a return visit to the Isle of Purbeck, having most recently visited for the 2023 edition ‘Diesel Gala’. The event would also be supported by a variety of mainline operators, with West Coast Railways providing Class 37 - 37706, Colas Rail Freight sending Class 56 - 56090, Hanson & Hall being represented by Class 50 - 50008, and GB Railfreight providing Class 69 - 69007 and Class 73 - 73128. The collection of diesels would be bolstered by visiting Class 423 4-VEP - 3417 "Gordon Pettitt" courtesy of the Bluebell Railway and the Southern Electric Traction Group. The event would feature an intensive three train timetable, with services operating between Swanage and Norden. The opening day of the event would not pass trouble-free, as both 37706 and 56090 experienced brake issues which required hasty repairs, delaying services before the day had really begun. However, once the pair had been rectified, the railway did well to manage the lost time and maintain the deficit consistently until the end of the day. Locomotives: BR Class 47 - 47715 “Rail Engineering Solutions Quality Assured” West Coast Railways Class 37 - 37706 GB Railfreight Class 69 - 69007 “Richard Trevithick” BR Class 423 4-VEP - 3417 "Gordon Pettitt" (S76263 + S70797 + S62236 + S76262) GB Railfreight Class 73 - 73128 "Kent & East Sussex Railway" Colas Rail Freight Class 56 - 56090 BR Class 33 - D6515 “Lt Jenny Lewis RN” Hanson & Hall Class 50 - 50008 “Thunderer” BR Class 45 - 45108 BR Class 20 - 20066 00:00 - 47715 Corfe Common 01:18 - 37706 Corfe Common 02:36 - 69007 Corfe Common 03:41 - 73128 Wilderness foot crossing 04:36 - 37706 Wilderness foot crossing 05:40 - 56090 Haycrafts Lane 06:35 - D6515 Haycrafts Lane 07:35 - 37706 Wurzel Crossing 09:07 - 73128 Wurzel Crossing 10:43 - 56090 Dickers Crossing 11:29 - D6515 Dickers Crossing 12:26 - 37706 Norden Common 13:22 - 50008 Norden Common 14:19 - 56090 Norden Common 15:02 - 45108 Dickers Crossing 15:45 - 69007 Dickers Crossing 16:33 - 20066 Dickers Crossing 17:32 - 50008 Afflington Farm 18:50 - 45108 Townsend Bridge All footage filmed on Friday the 9th of May 2025.