From city to seaside | 34028 “Eddystone” leads ‘The Swanage Belle’ 20/05/2026

Chartered by the Railway Touring Company, 'The Swanage Belle' would feature Ex-SR Rebuilt ‘West Country’ Class - 34028 "Eddystone" at the sharp end with support provided by West Coast Railways Class 47 - 47848, as the pair made the trek from the capital to the seaside. This is a fitting tour for 34028 to operate, as the locomotive is owned by Southern Locomotives Ltd and typically based on the Swanage Railway. Beginning out of London Victoria with 34028 at the helm, the tour would travel via Willesden, Bretford, and Feltham to Byfleet & New Haw, where it would join the South West Mainline. From here, the tour would make a sprint down the SWML to Wareham, where it would diverge onto the Swanage branch via Worgret Junction to complete the final leg of the journey. For the return working, 47848 would lift the tour away from the seaside at Swanage, travelling as far as Southampton Central. Here, a reversal would see the Bulleid pacific regain control for the charge back to London, working via Romsey and Andover. The unusual route taken between London Victoria and the SWML posed the rare opportunity to catch steam working through Longhedge Junction, as the tour curved around towards Imperial Wharf. A flurry of activity courtesy of some Southern Class 377s set the commuting scene as 34028 passed under Culvert Road Footbridge, with the capital looming in the background. On the SWML, and getting away from a passenger stop at Woking, 34028 would accelerate the tour around the curve west of the station, before passing beneath St John's Hill Road. Heading further west, the Bulleid pacific would be a welcome sight as it rounded the curve over Redbridge Causeway, making its way out of the Solent. Finally on the Swanage branch, and the home stretch, 34028 made a slogging effort as it climbed the 1-in-78 gradient of Furzebrook Bank passing Furzebrook foot crossing. A similar performance would be made at Haycrafts Lane, as 34028 led the tour through Harmans Cross station passing the SR’s regular passenger service. After a brief break for servicing in Swanage, the return leg of the tour got underway with 47848 at the helm, working through Dickers Crossing as it climbed away from the seaside; the tour was followed shortly afterwards by BR(S) ‘Battle of Britain’ Class - 34072 “257 Squadron”, working the Swanage Railway’s own passenger service to Norden via Corfe Castle. Settling into the stride of the afternoon, now with 34028 back in control of the tour, the assembled enthusiasts at Mottisfont & Dunbridge were rewarded with a rapid run from the Bulleid as it powered towards Dean; a trend which would be continued at Potbridge with 34028 racing towards Winchfield. 00:00 - 34028 Longhedge Junction 02:28 - 34028 Woking 04:02 - 34028 Redbridge Causeway 05:23 - 34028 Furzebrook foot crossing 08:48 - 34028 Haycrafts Lane 11:01 - 34028 On shed at Swanage 11:32 - 47848 Dickers Crossing 12:34 - 34072 Dickers Crossing 13:32 - 34028 Mottisfont & Dunbridge 14:19 - 34028 Potbridge All footage filmed on Wednesday the 20th of May 2026.