Welcome to the Swanage Railway Trust

The roots of the Swanage Railway as we know it now can be traced back to the years after the Beaching cuts of the 1960's.  Whilst the branch line from Wareham to Swanage in Dorset survived these closures, a cycle of falling traffic and progressive withdrawal of services eventually led to closure in 1972. Momentum was quickly established to try and take over the branch and press for the return of a mainline connection. Despite local and national attempts to first prevent closure and then lobby for re-opening, this was not enough to prevent much of the track being lifted. As a result to-day's Swanage Railway is really a railway built from scratch.

The early days of the project saw several groups springing up with similar aims. These quickly came together and ultimately the Swanage Railway Trust was formed as a charity with the aims of preserving the heritage of the local railway and re-establishing a link to the national rail network. A trading subsidiary - the Swanage Railway Company - operates the trains and is responsible for day to day management of the Railway. The Swanage Railway Company web site provides details of train times, special events and other information for the visitor.

The Swanage Railway Trust focuses on development of the Swanage Railway by recruiting the members and volunteers on which this progress depends as well as the appeals and fundraising needed to support their efforts. This web site provides a range of information for members and supporters, updates on appeals, details of the Trust's aims and relevant background information.

PLEASE NOTE: The Swanage Railway Trust web site has recently undergone a major overhaul. Some of the previous content is still being updated and will re-appear in due course. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

THE SWANAGE RAILWAY TRUST

Information on the aims and constitution of the Swanage Railway Trust, a brief the history of project, an explanation of the operational structure, profiles of current Swanage Railway Trust directors and of the Swanage Railway Company directors and a library of Trust documents.

APPEALS & FUNDRAISING

The Swanage Railway Trust relies heavily on donations to provide the finance for a wide variety of projects around the railway. This section includes current appeals including facilities for online donations by credit or debit card as well as ongoing fundraising activities.

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LATEST NEWS

A roundup of the latest news from the Swanage Railway Trust to supplement that provided to members via the regular Swanage Railway Magazine.

BECOME A MEMBER OR VOLUNTEER

Become a member and keep up to date with developments as well as receiving a number of benefits or join the hundreds of people from all walks of life who help keep the Swanage Railway operating. Our volunteers work in all areas from footplate to booking office, restoration to catering.

Legal Notices

Copyright: Photographs on this web site are copyright Andrew PM Wright, Swanage Railway official photographer, unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: Information on this Web site is believed to be correct but neither the Swanage Railway Trust (SRT) nor the Swanage Railway Company (SRC) can be held responsible for any errors. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the SRT or SRC.
All material on this web site is copyright Swanage Railway Trust, its subsidiaries or contributors. All rights reserved.
The Swanage Railway Trust is a Registered Charity (1087318) and a Company Limited By Guarantee (4115126). The registered office is at Station House, Swanage, Dorset. BH19 1HB. Telephone Tel: 01929 425800, Fax: 01929 426680, Email: information