The railway first came to Swanage in 1885 and was operated by the London & South Western Railway Company. Between 1847 and 1877 several attempts had been made to get a bill through parliament for a railway from the existing line at Wareham to Swanage. All these attempts were thwarted by the residents of Wareham who objected to the line going through the centre of the town. In 1880 a local businessman and magistrate, George Burt, succeeded in getting a bill before parliament for a Swanage branch avoiding the centre of Wareham. Construction of the line commenced on 5th May 1883 by the London firm of Curry & Reeves and the first public train left Swanage station on 20th May 1885.

In January 1972 British Railways closed the line and lifted all the track. However, this was not the end, as a group of enthusiasts got together to rebuild the line. In the summer of 1975 a licence was granted to the Swanage Railway Society to occupy the disused Swanage station site, since when the dedicated volunteers have lovingly restored the railway to what you see today.

Initially the track was relaid as far as Herston, on the outskirts of Swanage, and then onward the three miles to the village of Harman's Cross. 1995 saw the long awaited opening of the extensions to Corfe Castle and then Norden, followed by the opening of the signal box and passing loop at Harman's Cross in July 1997. 1998 saw the extension of the park and ride facilities at Norden, allowing visitors to leave their cars and enjoy to the full this journey back in time. A further step forward was taken on 3rd January 2002 when the remaining missing sections of track were between Norden and the Network Rail stopblock at Motala near Furzebrook. On 8th September 2002 the first through train from the main line at Wareham visited Swanage via a section of track which temporarily replaced the stopblock.

Work to improve the track continued over the next five years and a permanent groundframe and catchpoint system was installed at Motala. On 10th May 2007 a train of 4 large diesel locomotives was the first to use this permanent connection from the main line.

Improvements by Swanage Railway to the track between Norden and Wareham have continued, and together with the permanent ground frame arrangements at Motala have allowed the planning and operation of special railtour services for the first time since 1972.

Note - Locos that show as resident may be based here but loaned to other sites, click on 'Loco' to view the most recent location

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