Swanage Railway - Spring Steam Gala 27-29/03/2026

For the second year in a row, the Swanage Railway would welcome a GWR 4-6-0 to their metals as a guest for their 'Spring Steam Gala'; this 2026 edition, held over the weekend of March 27th-29th. The event would feature 7 locomotives in action across the whole weekend, being bolstered to 8 on the Sunday.

Appearing courtesy of the Betton Grange Society, 6880 "Betton Grange" was birthed from a project that started in 1998 to construct a new-build example of the 6800 'Grange' Class, of which all 80 original locomotives were scrapped. The locomotive, completed in 2024, adopted the identity of 6880 “Betton Grange”, since this name had already been assigned to the next member of the class by the GWR, as part of a further planned construction run which was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II. Joining the ‘Grange’ would be a pair of Austerity Saddle Tanks; WD152 “Rennes”, and 68067 (7 “Robert”). The former, visiting from the Dean Forest Railway, where the locomotive has only recently returned to steam following an overhaul. The latter, a stalwart of the Great Central Railway.

Joining the visiting trio would be members of the home-fleet, led by a pair of Bulleid pacifics in the shape of 34070 "Manston" and 34072 "257 Squadron"; both owned by Southern Locomotives Ltd. T3 Class - 563 would appear resplendent in the spring sunshine, while U Class - 31806 would complete the main line up. On the Sunday of the event, 34028 “Eddystone” would join the operating fleet, appearing alongside the rest of the line up.

Locomotives:
LSWR T3 Class - 563
Ex-WD RSH Austerity Saddle Tank - WD152 “Rennes”
Ex-WD Hudswell Clarke Austerity Saddle Tank - 68067 (7 “Robert”)
Ex-GWR 6800 'Grange' Class - 6880 "Betton Grange"
Ex-SR ‘Battle of Britain’ Class - 34070 “Manston”
BR(S) 'Battle of Britain' Class - 34072 "257 Squadron"
Ex-SR Rebuilt ‘West Country’ Class - 34028 “Eddystone”
Ex-SR U Class - 31806

00:00 - On shed at Swanage
01:35 - 68067 & WD152 Corfe Common
03:29 - 34070 Corfe Common
05:10 - 34072 Corfe Common
05:46 - 6880 Corfe Common
07:07 - 34028 Furzebrook
08:31 - 31806 Haycrafts Lane
10:29 - WD152 & 68067 New Barn
11:31 - 6880 Creech Bottom
13:07 - 6880 Furzebrook Heath
15:05 - 6880 Haycrafts Lane
16:31 - 34072 Castle View Crossing
17:42 - 68067 Corfe Viaduct
18:33 - 34072 Arland House Campsite
19:52 - 34070 Creech Bottom
21:21 - WD152 Norden Common
22:13 - 68067 & 31806 Corfe Viaduct
23:09 - WD152 & 68067 Haycrafts Lane
24:24 - WD152 & 68067 Dickers Crossing
26:01 - 68067 & WD152 Holme Lane
27:59 - 563 Corfe Viaduct
29:03 - 34072 New Barn
30:17 - 6880 Afflington Farm
31:46 - 31806 Corfe Viaduct
32:38 - 68067 & WD152 Dickers Crossing
33:52 - 563, WD152, & 68067 Woodyhyde
35:18 - 34072 Haycrafts Lane
37:13 - 34070 & 34072 Townsend Bridge
38:35 - WD152 & 68067 King George Playing Field

Footnote: Attending all three days of the event (albeit with varied commitment levels) resulted in a eclectic mix of raw clips to work with, featuring the various locomotives on differing coach sets in diverse weather over the whole event. As such, this video is built around the timetable and locomotive allocations from the Saturday of the event, using it as a framework with the clips from the other two days edited in as and where appropriate, to try and convey coherent coverage of the gala. This does mean that there are some obvious differences in coach sets and other minor details between sequences.

All footage filmed on Friday the 27th, Saturday the 28th, and Sunday the 29th of March 2026.