TheSoutherner's video: Swanage Railway - Steam and Lights Highlights - December 2020

New for 2020, courtesy of the Swanage Railway, the Isle of Purbeck has seen a very different kind of festive service, as illuminated services took the rails at night. The 'Steam and Lights' specials have been operating on selected dates through December, with locomotives and carriages draped in dazzling lights, as they grace the Dorset countryside. For each day of operation, the service has made two return trips out of Swanage, working to Norden, and has proved to be a huge success as all scheduled services sold out to customers. Originating in the UK at the Dartmouth Steam Railway, having been adapted from 'across the pond' in the USA, the notion proved to be a resounding success. So much so, that a wide variety of heritage railways adopted the idea for themselves this year, adding various personalised features, as their focus shifted from daylight running to steaming through the dark. In the case of the Swanage Railway, a personal touch has been presented in the form of regular lineside displays of illuminated Christmas Trees and Reindeer, at locations such as Afflington road bridge and Corfe Castle Station, with the service trains slowing down as they pass to ensure passengers are able to get a good look at the displays. For the start of the service, the coach set was worked by a single locomotive, with later dates being run top-and-tail with a locomotive at each end to reduce the turn around time at Norden, to ensure the service kept to schedule without a need to rush in either direction. In order not to distract motorists where the railway runs adjacent to the road, the lights on the train are switched off between Norden and Corfe Castle. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Locomotives: Ex-SR U Class - 31806 BR Class 33 - D6515 "Lt Jenny Lewis RN" BR(S) 'Battle of Britain' Class - 34072 "257 Squadron" All footage filmed on various dates during December 2020.