The Swanage Railway in Dorset would play host to a record breaking eight Bulleid Pacifics over the weekend of 7th-9th of June, the largest gathering of Southern Bulleid Pacifics to be in service in one day since the end of Southern Steam in 1967.
Arguably one of the main events of the year, with a spectacle that may not be seen again in our lifetime, the railway would run an intensive timetable along it's entire length from Swanage to Norden and 'over the road' to the Network Rail Boundary at the River Frome Viaduct. This required locomotives to attach to trains at the rear at Corfe Castle, where after a return trip to the River Frome, the locomotive(s) on the front would detach.
The lineup consisted of four rebuilt pacfics and four unrebuilt, with 35006 Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co. and 35018 British India Line being the two rebuilt Merchant Navy's. 34028 Eddystone and 34053 Sir Keith Park would represent the rebuilt West Country/Battle of Britain classes, while 34070 Manston, 34072 257 Squadron, 34092 City of Wells & 34081 92 Squadron would represent the unrebuilt versions of the classes.
This video captures the Saturday of the event at various locations along the lineside in what were perfect weather conditions. This day of the event wouldn't be without it's problems, with 92 Squadron failing after just one trip and being withdrawn for the remainder of the gala, and medical emergencies at Corfe Castle requiring one platform to be shut, which resulted in some runs not running beyond Norden and the timetable getting to over an hour late. Less shots therefore were captured than planned. Despite this, the railway still made a great effort to run as best as possible in the predicaments, and all eight of the locomotives were captured in some form or another.
It cannot be overlooked at the time and effort it took to bring all these Southern Pacifics together alongside the work behind the scenes and on the running days themselves that put this event together. Who know's if we'll ever see this many Southern Pacifics in steam all in one day ever again?
This video was recorded on my backup filming camera, as my main camera is currently out for repairs.
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