Join us for steam action with BR black U Class No.31806 hauling three-four green coaches

About this event

We are delighted to be returning to the picturesque Swanage Railway on the Dorset Coast for a day of steam action. This time, we feature Southern Railway U Class 2-6-0 No.31806 which carries British Railways lined black livery. We will partner the locomotive with two green Maunsell coaches, plus probably two additional green Mark I vehicles including a brake coach.

Our start point will be Harmans Cross Station from where we will be setting back to our first location. We are aiming for an 07.30 departure. We are starting early in order to make best use of any early morning light which has on occasion provided us with spectacular backlit photo opportunities. This is an excellent time of year for steam photography, so let’s hope for a cold and clear morning. Travel will be by train throughout and we will run until sunset.

No.31806 (A806) was built as one of twenty 'River' K Class 2-6-4T locomotives at Brighton in October 1926 (and rebuilt there as a 2-6-0 just two years later in 1928) and during its career worked out of Basingstoke, Nine Elms and Guildford sheds. The loco is known to have worked the line to Swanage during the 1950s. Under British Railways, its power classification was 4P3F and it carried mixed traffic black livery from 1949 onwards. Withdrawal came from Guildford in January 1964 and 31806 was sent for disposal at Woodham Brothers Scrapyard in South Wales before being rescued for preservation in 1976. Its first return to steam came in 1981 at the Mid-Hants Railway which was its home for a number of years until being transferred to the Swanage Railway in 2014, where it has been a regular and reliable performer. It is the only one of the U Class locos originally built as a K Class to be preserved.

We would like to thank the Swanage Railway for facilitating this event and hope you will wish to join us for a day of steam action near the Dorset Coast in October.

Event requirements

Other things you should bring

• Snacks

Other essentials

• Sturdy outdoor shoes
• Warm clothing
• Wet weather gear
• For those with mobility issues please email us to check the mobility limitations at this location prior to booking