Push-pull 1960s diesel train to return to railway

Dan Bennett said the trains were part of the history of the Swanage branch line

Volunteers are working to bring a 1960s push-pull diesel train back to a branch line after an absence of more than half a century.

The trains, once a common sight, have not run on the Corfe Castle to Swanage line since it closed in 1971.

Now a group of volunteers are restoring a TC carriage to complete a three-carriage British Rail train.

It is hoped the first services will run on the Swanage Railway heritage line in early 2026.

The trains were a familiar sight in the 1970s and 80s

TC (trailer control) push-pull diesel trains operated between Bournemouth and Weymouth from the end of main line steam trains in 1967 to the start of electric trains in 1988.

The carriages, pulled or pushed by a Class 33 diesel-electric locomotive, operated in sets of three or four, with a cab at each end of the set.

Two other TC carriages are being restored by the volunteers of 4TC Group, who hope to raise a further £20,000 to complete the third.

Group volunteer and Swanage Railway Trust director Dan Bennett said: "The restoration of our third TC coach is the last hurdle in our goal of running a 1960s TC push-pull train at Swanage for the first time since September 1971.

He said: "Many people aged between 45 and 70 will remember British Rail's TC push-pull trains in their blue and grey livery, reliably running up and down the main line from Bournemouth to Dorchester and Weymouth."