On Time

It was the final scheduled run of the summer today for the Dorset Coast Express,

hauled by the steam loco, 60009 Union of South Africa, once a regular on the LNER East Coast route from London to Scotland.

This summer it has been at the head of four specially arranged day trips from London’s Victoria station, through Surrey and Hampshire and on to Dorset as far as the seaside resort of Weymouth, and back, providing an opportunity to rail fans to relive the magic of steam trains..

Today, I caught up with the train at Redbridge, crossing the River Test estuary on the outskirts of Southampton before heading through the New Forest to Bournemouth and on to Weymouth.

The Union of South Africa is one of six surviving similar locomotives, but is due to be permanently retired next Spring. It was withdrawn from British Rail use in 1966, and is currently operated by the Railway Touring Company.