SWANAGE Railway museum volunteers at Corfe Castle station are celebrating after winning their first grants – the money being used to further improve the visitor experience.
Attracting 48,000 visitors a year before the coronavirus pandemic struck, the free admission museum – established in the goods shed of the restored Victorian station in the year 2000 – tells the fascinating story of the Swanage branch line from the 1880s.
Operated by the Swanage Railway Trust (SRT), the museum has been largely funded by public donations and was ranked 12th in a Visit England tourist body survey during 2019.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded a grant of £23,700 for the museum to create audio pods so visitors can enjoy a typical 1950s branch line station ‘sound scene’ and listen to recordings of evocative memories from Swanage branch line staff and passengers during the 1950s and 1960s.