A 1920s steam locomotive which has taken volunteers 26 years and £200,000 to restore will be the star of this weekend's Swanage Railway steam gala.

The annual feast of steam takes place on the relaid Purbeck Line on Saturday, September 10 and Sunday, September 11, with an intensive train service between Swanage, Harman's Cross, Corfe Castle and Norden park & ride.

Swanage Railway is celebrating its 120th anniversary year and the gala will feature five locomotives in steam. There will be a special train service between Corfe Castle and Norden, the running of rarely seen and nostalgic freight trains, evening trains with bar and dining facilities as well as a vintage transport vehicles of yesteryear rally next to Harman's Cross station.

Star of the show will be Great Western Railway 0-6-2 wheel arrangement 'Taffy' Tank Number 6695, owned by the volunteer-run No. 6695 Locomotive Group. Rescued from a Welsh scrapyard in 1979, the locomotive will be on display and may undertake shunting duties at Swanage.

The locomotive, built in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1928 by Armstrong Whitworth for the Great Western Railway, spent its career working in the Midlands and south Wales. Its sister engines worked down to Weymouth. The tank locomotive ran more than 620,000 miles - the equivalent of 25 times round the world - for the GWR and BR before being withdrawn for scrap in the summer of 1964.

Nigel Clark, of the No. 6695 Locomotive Group, who lives in Corfe Mullen and works for Network Rail based at Bournemouth, said: "It is great to see the locomotive fully restored and sat at Swanage.

"When I first saw her rusting away in the Barry scrapyard in south Wales I was in my teens. When we brought her to Swanage on a road transporter in May, 1979, I never thought that she would take this long to restore but everyone has done a brilliant job on her."

Fellow volunteer Dave Round, of Blandford, said: "It has taken a lot of hard work and determination to complete, raising money, restoring parts or having them made from new."

No. 6695 Locomotive Group chairman Brian House, of Wimborne, said: "Everyone who has worked on the locomotive in all weathers over the years - and who have raised or donated the money - should be very proud of themselves. But we still need £20,000 to pay for the restoration and would appreciate any donations."

For further Swanage Railway steam gala information call 01929 425800 or visit www.swanagerailway.co.uk.

First published: September 8, 2005