IT’S a pay cheque at the end of the month that gets most people out of bed in the morning … but money’s not an issue for the volunteers at Swanage Railway.

They rise at the crack of dawn to make sure this slice of British history runs like clockwork, and before I arrive at the station at 7am on this autumn weekday they’ve already put in an hour’s graft.

It’s a perfect example of people doing something for love and not the money.

As the sun rises and takes the chill out the air, train driver Ian McDavid explains what he and fireman Mick Hatton have been doing this morning.

“The steam engine is basically like a giant kettle,” he says.

“We lit the fire earlier so it gets up to temperature for the first service at 9.50am.”

I step off the platform and on to the footplate of this magnificent locomotive.

Peering into the firebox, I’m stunned by the size of it – the opening might be the size of your average hearth but the actual chamber is as cavernous as a single bedroom.

Inside the chamber a fire roars, and in places it’s too bright to look at.

Directly behind me is the bunker, filled with nearly two tonnes of coal.

“We’ll use most of this today,” says Micky, who will shovel the coal into the firebox throughout the day.

As the “giant kettle” heats up, another smaller and more conventional kettle boils... not for the last time today.

Sipping my tea I pace around the locomotive. Imposing, impressive and grand on every scale, it’s impossible not to be in awe of this machine.

Perhaps even more impressive, though, is the manpower behind the railway – while visitors will see the driver, fireman, guards and ticket collectors, they don’t see the mechanics, cleaners and signalmen behind the scenes.

“If it wasn’t for them we couldn’t go and play,” says Ian, as we leave the siding and pick up the carriages at Swanage station. With the passengers on board, the guard gives his signal and we set off for the first journey of the day.

In a set of borrowed overalls, I help Mick shovel coal into the firebox – work that is punctuated, you guessed it, by sipping copious quantities of tea.

“Dehydration is a big problem here,” says Ian.

“That’s why we drink so much tea.” Any excuse.

Once we’ve stoked the fire, I stop to admire the passing scenery as the antiquated locomotive chugs through the Purbecks – it’s a stunning way to see the countryside.

The first stop is Harmans Cross where a handful of tourists and locals clamber on and off.

Running on time, we pull out at 10am and chug our way towards 1942, or Corfe Castle Station, as it’s known.

It takes nearly 10 minutes for the castle ruins to come into view, but, pretty as they are, nobody on the platform is looking at them – they’re looking at this steam engine.

From Corfe we head further up the line to Norden, where we turn the locomotive around, refill our mugs with tea and start the return journey back to Swanage.

The novelty of being on a steam engine doesn’t wear off.

Back at Swanage I bid farewell to Ian and Mick to help the guard, David Hales, on the 10.50am to Corfe.

“They think I’m waving at the kids,” says David, as a crowd waves us off from Swanage.

“I’m waving at their mums.”

This cheery retiree travels from Southampton to work on the railway, where he has an important role.

“I have to let Ian and Mick know when we need to stop at the stations,” he says, leaning out of the window, waving a green flag to them.

“Green means we go straight through.”

At Corfe Castle, David shows me around the old stationmaster’s house, which remains as it was in the 1960s.

Just when I think my day’s work is over, I’m drafted in to help Philip Eakins in the signal box, where I realise exactly how arduous it is to change the points.

“There’s a knack to it,” he laughs, as I struggle to shift the lever.

The steam engines might be the main attraction at Swanage Railway, but the stars of the are the workers.

Factfile

British Rail cuts led to the Swanage railway line closing in 1972. Three years later, the council, which had purchased the disused track bed, began leasing the land to the Swanage Railway Society, and restoration work began in 1977. Buildings were restored, tracks re-laid and, in 1980, the first steam locomotive brought back into service.

The Swanage Railway generates around £2 million a year for the local economy. Last year more than £1.1 million in fares were collected. All profits go towards maintaining the line. There are currently plans to extend the line to Wareham.

The Purbeck Line is run by 400 volunteers supported by a team of 33 permanent paid staff. For details on services, volunteering or special events visit swanagerailway.co.uk