Swanage lies at the tip of the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula bordered by the English Channel to the south, and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north and east.

The presence of this industry, together with the Purbeck Ball Clay works in the area to the north, attracted railway promoters once the L&SWR main line reached Wareham in 1847.

The longer of these tracks had a run round loop, and was flanked by a station building built in the grey Purbeck stone.

One of the lines in the goods yard was extended as a tramway running in a narrow alley behind Station Road to a stone store near the waterfront.

The Swanage Railway ran its first train in August 1979 from a temporary platform under Northbrook Road bridge up to the council yard.

[3] In 2020, it was announced that the government would provide funding for a feasibility study into reinstating regular passenger services between Wareham and Swanage.