When the Wych Farm oil and gas field came into production, a railway terminal was constructed at Furzebrook where the former Swanage branch terminated. The produce was transported to Fawley refinery, but the trains had to reverse to gain access to the Fawley branch as it faced towards Southampton. Consequently, both up and down trains were reversed in the up loop outside the station at Southampton, allowing the locomotives to run round. This duty was usually carried out by a class 47 loco but pairs of class 33 locos also performed the task.

 
References to these workings can be found in :-