MALACHITE GREEN FOR ‘O2’ CALBOURNE AND ‘TERRIER’ FRESHWATER
Post-war Malachite green will be applied to ‘O2’ No. W24 Calbourne and ‘Terrier’ No. W8 Freshwater when they emerge from their next overhauls at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. The Adams 0-4-4T will receive a variant of the latter-day Southern Railway colour scheme that it has not yet worn in preservation – with 1948 ‘British Railways’ branding – although it may revert to the original ‘Southern’ at a later date. The Stroudley 0-6-0T will be the first of its class in preservation to carry Malachite green, with the Southern ‘sunshine’ lettering. Freshwater never ran in this guise, but fellow island example No. W13 Carisbrooke did. Consideration was given to renumbering it as its scrapped classmate, but it was decided to retain its real identity. Currently in SR Maunsell-era olive green, Freshwater’s ‘ten-year’ boiler certificate expires in March next year, but it will be relegated to standby duty after the summer, says director Steve Smart: “We tend to stand the ‘Terriers’ down after September because we’re only running one train, but it’s longer and needs steam-heating.” Accordingly, an ‘Island Steam Event’ is to be held on August 4/5, with Freshwater in steam alongside classmate No. W11 Newport, and Calbourne. The ‘O2’ has around two years left before its boiler certificate expires in 2020. It last carried Malachite green in the 1980s, running in SR olive green with the smaller bunker during the 1990s before reverting to BR condition during its latest overhaul. Both are likely to retain their new liveries for most, if not all, of their next stint, says IoWSR Company Secretary Iain Whitlam: “We usually make major changes of livery when the engines have major work, and we get about eight years out of them before they start to look tired. “Some prefer Calbourne in BR black because it’s what they remember, but you’re never going to please everybody – the Ivatt tanks are BR, and we haven’t had a Malachite locomotive for a while.”