Planning for the future across the Solent
In the second of a two-part feature, Phil Marsh charts the development of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway from the new millennium to the present day, and looks at how the line is implementing its strategic development plan. All images by the author.
In the second of a two-part feature, Phil Marsh charts the development of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway from the new millennium to the present day – and also looks how the line is implementing its strategic development plan.
The early years of the new millennium saw members of the Royal Family travel on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway on two separate occasions. The first occurred on August 20, 2001, when the Duke of Edinburgh drove W24 Calbourne from Havenstreet to Wootton and back again. The Queen travelled on May 19, 2002, from Wootton to Havenstreet behind W8 Freshwater in a first class compartment of LCDR carriage No. 6369, and formally opened the £700,000 carriage and wagon workshop, part-funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Has any other achieved this honour?
There was one example of an Isle of Wight locomotive missing on the railway – an E4. The Bluebell Railway’s LBSCR 0-6-2T Birch Grove visited in 2003 and again in Southern livery in 2011.
The year 2005 was yet another busy and notable one. The Army, always enthused by the Havenstreet locomotive department and crews, led to its Hunslet 0-6-0ST No. 192 Waggoner arriving on loan on February 26 that year.
Peter Vail started employment at Havenstreet on April 21, 2005, becoming general manager on January 1, 2006, before retiring in June 2019. The Calbourne Room opened, vastly extending the railway’s catering offer.
Barclay 0-6-0T No. W38 Ajax has only worked for one boiler ticket so far in preservation and this started in June 2005, in steam after a 37 year gap! Waggoner entered revenue earning service on May 27, 2006, and these locomotives considerably relieved the pressure on the veteran locomotive f leet.
John Suggett retired after 17 years as chairman at the end of 2007 and Steve Oates took over. Steve is now CEO at the Heritage Railway Association, the industry’s trade body.
Being on an island, the need for volunteer quarters was obvious and in 2008, a new accommodation block with five bedrooms opened. The Wootton loop extension project was completed in readiness for the Ivatt locomotives promised by the Ivatt Trust.
Resources
May 26, 2008, was yet another key date in the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s (IoWSR) history when Keith Miller, head of department, weapons, equipment and vehicles at the National Army Museum, formally gifted Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0STs No. 192 Waggoner, No. 198 Royal Engineer and Barclay 0-4-0 diesel No. 235 ‘Mavis’.
This was vital because the IoWSR’s three vintage locomotives could now be operated more sparingly rather than daily.
The railway decided it needed a long-term strategic vision to deliver both expansion and financial security, while making clear it was not a business plan but forecasting potential expenditure of £4.5 million. This prioritised and guided the way forward, and is publicly available on the internet for all to see.
The railway’s carriage collection (see separate panel) is pre-grouping and recognised as a key historical national collection which demanded covered accommodation in a strategic plan.
Outline planning consent was granted for this in what was to become Train Story, which commenced as the Historic Rolling Stock Display and Interpretive Facility. The strategic plan identified the ‘missing’ IoW steam locomotive in the collection as a LBSCR 0-6-0T E1 class.
The plan was launched on June 6, 2009, the day the four Ivatt Trust locomotives passed into IoWSR’s ownership. The locomotive group’s trustees, Roy Miller and Peter Clarke, who played a huge part in setting up the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, also donated other valuable items.
On the same day, visitor Raymond Harvey (not a member of the IoWSR) spoke to trustee Simon Futcher and suggested that W8 Freshwater be turned out in its original Stroudley livery, and that he would sponsor the livery. Steve Oates received a call 18 months later from Raymond, who repeated his offer and expressed disappointment that W24 Calbourne was carrying BR black livery.
Several calls were made to Raymond to discuss the offer, but were not returned. Sadly, he had passed away, but left his estate to the IoWSR and the National Trust. About £600,000 went to the IoWSR as a result, and Raymond proposed the legacy be used to start a fund to acquire or create a SER Class E1 in SR green livery, while also paying for W8 and W24 to be similarly turned out. This enabled LBSCR E1 No. 32110 to be acquired to be returned to service as W2 Yarmouth in the requested livery.
His legacy will be realised as W24 will be in