‘O2’ DISCOVER WHAT HAPPENED TO W36
I read with interest, and I must admit a slight smile, the mention in your esteemed magazine of the possibility that the boiler of ‘O2’ No. W32 Bonchurch may be living in blissful retirement on the Isle of Wight (SR461). A group of friends and I have spent the last year piecing together the history of island steam’s final years, trying to solve some of the unrecorded mysteries. Sadly, therefore, it seems to fall to me to quash the charming myth about Bonchurch’s boiler, as some of us actually saw the locomotive cut up - and that included the boiler barrel. I can, however, shed some light on the origin of this rumour. The boiler from the Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T named Bonchurch was saved, many years before, and sold for use in a local laundry, before also being broken up some time later. It appears that the two locomotives have become muddled in the mists of time. However, there is one ‘O2’ mystery that is still very much alive and kicking, and I wonder if any of your readers can solve what is possibly the last piece in the jigsaw of the 1960s island disposals. The gruesome end of each 0-4-4T can be tied down to an exact location and to within a matter of days, with one exception: No. W36 Carisbrooke. All we know for sure is that it was removed from service with cylinder defects soon after Easter 1964 and laid aside at Ryde St Johns Road. Repairs were not attempted and it was officially withdrawn in June, but that is where the mystery starts, as it is strongly believed that it lingered on for a surprising amount of time afterwards. However, not one photograph has come to light that shows No. W36 after withdrawal, and there are no recorded sightings that cannot be contested in one way or another, plus not a solitary mention of dismantling. That is until its boiler suddenly pops up outside Ryde Works in the run-up to Christmas 1965, nearly 20 months after its last steaming. Even then, it appears to do a vanishing act over the festive period, with no record of its scrapping, movement or sale. So, may I ask the assistance of the Steam Railway readership? If you had an interest in the island’s railways in the mid-1960s and kept notes or, better still, took dated photographs, could you please check back through your records and albums? Where was Carisbrooke between the spring of 1964 and the autumn of 1965? Derek Gawn, by email
SOME OF US ACTUALLY SAW THE LOCOMOTIVE CUT UP - AND THAT INCLUDED THE BOILER BARREL