Prestigious Award Presented to IW Steam Railway on BBC 1's The National Lottery's Big Night Out

Isle of Wight Steam Railway

WINNER – BEST HERITAGE PROJECT

The National Lottery Awards 2010

Steam Railway Receives Award on Live Television

The Isle of Wight Steam Railway has won the award for Best Heritage Project in this year’s National Lottery Awards. The win was announced at a special star-studded celebratory Awards event - The National Lottery's Big Night - broadcast live on BBC One from London's Roundhouse on the evening of Saturday 4 September.

Working under the project title ‘Isle of Wight Railway Restoration’, the Havenstreet-based steam line scooped the prestigious award by topping the Heritage Projects category against other Lottery-funded projects from around the country. The Railway was chosen by a nationwide public vote which took place last month.

Saturday evening’s hour-long programme was hosted by John Barrowman and featured music performances from McFly and Taio Cruz. A variety of National Lottery funded projects from around the UK, including the IW Steam Railway, were honoured, with awards in seven categories covering health, sport, the environment, arts, education, voluntary services and heritage. Celebrities including Tess Daly, Alex James, Benedict Cumberbatch, Amir Khan, Larry Lamb, Matt Baker and Julia Bradbury were on-hand to present the different awards, with the award for Best Heritage Project being made by Coronation Street’s Sacha Parkinson and William Roache MBE.

After a short film featuring the Steam Railway and two other heritage projects shortlisted for the award, William Roache opened the envelope in true awards-ceremony style to announce the winner, and then invited the IW Steam Railway’s Chairman Steve Oates and General Manager Peter Vail up to the stage to collect the award.

On accepting the award, speaking from the stage, Steve Oates said, “This is a tremendous accolade for The Isle of Wight Steam Railway and a wonderful tribute to the hard work put in by our staff and volunteers who do so much to keep a piece of Isle of Wight heritage alive … A huge thank-you to everyone who voted for us and to the National Lottery whose support really does means so much to us.”

The Isle of Wight Railway Restoration Project is saving and restoring a unique and nationally important collection of Victorian and Edwardian carriages. As well as the prestige of winning the top award and the excellent profile received on national television, the Steam Railway also receives a very welcome boost to its funds with a winner’s cheque for £2,000 – Money which will go towards the continuing restoration and conversion of carriage 2403. Work on this carriage is already underway and will have seats for 70 passengers and spaces for 6 wheelchair borne visitors to be transported in Edwardian splendour.

Peter Vail, General Manager of The Isle of Wight Steam Railway, says: "Our heritage railway has a unique collection of historic steam locomotives, Victorian and Edwardian carriages, and other rare rolling stock, all of which are recognised to be of national importance. Lottery funding is so vital to us, helping us to secure a fascinating piece of Island railway history, and to ensure we can continue to restore, preserve and operate these unique railway vehicles for future generations to enjoy.”

About The National Lottery Awards

The National Lottery Awards recognise the difference that Lottery-funded projects – both big and small – make to local communities, and celebrate the achievements of the people behind them. The Awards themselves are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects. Each of the winning projects, including the IW Steam Railway, have already received Lottery funding and the Awards recognise and celebrate how they have put that money to good use.

Background to the ‘Isle of Wight Restoration’ Project

The ‘Isle of Wight Railway Restoration’ project has restored Victorian and Edwardian passenger carriages and goods wagons, enabling residents and visitors to the Island to take a special journey ‘back in time’ on an authentic 100-year-old steam train, riding in beautifully restored and refurbished wooden-bodied carriages dating from the era of Queen Victoria. A registered educational charity, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway is unique among Heritage Railways in the UK in regularly operating Victorian and Edwardian trains. Integral to the project, the Railway is keeping alive the disappearing skills of carriage restoration, and also makes considerable effort to involve local people in the restoration work and to promote the educational aspects of the Railway.

In 2002 the Isle of Wight Steam Railway was granted £489,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the cost of restoring 9 historic railway carriages and wagons dating from the 1860s to the 1920s. The grant provided 75% of the funding towards the cost of a purpose built workshop and materials for the restoration of the vehicles. The Queen opened the Carriage & Wagon workshop in 2004 and travelled on a train of restored carriages. The first stage of the restoration is now complete and the public can travel on a train of Victorian railway carriages, hauled by a 130 year old steam engine. The second phase of the project to restore bogie carriages typical of trains on the Isle of Wight from the 1920s onwards is now underway. Part of this imaginative project is to restore and convert derelict carriage 2403, built in 1903, into a vehicle capable of transporting wheelchair borne visitors with their families and friends.

The Steam Railway believes it is important to retain and pass on the many dying trades of railway carriage building and restoration. John James, 67, a retired railway staff member from Wootton, still works at the Steam Railway on two days each week and passes on his skills to our apprentices and younger volunteers.

In 2005, the Steam Railway was also granted £50,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the overhaul of the boiler on the Railway’s 1891 locomotive No. 24 ‘Calbourne’. Work on rebuilding this historic Victorian locomotive is complete and it is now back in steam.

The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is an educational charity run by 260 volunteers and 20 full time staff. Visitors to the Steam Railway can travel in some of our previously restored carriages; the income from their fares helps fund the restoration of more of these unique vehicles.