Two Visiting Locos Confirmed for 40th Anniversary Gala
First Time on Isle of Wight for Beattie Well Tank!
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway has announced that locomotives from the Bluebell Railway in Sussex and The Bodmin & Wenford Railway in Cornwall will be crossing the Solent in late May to appear at the IW Steam Railway's 40th Anniversary Spring Gala.
Ex-London & South Western Railway (LSWR) Beattie Well Tank Locomotive No. 30587 will be travelling up from Bodmin in Cornwall and making her first-ever appearance on the Island. Travelling over from mid-Sussex to make her third appearance at the Havenstreet-based steam line will be ex-London Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR) E4 Class locomotive No. 473 'Birch Grove'.
The visiting locomotives will be in steam at the first of the IW Steam Railway's 2011 Gala Weekends - one of many events being staged during this year to mark the 40th Anniversary of the IW Steam Railway. This '40th Anniversary Spring Gala' will be held over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend from Saturday 28th May to Bank Holiday Monday, 30th May, and will feature all of the IW Steam Railway's available locomotives in steam together with the visiting locos, possibly making the Gala the largest gathering of locomotives in steam on the Island since 1966.
Both visiting locomotives were built when Queen Victoria reigned and will be working alongside the IW Steam Railway's own Victorian locos, the 1891-built No 24 'Calbourne' and No. 8 'Freshwater' which dates from 1876. The Steam Railway will also have one of its Austerities, No. 192 'Waggoner', in steam together with former 1918-built industrial locomotive No. 38 'Ajax'.
The 1874-built Beattie Well Tank 30587 appears courtesy of the Bodmin & Wenford Railway in Cornwall and the National Railway Museum. Its visit will also mean that the IW Steam Railway's flagship locomotive No. 24 'Calbourne' will be joined for the first time since 1966 with another former LSWR locomotive. No. 30587 was designed by Joseph Hamilton Beattie, who held the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer for the LSWR from 1850 until 1871, while 'Calbourne' was built in 1891 at the Nine Elms locomotive works of the LSWR to a design by the then Chief Mechanical Engineer, William Adams.
Meanwhile 1898-built No. 473 'Birch Grove' appears courtesy of The Bluebell Railway in East Sussex, and her visit will unite it with another former LBSCR loco, No. 8 'Freshwater'. Both locomotives were built at the former Brighton locomotive works and both were designed by the famous Brighton engineer William Stroudley.
"We're really pleased to be bringing these locomotives to Havenstreet for our Spring Gala", said IW Steam Railway General Manager, Peter Vail. "And to have two such unique locomotives, both of which date from the Victorian era and both of which have a pedigree matching our own engines, makes it even more special. We're planning a packed weekend of passenger and goods trains featuring both of our guest engines and as many of our own locomotives as we can muster."
Other key events in the IW Steam Railway's 40th Anniversary year include 'The First train' on 12th April to mark the date 40 years ago when trains operated for the first time, and a weekend featuring 40 hours of 'non-stop' trains at the end of June. Other highlights of the 40th Anniversary year will include 'A Celebration of Island Steam' in September which, it is hoped, will see the return to steam of 1878-vintage locomotive No. 11 'Newport', a series of walks along some of the Island's former railway lines, specially commissioned film shows, and an auction of railwayana. It is also intended to host a 40th Anniversary Year lecture with a renowned guest speaker from the world of railways and/or preservation.