The Isle of Wight Steam Railway has one of the most magnificent collections of historic railway vehicles to be seen on any heritage railway today. Passengers on the railway are guaranteed to be travelling in a carriage at least seventy five years old, the most modern carriage in regular service was built in 1924!
Six bogie carriages of London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and South Eastern and Chatham Railway origin were acquired by the Wight Locomotive Society, along with a variety of wagons, at the end of British Railways steam services on the Isle of Wight in 1966. Initial restoration took place at Newport Station and, following the move to Havenstreet and the establishment of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway in 1971, a restoration and maintenance programme commenced which continues to the present day. Five of the original coaches are at present in regular service on the Steam Railway.
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W24 'Calbourne' climbs
out of Havenstreet with a train of LB&SCR and SECR bogie coaches
bound for Smallbrook Junction - 26 July 2000
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In the early 1970's a plan was formulated to acquire grounded bodies of carriages which had been either built for or purchased second-hand by the old Island railway companies or had been imported to the Island by the Southern Railway, for eventual return to passenger service. Various underframes for use under these historic carriages have been acquired and, to date, four vehicles have been fully restored and can be seen in service on the Steam Railway.
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Push-pull set 484 consisting
of LCDR 4112 and 6369.
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All of the restoration work on our historic carriages and wagons has taken place in our own purpose-built Cariage and Wagon restoration workshop at Havenstreet. The workshop was built with the aid of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and was opened by Her Majesty The Queen in June 2004. Two full time members of staff are employed on carriage and wagon restoration duties, assisted by a small but dedicated team of volunteers. The team can be found at work on weekdays, most Tuesday and Thursday evenings and on Saturdays. Our workforce vary from the highly skilled ex railway carpenter to those with no particular skill but who just enjoy being part of a small and friendly team. For information on how to join them visit our VOLUNTEERS page or E-Mail havenstreet@iwsteamrailway.co.uk For up-to-date news of the progress of carriage and wagon restoration on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway visit the latest Carriage & Wagon Update page.
For more details of our historic carriage and wagon stock visit the following pages: STOCK LIST
BOGIE CARRIAGES
FOUR WHEELED CARRIAGES
GROUNDED BODIES
WAGONS