Grounded Bodies


10 3-compartment Composite IWR Built 1864
One of 24 carriages built by the Oldbury Carriage and Wagon Company Ltd in readiness for the opening of the Isle of Wight Railway from Ryde to Shanklin. It has a large central First Class compartment flanked by two Second Class compartments. The roof profile was almost flat and lighting was by oil lamp. The carriage survived to be fitted with electric lights and was withdrawn in 1923. A new life as a garden chalet at Bembrige followed. It was donated to the Wight Locomotive Society and was moved to Havenstreet in 1983.
21 3-compartment First IWR Built 1864
Also one of the original carriages from the 1864 opening and with the same distinctive features. It has three equal size compartments which had bench seats against each partition. It became a workshop next to a bungalow at Cranmore and is thought to have arrived soon after the house was built in 1913. After donation to the Wight Locomotive Society it traveled to Havenstreet in September 1980. IWR 21
Unidentified 4-compartment Second IWR Built 1864
Although not positively identified this carriage is believed to be one of the eight of this type ordered for the opening of the Isle of Wight Railway in 1864, built by the Oldbury Carriage and Wagon Company. After withdrawal from service it was grounded as a chalet at Thorness Bay around the start of the First World War and, over the years, had to be moved back from the cliff edge because of erosion. It arrived at Havenstreet in 1991.
35 4-compartment Composite IWR Built 1875
It has proved impossible so far to positively identify this vehicle. Although bearing all the hallmarks of an Oldbury-built vehicle it is unlike anything delivered new to the Isle of Wight Railway. For many years after its discovery at St Helens no clue as to its origin was known until it was identified in the background of a photograph taken at Bembrige. It is known that carriage No.35 was altered from a Second to a Composite at Ryde in 1883 for service on the Brading Harbour Railway and it is surmised that this body is of that vehicle. This carriage was generously donated to the Steam Railway in 1993.
38 3-compartment Composite IWR Built 1882
This is one of a pair of Composite First/Third carriages ordered from the Oldbury Carriage and Wagon Company, along with four Seconds and cost £352. It received Southern Railway livery and was renumbered 6335 in October 1924, remaining in service until March 1927. The body was discovered built into a bungalow on Hayling Island and in 1975 was moved to Havenstreet to await restoration.
39 4-compartment Second IWR Built 1882
This carriage was one of four Seconds delivered in 1882 along with two Composites which had a higher roof profile than the earlier Isle of Wight Railway stock. It survived to come under the ownership of the Southern Railway, receiving the number 2421 in 1924. Final withdrawal followed in 1927 when it migrated to Hayling Island, becoming part of a bungalow. After donation to the Steam Railway it was initially moved to a site at the Portsmouth Polytechnic and then in March 1978 it arrived back on the Isle of Wight. iwr 39
2418 7-compartment Third LCDR Built 1895
This short bogie carriage was one of a batch of five built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway at Long hedge, three of which came to the Isle of Wight. When originally built 2418 was fitted with Westinghouse air brakes which were subsequently replaced by those of the vacuum system. In 1933 air brakes were refitted for service on the Island. The coach was stored for most of the war years, finally being withdrawn from service in 1948. When scrapped the body was cut in two, both halves being grounded at Dodnor Farm, Newport. Both sections are now at Havenstreet, awaiting their turn for restoration. lcdr 2418 - half body
4115 5-compartment Brake Third LCDR Built 1898
In 1898 Brown, Marshall of Birmingham built six Brake Thirds for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, five of which were destined for service on the Isle of Wight. The coach was transferred to the Island in 1933. During its Island service its wood paneled exterior was covered over with steel sheet although the lined olive livery was applied to simulate the old style. After withdrawal from service in 1948 it was moved to Ash Hill Farm at Atherfield where it was used as a farm store and animal shelter. 4115 was the first carriage body to be rescued by the Wight Locomotive Society, being moved to Havenstreet in 1975.
6378 4-compartment Composite LCDR Built 1886
This was one of a series of First Class carriages built by the London Chatham and Dover Railway in its own workshops for boat train service. It originally ran on six wheels, the center pair being removed in 1920. No date has been confirmed when one compartment was downgraded from first to third Class making it a composite, but 1927 seems likely when selected for transfer to the Isle of Wight. In the event it was 1930 before it was transferred as part of Set 505. Withdrawal took place in 1937 when it became a garden chalet at Rookley Green from whence it was rescued in 1984.
Unidentified 8-compartment Third LCDR various  
When withdrawn in 1948 and 1949 the bodies of many of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway bogie carriages were offered for sale. Besides the two Brake Thirds, one of which is already at Havenstreet (see 4115), all other known remaining bodies have been of "halves" of Thirds. The two portions of 2418 have been saved and additionally several parts of other bodies obtained. Most have not been in good enough condition to warrant retaining intact and have been dismantled to provide a source of spare parts., although two unidentified portions, consisting of two and three compartments, are retained as potential restoration project.
2403 8-compartment Third LBSCR Built 1903
This is the only non-Island carriage in the Isle of Wight Steam Railway collection. Two identical coaches did run on the Island and it is for this reason that it has found a place at Havenstreet. Its early history has not yet been thoroughly researched although it is known that it was grounded at Runcton, near Chichester in 1931 and built into a bungalow. An appeal raised sufficient money to have the body transported to the Island in 1991. Restoration is being undertaken as a private venture by Kim Chalkey, the railways former Carriage and Wagon Supervisor. Funds are raised through a second hand bookshop sited in the carriage. At present the exterior is restored and the interior woodwork is 50% completed. When work on the body is complete it will be mounted on a suitable underframe. An Island series number has been allocated, being the next vacant after the last transferred London, Brighton and South Coast Railway carriage.
4116 5-compartment Brake Third LCDR Built 1898

Built by Brown Marshall of Birmingham, one of six ordered, and delivered to the LCDR on 28th February 1898 as No 1189. In October 1906 it was renumbered SECR 3415, at which time it lost the Westinghouse brake fitted from new. The Southern Railway renumbered it 3251 at Ashford on 11th November 1924, and again to 4116 on 16th May 1933 at Eastleigh after it had been selected for further service on the Isle of Wight, at which time the vacuum brakes were removed and Westinghouse refitted.

It was transferred to the Island on 23rd June 1933 as part of 4-Set No 496. During its time on the Island the wooden panelling was completed replaced with galvanised steel sheet, painted to simulate panels. Withdrawn on 8th May 1948, the body was bought by Mr Chiverton and delivered to Fairfields Farm in the summer of 1948 and transferred to Havenstreet in November 2001. 4116 is a sister vehicle to 4115, already in the railway's ownership. These are the only two complete examples of LCDR bogie coaches known, others on the Island having been cut in half when sold off after withdrawal, and therefore of historical significance.

FYNR No.6 4-compartment composite MSJ&AR  
Built c.1880 for the Manchester South Junction & Altrincham Railway, later Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway and then part of the Great Central Railway. 26' 9" long, 8' 0" wide, body height 7' 3". Built as a 4-compartment Second Class vehicle, it was one of seven purchased by the Freshwater Yarmouth & Newport Railway late in 1912 but not transferred to the Island until 25 June 1913. For the FYN it was retrimmed to provide two First class and two Third class compartments, the Thirds at each end. Livery remained GCR varnished teak with the company initials altered to FYN. It retained the vacuum brakes and could only work with locomotive FYN No.2 (the preserved "Terrier", No.8 Freshwater). On 30 April 1924 it became SR No.6359 and was withdrawn on 31 December 1930. The body was sold off and, with a sister vehicle, was grounded in 1931 at Wootton where it first became a chalet and later a yachtsman's store.
During the 1980s, as vehicles with underframes suitable for use in our project to return historic carriages to use became available, they were purchased from British Railway and moved to the Island. The following bodies have been grounded at Havenstreet and their underframes re-used:
ADS70014 Tool van LSWR 1924 Built 1924
Accommodation Underframe
1048 PMV SR Built 1943
Underframe for 4112
S1533 PMV SR Built 1947
Underframe for 6369
S1617 PMV BR Built 1950
Underframe for 2343
S1669 PMV BR Built 1950
Underframe for 2515
S1750 CCT SR Built 1938
Underframe for 6336
S1783 PMV SR Built 1942
Underframe stored

For more details of our historic carriage and wagon stock visit the following pages:

BOGIE CARRIAGES
FOUR WHEELED CARRIAGES
STOCK LIST
WAGONS

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Page last modified 11/11/06.
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