There is a strong, healthy, upbeat message about 2006 from the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. For the first time in the Railway's 35 year history, there will be no less than five operational steam locomotives available for service this summer.

LB&SCR A1x 'Terrier' No.W8 'Freshwater', Hawthorn Leslie (ex Woolwich Arsenal & Royal Aircraft Establishment Farnborough) No.W37 'Invincible', Andrew Barclay No.W38 'Ajax' and two Hunslet 'Austerity' 0-6-0ST, No's.WD192 'Waggoner and WD 198 'Royal Engineer', both on loan from the National Army Museum, will all be hauling passenger trains during the 2006 season which commences on Sunday 19th March.

Chief Mechanical Engineer Len Pullinger explained that the Railway is now striding away from the severe motive power shortage of recent years -

"Had it not been for the National Army Museum's very generous loan of 'Royal Engineer' we would never have been able to meet service commitments - longer and more frequent trains were required to meet customer demand and we simply did not have the necessary locomotives. The Railway could never have survived with only the three Island locomotives, the two 'Terriers' and flagship locomotive, 1891-built L&SWR O2 Class No.W24 'Calbourne'. The 'Terriers' cannot haul sufficient payload for really busy days, both they and the O2 were suffering major mechanical problems that required heavy and expensive repairs. It was a real fight to keep 'Calbourne' and 'Newport', both withdrawn from service in 2002, in traffic for as long as we did. 'Royal Engineer' has been the mainstay of steam services for the past few years and a major contributor to our success".

L&SWR O2 Class No.W24 'Calbourne' - Boiler overhaul now underway.

Len pointed to the railway's determination to have all three Island engines back in service as soon as possible -

"We put a new boiler on 'Freshwater' some years ago - the first standard gauge railway locomotive in preservation to have a completely new boiler and 'Calbourne's boiler is currently undergoing a major overhaul at Pete Waterman's LNWR Crewe Works, it is expected to return to Havenstreet in 2007 to be reunited with the overhauled chassis"'.

" Funding for the overhaul of 'Calbourne' has come from a successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund and a generously supported public appeal. The condition of out of service 'Terrier' No.W11 'Newport' is currently being assessed, work is scheduled to begin 'in house' in the coming months. Major investment is being poured into both Island engines so that, once the necessary work has been completed, they will be fit for many more years of reliable and trouble free service". For more details ot the Isle of Wight Steam Railway's fleet of steam and diesel engines visit the Locomotives page.

1876-built LB&SCR A1x 'Terrier' No.W8 'Freshwater' - will continue in service this year.

Apart from the two 'Austerity' Saddle Tanks and a Barclay 0-4-0 Diesel Shunter, all on long term loan from the National Army Museum, the Railway owns all of its locomotives, rolling stock, infrastructure and the land on which it stands, a very fortunate position wihich makes it the envy of many other Heritage Railways. By following a tight fiscal policy, laid down 10 years ago by the then Chief Executive & General Manager Hugh Boynton, the railway has no debts and maintains a healthy cashflow. Hugh retired on 31st December 2005 and has passed the reins over to Peter Vail."Although we are now very secure with a healthy bank balance, this is not a recipe for spend, spend, spend", said Peter Vail, the Railway's new General Manager. " There will be no relaxation in the tight financial control that has got us to where we are now" says Peter- "it is our security and our future - and to do otherwise would be a foolhardy, slippery slope backwards - we will remain prudent."

The Railway earns its capital funds by holding a number of Special Events each year, and these hold the key to continued success. Commercial Manager Jim Loe, commented - "Our Special Events are a vital financial lifeline. It seems to be a commonly held belief among enthusiasts and the general public that running trains is all we need do to stay in business. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and is the reason why British Railways closed the line in the first place - passenger revenue fell well short of costs. Nowadays, because many duties are covered by our loyal volunteers, our fares just about cover our operating costs, but no more. They make no contribution towards major expenditure items, such as embankment stabilisation works, sleeper and rail replacement, major repairs to locomotives and carriages, new buildings, or anything else requiring significant investment. Although the Railway has to be run on a strictly business basis we still aim to make it a pleasure to visit and operate, giving enjoyment, pleasure and education for visitors, staff and our many supporters."

LB&SCR A1x No.W11 'Newport', built at Brighton Works in 1878. Overhaul work will begin shortly.

"A major problem that we face is the lack of significant conurbations on this mostly rural Island, although of course it is reasonably busy with holiday makers during the summer season. Although we are one of the Island's major tourist attractions, we share in the ups and downs of the holiday business, and the Island alone cannot sustain us. We have worked extremeley hard in recent years to secure day trip business from the mainland, made possible by the excellent connections provided by Wightlink ferries and Island Line, which put us little more than 30 minutes travelling time from Portsmouth Harbour, or 2 hours from London Waterloo." For further travel information vist the How to Find Us page.

"Although Special Events provide our financial stability, they are expensive to stage, and in order that they produce the necessary financial return they must be interesting, entertaining and well organised. It is essential that our events provide visitors with value for money, especially those who may have no particular interest in railways. A number of our Events are of little railway significance but, because they are held on our premises, we also benefit from the secondary spend."

"In recent years it is our Special Events that have provided the funding for development projects such as the enlargement of our cafeteria, the provision of platform lighting, the tarmac surfacing of the car park and drive at Havenstreet Station, embankment stabilisation works and the purchase of additional land for desperately needed siding space. All of this has been achieved without having to borrow money, but we still have a long way to go. In the future we must invest heavily in improved facilities for both visitors and staff and provide under cover storage for locomotives, rolling stock and many other items of historical importance. There is also the urgent requirement to replace our prefabricated administration building with a more substantial and suitable structure that can also fulfill other functions, such as providing exhibition and lecture room space".

The August Bank Holiday Steam Show.

The Railway's three largest annual events are the August Bank Holiday Island Steam Show, held every year since 1975, 'A Day Out with Thomas', and 'Santa Specials.' All of these are firm favourites with visitors and provide much needed income, but are certainly not immune from the vagaries of the weather, which has a major effect on outdoor activities. In recent years a '1940's Weekend' has proved a very popular additon to the calendar and 2006 will see yet more events added to the growing list; A Real Ale Festival presenting over forty beers from both Island and Mainland breweries will be held at the end of April, there will be guided "behind the scenes" evening tours at Havenstreet Station on Wednesday evenings. Local amateur dramatic group, 'The Bellevue Players', will present an evening open-air production of 'The darling buds of May' at Havenstreet Station in June and the annual Ghost Walks at the end of October will be supplemented by new Halloween events during 'Wizard Week'. Our well established and hugely popular fish & chip evening specials will continue to operate during the months of July and August.

The 1940's Weekend.

Another inovation this year is what Jim describes as a 'Works Outing'! "If it works, it will have an outing!" he explained. Over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, 27th, 28th and 29th of May, all five serviceable steam locomotives will be active, in service and/or on view, as will the three diesel locomotives. It is planned to operate three trains, two passenger, and one goods, all with different locomotive combinations on each day. The Locomotive Workshop and the Carriage & Wagon workshop will be open for guided tours.

On Wednesdays from the end of May through until the end of August, two locomotives will be in steam to provide a second passenger train, or a goods train and will also be giving shunting demonstrations. Lastly, to mark the 40th anniversary of the last day of British.Railways steam on the Island there will be a special commemorative train service on 31st December.

A Day Out with 'Thomas'.

Jim concluded: "The pieces are now firmly in place to help us maintain a healthy and profitable future for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. We will continue to maintain our vintage carriages and locomotives in pristine condition, and look forward to seeing all three Island engines back in traffic in the near future. 2006 will be an extremely busy year for us and, with lots of new ideas, it promises to be an exciting one too, both for us and our visitors."

For full details of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway's exciting 2006 programme visit the Special Events page.