It’s full steam ahead at the IW Steam railway where rising visitors have prompted a doubling of the locomotive fleet and the appointment of a new, full-time Engineering Manager.
The railway is facing ‘a great opportunity and a challenge’ explained General Manager Peter Vail, thanks to the ‘extremely generous’ gift of seven new locomotives, four from the Ivatt Trust and three from the national army museum.
It is this, along with the rise in demand that has prompted the introduction of the new post.
David Savill, from Shanklin, was last week delighted to take up the new role and finds it sedate compared to his previous work in London.
“It’s very nice to get near to something so old and historical,” he said. “In London Underground the pressure’s on keeping the trains running at full speed. This is more relaxing.”
First on his list is to get the Railways’ flagship engine ‘Calbourne’ back on track. Replacing the locomotive’s boiler is, he said, a ‘huge task’, and the move to working with steam engines has been challenging. David is grateful for training from IW Railway’s Locomotive Support Manager Len Pullinger.
“I’ve not had any previous experience and there’s not many people in the country that can do it any more,” he said. “We’re trying to get young people here trained up to keep it going because it’s a dying art.”
The Isle of Wight Steam railway is located at Havenstreet Station (PO33 4DS) – 3 miles from Ryde and 3 miles from Newport.
