Isle of Wight Steam Railway

You call in further WIBN, but some of that is actually official IOWSR policy. They have fairly recently made an approach to purchase one of the Australian BP 2-4-0s. This was rejected by the owners (as the IOWSR expected) , however was more a case of them registering their interest. It’s not outside the realms of possibility that the owners might one day change their minds.

 

Please read what I said properly! It was nothing to do with engines As far as I know Ashbury built nothing for the IOW whereas Oldbury did One "Oldbury" has been done up and another one is progressing well

 

might i have just gotten my coach builders mixed up? As ever Paul, your like a Terrier with a bone over your beliefs on what the industry should, or shouldn't do.

 

Aye, I perused the carriage group's Faceache page just yesterday. Looking nice .... very nice indeed!

 

I recall hearing about their inquiry over the Australian BP 2-4-0s before, though do wonder whether the IoWSR would actually be better off buying this example or just build one themselves. I realize it would seem a no-brainer that building one would be more expensive then buying a pre-existing sample, but there several factors at play here.

For one just what are the condition of these engines in Australia, might it be in need of so much work you'd be better off to build your own from scratch anyway? And of course the clear benefit also would be the fact that once built you got yourself a brand new and pretty reliable machine as a result, with a lot of usefulness to take advantage of.

Certainly as far as new builds go, I can't imagine a BP 2-4-0 should be all that big a challenge to build, as they seem like they were pretty simple machines compared to other new build projects.

And finally it would certainly be good practice for the folks at IoWSR to learn for to build from scratch, for none of their locomotives are getting any younger. They brought the Ivatt tanks in to supposedly help take the strain off the elder Terriers and Calbourne, yet their both about 70 years old at this point! Inevitably the railway will need to have all their locomotives parts replaced completely if they want them to keep running reliably for generations to come, though I reckon they more then aware of this already. I'm sure I recall that at least one of their Terriers has already had a brand new boiler built for them, a benefit I suppose to their demunitive size, not so challenging or expensive a boiler to have built from new I'd imagine compared to others.

 

I think if you look at the scale and scope of the repairs carried out at Havenstreet, there isn't much where I feel "they need more practice!"

As for - hypothetically - whether a BP 2-4-0T would be a challenge to build or not, don't confuse tonnage with complexity. Until you have looked in detail at the drawings, it is difficult to say definitively how complex a particular design is.

Tom

 

I don't get me wrong here, I most certainly don't wish to be perceived as judging negatively the quality and complexity of work they do at Havenstreet, not at all. The work they do there really I'd say is second to none, and that's just with their steam locomotives, for the work they do with their carriages is something else entirely! I am aware as well that they are hoping to have a new facility built to work on the locomotives at some point, citing the current one as a bit small and out of date for what they want.

You have me there as well over the BP, I will admit to just have made the assumption simply down to how long ago they were built, as the tradition line of thinking seems to be that the older the design the simpler it is. But of course that's not always the case.

 

I'm not sure how many standard gauge BP 2-4-0s people think are surviving in Australia but the country is far from being awash with them. There are in fact only two survivors. No.1033, is a well restored static exhebit at what was the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum at Thirlmere. Then No.1042 is preserved in a park at Maitland, in the heart of the Newcastle coal mining area. Even if, in the unlikely event of their owners being prepaired to sell either loco I understand that Australia now has strict laws about the export of its transport heritage. So if you really want to see a BP 2-4-0 type loco running on the IoW I'm afraid you will have to build your own.

Peter

 

Having a look at the strategic vision
"A long-term objective is to build a replica of one or more former Island
locomotives"
But may not be a priority?
The strategic vision also mentions getting a tube train which is now feasable.

 

The current building, and the whole yard really, is a bit small, but the quality of the work done is top standard. Both terriers have had new boilers, Calbourne has had substantial work done and the E1, when the time comes, will be a major job indeed,

Secondly a BP tank would be lovely, but I'm not sure another smaller loco would be a priority, as even the bigger locos are reasonably economical on the lighter train set.

I believe the railway asked about the Australian one fully expecting to be turned down, but hoping to end some of the speculation!

 

What I can tell you is that the appearance of a recreated ex-NLR (inside cylindered) 4-4-0T IWC No.7* would indicate Camelot finally getting the damned lottery numbers right**!


* this one's just me and I honestly don't know why this particular long-lost design appeals so much, though AFAIR, there's no surviving standard gauge tank loco example of this wheel arrangement.

** and @gwalkeriow I've not forgotten that batch of Fox pattern bogies ... if and when!

 

Met #23 is a 4-4-0. Think you'd have more chance of building a new one than that one escaping.
Or, if you think creatively - 1oN. natiloporteM is a 4-4-0...

 

Coming from the IOWSR, are you allowed to say this? Aren't you in danger of being frogmarched away to some quiet corner to be 'corrected'

 

Just see who "liked" that post

 

Ooh .... you're dead right there. Do you reckon I could convincingly claim I discounted it on the grounds of it having a leading Bissell truck*, rather than a proper bogie? Didn't think so!

* Am I remembering correctly .... it does have a Bissell truck, doesn't it?

 

It's fine, even our big engines are hardly BIG!

 

If we are building new 4-4-0 tanks, can we have either a new Met one or a North London Railway outside cylinder please? What charming locos

 

I thought a Bissel was a carpet Sweeper?

 

Kindly keep your 8 wheeled trams off the carpet!

Well, that's actually why I want to see the 1860s beastie .... 'coz anyone who claps eyes on the later 'Bow 1-10 Class' is gonna want one and I'd certainly not discourage you - or anyone else - from commissioning one, as they were just that cute. I somehow doubt those outside cylinders would've suited the IoW loading gauge.

The Slaughter Gruning locos, though well proportioned, (even I'll admit) could best be described as 'workmanlike', but hey, it's not just a beauty contest!

 

But also to formally register their interest, just in case the owners ever decided to sell.

A new build BP is probably more likely than that happening though. Still not likely for a long time, but perhaps once more Oldburys are restored interest may grow in the idea of creating an appropriate loco to go with them.

There have been murmurings at the IOWSR in the past about building another O2. I’ve also heard an idea to a replica Manning Wardle no.1 Medina. Both will definitely go ahead once I win the lottery, along with an extension to Newport.