Isle of Wight Steam Railway

Bl**dy gricers!

 

Thats nothing, just think of the money jingling trough your tills, when the Big Boy visits
In some ways the retirement of the 38's has been a missed opportunity Imagine if the track at Smallbrook had been slewed and the units earmarked for the LT Group, and number 7, had been delivered via Smallbrook, The IOWSR, could have staged a special, once off , never to be repeated week end of farewell to the 38's with the units loco hauled, either by steam, or 03, a unit on display in train story, perhaps changing them over the course of the week end, what would have done for the bottom line, prior to the road transport taking the units out and back to the mainland during the next week

 

Sorry Martin but are you in a position to assist with the work and expense of what would have been involved? (for little financial benefit I suspect). It's all too easy to have such ideas.

(Apologies for being a bit ''rough'', but there is a limit to the amount of WIBN which can be endured).

 

That would make a nice one for the small engines vent, but how about one of these as well to represent "bigchufferitis"?

 

Well, That certainly is one big chuffer

 

Ooh! A Pennsy Q2 - nice.

 

Well, it’s air braked at least and you solve the Wootton headshunt problem by just keeping going on the first arrival and using that nice plough at the front to dig through ...

Tom

 

It would be fascinating to see one of those alongside a Terrier.

 

It is worth noting that it comes with the 'dog house' on the tender. Ideal for one person protests.

Duplexes and boxpox wheels a more Southern design it hard to imagine.

 

Wait, you can actually tolerate an amount of WIBN? I was under the impression that to you it was a scourge that had to be stamped down every time it rested its ugly head

 

WIBN is a bit like flatulence. Not good but sometimes best simply ignored.

 

And also WIBN is sometimes followed through.

 

Though if you don't, it can certainly be an almighty relief to just let rip occasionally

 

I remember kicking off a bit of 'WIBN' which eventually evolved into what looked like a workable idea

 

In answer to your question, If I lived on the island, and was with in an easy drive of Havenstreet, there is a very strong likelihood, given my past experience, that i would have become an active volunteer , When I do travel across to the Island, I don't see much change out of £100 so i am not in the position to get actively involved, but if i were, as a former C&W engineer, there is every likelihood i would have been involved, in such an project,
My views are directly opposite to your Paul, I think people should have dreams, ideas, because from those ideas, thats how the future is made, we are but custodians, of our heritage, and those that come after us, will say, its a good job we didnt listen to the likes of that Paul guy, otherwise we would be in a far poorer state,
WIBN, it has to be said should be tempered with reality, and a very large dose of clarity, for instance, I would love to see Ventnor, and Cowes re connected to the network, but know it won't happen, because the logistics will be just to difficult now, had the routes and station sites been protected from development, then maybe, but the ship sailed a long time ago.

 

It's a difficult balance between romanticism and reality. There were well publicised examples of places being in trouble before Covid really messed things up.

 

Surely though, Can't any railway, that happens to be in difficulty be explained as poor management decisions, or an inability to change? rather than WIBN, I would argue that any WIBN if it has effected the survival of any preserved railway business, , has moved well beyond being any romantic ideas , and has become an practical issue, or project, Very often hairbrained schemes do not tend to last very long, and will die a death long before serious funding finds its way into that project,

 

Better an empty house than a bad tenant!

 

I can just hear m

I can just hear my late father, there!
Pat

 

A case in point - Peak Rail. Ideal length of 4 miles, beautiful area, lots of tourists, no major extensions or plans (although they do get thrown about) and yet it is barely surviving.