Isle of Wight Steam Railway

That would explain it thanks. I could see trains running, not not able to book directly. I'll probably get the train to Portsmouth and book through to RPH and get the Island Line from there.

 

OK is a relative term, and shows yet again the shambles of our ticketing system.
I think Dan lives Haywards Heath way, but even using Havant the Southern website, that I normally use will not offer a fare. The SWR one will which is where the NRJP takes you but the fare is a joke. £40.40 for an off peak day return before any railcard discount, (mind you Bournemouth to Yarmouth is little better at £35.90).
There seems to be a growing lack of fares on some systems, it is only recently Southern, despite having an hourly service between the two listed a fare for Sutton to Horsham. They do of course serve Havant and Portsmouth Harbour, yet in addition to SWR, Northern will also sell you a ticket but at £34.20 for a off peak day return, but not one from Haywards Heath. The RailUK preferred website which is I think Trainsplit will sell tickets from HH to SJ for £54.50.
It should not depend on which site you use.

 

Using a Network Card and Trainpal, I can do Haywards Heath to Ryde Pier Head for about £35 (on a train via Three Bridges instead of Brighton) and Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin (in case I pop down there for some dinner before heading back, is about £5 so £40 in total for both as a return.

 

It seems incredible that despite the passing of 160 years, (at least) 3 of the original 4 Cowes and Newport Railway carriages still exist. Just mind-boggling, really. The island is a true time capsule.
Just puts me in mind of "Were gonna need a bigger railway"

 

From tomorrow and over the Steam Show it will be 41313 and W24 - unless circumstances force a change….

 

Well, it worked for me. I used the National Rail Enquiries website and clicked on 'Plan a Journey'. I entered Bath Spa to Smallbrook Jct for tomorrow and the various departure times were shown. A 09:37 departure, SINGLE ticket, worked out 'from £76.60'. What a bargain I thought ...not. [BJ]

 

This is pretty much how all my search options have worked. I've tried via Island Line, National Rail and TrainPal each with similar results. I'll do the split option.

Thank you, a shame it's not the Terrier but should be a good day anyway with the Ivatt and 02. I've only been to the IoWSR twice and the last was 2014 and had a good time, plus Train Story has some new exhibits to look at.

 

As someone who's done it, it definitely is. Depending on the price (and the ability to do so) I've also found it cheaper to drive to Horsham and park there rather than do the Haywards Heath to Three Bridges to Horsham leg.

 

I had no such trouble when I last made the journey from Haywards Heath to the Isle of Wight - mind you it was back in the days of a unified railway system in December 1966!

Peter

 

Or ‘We’re gonna need a bigger workshop.’ There are many decades of work just to restore the bodies they already have, let alone any new ones that will inevitably arrive. I believe there are 50 or so grounded bodies still extant at other locations around the island.

Obviously they can’t all be restored, however the IOWSR seem to have a sensible plan. 4 wheeler set now complete. IWR Oldbury and a second bogie set now being worked on. Possibly CNR and Metropolitan coaches to be added into the mix in future.

The challenge is the more coaches restore, the more coaches you have to maintain, so the less time you have for new restorations.

 

That's where having the undercover storage makes a huge difference, especially as it's all wooden-bodied stock...

 

Apart from rotating stock for maintenance, there is the question of how much stock you actually need to run your services and have on static display as part of any museum/educational function. There has to be a limit to everything somewhere.

 

As long it is adequately stored it is not necessary to run everything regularly. Stock can be rotated to provide variety and allow maintenance to be undertaken without disrupting the service - if it can ultimately be achieved it seems like a win-win situation to me! Isn't it exactly the sort of thing a heritage railway should aspire to?

 

Yea true there must be a limit somewhere. However as the IOWSR continue to be very active in acquiring additional grounded bodies, underframes and the birdcage from the KESR, that limit obviously hasn’t been reached yet.

 

I agree with that, but even so you will eventually reach a saturation point where - unless you are planning to run a more intensive service, or extend your line, or expand your museum - you will not need anything more beyond what you already have.

 

There are plans to expand the museum. There is an aspiration to extend Train Story to be able to have more items under cover and on display. Not something that will immediately happen, but it is something the IOWSR have on their radar .

 

I think the long term plan is to put almost another Train Story next to the current one!

 

Indeed. Also incorporating a new loco workshop I believe.