Isle of Wight Steam Railway

Funnily enough I read it that way at first glance too!


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Lot 656M at MST Auction at Dunkerswell near Honiton.
A decorative blue glass panel reported to be from Queen Victoria’s Royal Train on the Isle ot Wight. Auction on Tuesday 29th January.
www.mstauctioneers.co.uk

 

Queen Victoria's Royal train on the Isle of Wight ? mmmm right. So the Isle of Wight had a Royal train? we must have missed that one.

 

There are lots of myths about Queen Victoria's use of the I.O.W. railway system and it seems likely she used it once only. She may well have used an Oldbury built vehicle borrowed from the Isle of Wight Railway. These had ornamental blue glass toplights and a number of these survive today although for present day use they have to be replaced with toughened glass replicas.

One replica set was made for the restoration of of I.W.R. No. 10 featured on Channel 4. An original is on display in the Havenstreet museum.

 

Does anyone have a list of events? The timetable webpage shows the dates of events and says to refer to the events page for details. The events page has nothing listed.

 

Lot No. should be 656M What the connection is with Queen Vic or a royal train on the Island is unclear.

 

Photo from the auctioneer. Identical to the ones in the Oldburys at Havenstreet.

 

Sold for £20 plus buyers fee of 18.5% + VAT. Online bid.
Hope it’s gone to ‘good home’ following my alert.

 

Timetable for the BR Black event 25th-27th May published nice and early. Presume 41392 is a misprint for 41298.

https://www.iwsteamrailway.co.uk/files/documents/br-black-timetable-grid-form-pdfpdf.pdf

 

This recently released German language (with sub-titles)TV documentary about the Isle of Wight includes a section on the railway featuring Pete Jardine starting at 24:26. It is available to view until 26 April.

https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/080495-003-A/isle-of-wight/

 

From Day 1 of 2 of 30742 charter. Thanks to all those involved.

 

From day 2 - The weather was not as bad as forecast, although more sheltered location used to the strong winds.
That to all those involved, including Stuart how gave a quick tour of train story before we left.

 

GENERAL MANAGER - IW STEAM RAILWAY
The award-winning Isle of Wight Steam Railway is looking to recruit a General Manager.

Reporting directly to the Chairman of the Railway, the role has a wide remit to manage all aspects of this £2 million turnover business and promote the Railway as a leading Island tourist attraction.

Our ideal candidate will have extensive business experience to include people management, business development, customer service and a clear focus on financial control and budget management.

We are seeking an effective decision maker and communicator who is able to build positive relationships at all levels with both our paid and volunteer staff. You will need to be self-motivated, willing to take a hands-on approach when the need arises and be flexible in your approach to working hours.

The salary is negotiable but will be dependent on experience and knowledge.

Please apply with your full CV, a statement of your suitability to the role and salary expectations.

For an information pack contact Di Hollander, Assistant to the General Manager on di.hollander@iwsteamrailway.co.uk telephone 01983 882204.

To apply in writing with your full CV, a statement of your suitability to the role and salary expectations to:

Peter Conway, Chairman, The Isle of Wight Railway Co Ltd, The Railway Station, Havenstreet, Isle of Wight PO33 4DS or email your application to: chairman@iwsteamrailway.co.uk



Closing date for applications is 15 July 2019.

 

https://www.iwsteamrailway.co.uk/ne...w-steam-railway-announces-retirement-348.aspx

Having completed 14 years at the helm of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway as the General Manager, Peter Vail has announced his decision to step down and retire. Within the heritage railway movement Peter is possibly one of the longest serving General Managers and under his leadership there has been much positive progress.

The background to Peter’s appointment in April 2005 dates back to the mid-1990’s when following the line extension from Havenstreet to Smallbrook Junction the Railway found both resources and finances stretched to a critical point. The board’s solution was to appoint a local businessman, Hugh Boynton, as the first General Manager. Hugh’s task was to reduce spending and introduce strict financial controls. Nine years later Peter was appointed with the Railway’s finances in exceptionally good shape, but the business had suffered from a necessary lack of investment over this period of time.

Prior to joining the Railway Peter had a 30 year career working for HSBC bank in the East Midlands, latterly as a branch and commercial manager. By his own admission Peter’s knowledge and experience of railways was non-existent. However, the board were looking for a business leader with a sound financial understanding, together with a knowledge of people management and business development.

Peter recalls “My brief from the board was just two points -1. Maintain financial control. 2. Take the IWSR to the next level. This was ideally suited to my banking background and gave me a clear opportunity to be creative with the business.”

Much of the IWSR’s success has resulted from a focus on the customer experience and the Railway as a visitor attraction. The Railway has an enviable reputation for a clean and tidy site and immaculate rolling stock. There has been a focus on providing more than a 5 mile train ride and over the last 14 years the £1.2million Train Story visitor centre opened, the Railway teamed up with a local falconer who has created a highly acclaimed Bird of Prey Centre on the Railway’s site, a walk through neighbouring protected ancient woodland has been opened up.

About his time as General Manager Peter said “I liken this job to that of a football manager. We have a vast number of loyal supporters who want to see positive progress in certain areas. Decisions made will never suit all, but the priority must be what is best for the business. Key to a heritage railways success is a good relationship between the board and management team. We certainly have had our moments, but always in a positive and open way.”

“To be successful this job required total commitment and is always full on. But the reward is the progress of the Railway. I have been incredibly lucky to work under three very supportive Chairmen and have always received the backing of our board and management team.”

Peter Conway, Chairman of IWSR said “We are extremely grateful to Peter Vail who fulfilled all the commitments he made to this Railway. Our latest audited accounts confirm our strong financial position, we have no borrowing and £1.4million in the bank. Peter will be a hard act to follow but the vacancy we will be advertising presents a wonderful opportunity, for the right person!”

 

Is it just me being thick or is the Gala timetable one of the most confusing things produced. Great to colour code which loco operates each train but I would have though most visitors would either arrive via the train at Smallbrook or bus at Wootton. I have had to turn it into a "normal" timetable in excel and that has been done with a number of attempts to get it right.
The GWSR has a line with its main station in the middle, but at least their gala timetable starts at Cheltenham and runs to Broadway and vice versa.
If it was not for a final chance to see at Black 02 I would say b....r it!

 

How readable a timetable is is a matter of opinion but it is a matter of fact that most visitors come by road to Havenstreet.

 

Strange your Red and Blue normal timetables on the website are not done the same way then.

 

I agree, end to end timetables are much easier to read in my experience.
In my very limited experience (2 visits!) whatever the numbers are for where people arrive, more people will arrive by train or bus (and thus one or or t'other of the line rather than park in the middle) than normal on a gala day.

 

Sadly the public leaflets are in the format used for the gala.

 

Just noticed that Gary Walker's flickr photostream is showing as "no longer exixts".
Is it a glitch, or has it been moved, Gary?