23rd January 2011

 

The Isle of Wight Steam Railway Marks 40 Years Since the Final Train Steamed Out of Newport Station

Over 200 Islanders, railway fans, Isle of Wight Steam Railway personnel and the Lord Lieutenant of the Island, remembered and re-enacted the final train to leave Newport Railway Station 40 years ago in January 1971, by taking part in ‘The Last Train Walk’ yesterday morning (Sunday 23^rd January 2011) from the site of the former station to Wootton and Havenstreet on The Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

The event marked the date, virtually 40 years to the day, when the very last steam train left Newport hauling the fledgling IW Steam Railway’s rolling stock to Havenstreet Station, to begin a new chapter in Island railway history.

Among those taking part yesterday were Islanders, railway fans and people of all ages, ranging from families with young children to a number of IW Steam Railway personnel who were there 40 years ago, plus several Islanders who still clearly remember travelling on trains from Newport before the end of steam and the closure of passenger services in 1966. Steam power was also represented, in the form of a 1923 Aveling & Porter steam roller owned by Andy Barrett from Wootton.

“It was quite something to see so many people taking part”, said walk leader and IW Steam Railway member Roger Macdonald. “We had hoped that maybe 50 or so Steam Railway personnel would join in, but this really seems to have grabbed people’s interest. It was great to see so many people who were there 40 years ago walking alongside a good number of younger people and families all interested in helping us mark this important anniversary”.

In bright weather and with well over 200 people assembled outside the Hamilton & Marshall building, which stands just by the dual carriageway in Newport on the approximate location of the former Newport Railway Station building, IW Steam Railway Chairman Steve Oates, welcomed the Island’s Lord Lieutenant, Major General Martin White, to begin proceedings by unveiling a specially commissioned blue plaque fixed to the wall of Hamilton & Marshall’s building, and which commemorates the former station site.

To the sound of whistles from the steam roller, ‘The Last Train Walk’ headed off at around 10.45am following the course of the former track-bed wherever possible, heading through the short Snooks Hill tunnel, past Fairlee and Binfield, and on past the former Whippingham Station, before finally arriving at Wootton Station, now the western terminus of the IW Steam Railway. There, walkers boarded a steam train to Havenstreet, headed by the Steam Railway’s first locomotive No. 24 ‘Calbourne’ which hauled the final trains out of Newport in 1971.

On the footplate of No. 24 ‘Calbourne’ was IW Steam Railway Engineering Manager Bob Huxtable, who was one of the footplate crew on the locomotive 40 years ago which headed the very last train out of Newport. Also on duty on the train was founder member of the Wight Locomotive Society (the forerunner of the IW Steam Railway) Iain Whitlam who was on duty at Newport Station on the day of the last train, plus IW Steam Railway Operating Assistant Terry Hastings who assisted with planning the move to Havenstreet in 1971 and travelled on the very last train.

“This has been a very special start to our 40^th Anniversary year”, said IW Steam Railway Chairman, Steve Oates. “There really was a terrific atmosphere and many happy faces as the events of the 24^th January 1971 were recounted and retold along the way by those who were there! And we were particularly pleased that several of those who worked the last trains on that January day 40 years ago were able to be with us on the walk.”

The ‘Last Train Walk’ was the first of several special events marking the IW Steam Railway’s 40^th Anniversary. Forthcoming events include two galas, further walks along routes of former Island railway lines, two film shows, a continuous 40-hour train service, and, on April 12^th, ‘The First Train’ which will re-enact the first public train service of the fledgling IW Steam Railway in 1971.

Details of all 40th Anniversary events are being published in the Special Events section of this website.

 

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40 Years Ago

The Isle of Wight Steam Railway grew from the early commitment and enthusiasm of a small group of individuals determined to save a few relics from the Island’s once extensive railway network following the end of steam in 1966. From 1967, just the Ryde to Shanklin line was electrified and remained open. All the old steam engines, carriages and wagons were broken up, except for the few precious items saved for preservation by the Wight Locomotive Society, the forerunner of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. After four years of storage at the closed Newport Station, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway was founded on 24th January 1971 when the one saved steam locomotive hauled an assortment of rolling stock and equipment to the then semi-derelict station at Havenstreet to begin their new life!

24^th January 1971 – A Personal Recollection from Terry Hastings

“Sunday 24^th January 1971, a date that will go down in history – Well, in the history of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway at least. At Newport as it dawned bright, pumps were lifting water from the track drains into the locomotive and other water barrels, and last minute preparations to run four steam hauled trains to Havenstreet were well under way. The lack of mains water had been caused by the impending sale of the railway land to the local authorities. As part of this process the water supply, which the W.L.S. had been using for four years without charge, was cut off and the only alternative was to use the track drains as a reservoir by blocking the outlets.

The locomotive crew (Bob Huxtable and Tom Jackman) was at first under the supervision of former BR steam driver Tony Tiltman, and his ex boss Ivor Davies from Ryde Works also gave advice along with WLS member John Wenyon from Eastleigh Works. Later model maker Don Young joined for a trip but as the day wore on Bob Huxtable and Tom Jackman were left to their own devices with a guest appearance of this author on the footplate of the very last trip.

The WLS had a commitment to its members to tell them when the move was to take place. We were in the middle of a postal strike and it was years before texts and e-mail. The then Press Officer Richard Newman and friends did their very best to contact as many as possible and he was able to issue them with tickets for the very last train from Newport. George Wheeler was the person who had undertaken training of guards and shunters over the previous months and he set out the timetable and method of working for the ‘move’. It was planned to run two  passenger trains at 10.40 and 12.15 of three carriages each,  then two goods trains, (we had by now acquired a number of additional goods vehicles from the defunct Vectrail), all this was interlaced around Rail Motor Car (the tram) and light engine workings. Somewhere in the middle of all this was a stop at the one time Royal Station of Whippingham where a letter was set down for onward conveyance to Her Majesty The Queen … She must have remembered it as she came to visit us at Havenstreet 33 years later!

The schedule was all very optimistic but how often does moving home go exactly to plan? At about 8.30 pm the last Rail Motor left Newport, the station deserted and silent had seen its last train. The tram crew were fighting a battle of which few knew in the euphoria of the day, they had run out of gaffer tape to stick a leaking fuel pipe and one of their number was holding the connection together, the transmission had given up the ghost hours ago and was held together with a succession of bent 6” nails whose lifespan depended on the use of the right foot of the driver! They had been booked into Haven Street at 5pm but it was gone 10 when the crew arrived in the local pub to a great cheer from the crowd and a rendition of The Runaway Train on the piano by the landlord.

We had arrived, day one at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway was over and we all slept well for the first time in a week.”