'Changing Trains'
'Changing Trains' - The Railway's Rolling Stock Storage Building
Our Strategic Vision sets out our ideas for the next 20 or so years. During that time, we are planning many developments around the railway.
The first of these is 'Changing Trains' - a Rolling Stock Storage and Display Building to be built at Havenstreet, enabling the Railway's unique and historic collection of locomotives, Victorian and Edwardian carriages, and other rare rolling stock to be kept under cover when not in service, away from the harmful effects of sun, wind and rain. The plan is for a four road shed, each road capable of storing four bogie coaches or their equivalent, with a total size of some 75x25 metres. This will provide a covered storage and display facility for all of the Railway's restored locomotives, carriages and wagons, including items scheduled for completion during the next 10 years under the Heritage Lottery Fund assisted Carriage & Wagon restoration programme.
It is planned that construction will be in the form of a two bay pitched roof structure with a dividing firewall down the centre. The building will be an agricultural barn formed of plastic coated steel cladding over a steel portal frame. It is estimated that having the rolling stock under cover will halve the time currently spent on maintenance which obviously means far more time to spend on restoring yet more historic railway vehicles for service on the railway. Another major benefit is that the building will have public access, giving visitors the opportunity to view the achievements of the Railway's restoration teams at close quarters, which is not always possible at present as vehicles are stored in sidings away from publicly accessible areas.
Planning permission has been granted and the Railway has been given the 'green light' from the Heritage Lottery Fund with a 'First Round Pass' and a £35,000 development grant to progress plans for the project. The first-round pass means work is now underway to progress to the second stage of the HLF application process, and apply for a full grant of £929,600 to complete 'Changing Trains'. The Railway's appeal to raise 'matching funding' has already raised £140,000 towards the project.
This project is the Isle of Wight Steam Railway's largest since the three mile long extension to Smallbrook Junction was opened in 1991 and will be a major step forward for the Railway and its visitors. We are continuing to appeal for donations, however small, towards the project.
Please send your donation to:
Isle of Wight Steam Railway Rolling Stock Storage Facility Appeal
The Railway Station
Havenstreet
Ryde
Isle of Wight
PO33 4DS
or you can donate online by clicking HERE. If you are a tax payer, we can increase the value of your contribution by reclaiming the income tax you have already paid on the sum donated by using the Gift Aid scheme. Please download a Gift Aid form, and when completed please e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Thank you for your support.
Please also consider remembering the Island's unique Steam Railway in your will and help ensure it can continue to educate, inform and inspire future generations