Isle of Wight Spring Gala – Overall

Good evening

On Monday I had the pleasure of attending the Isle of Wight railways “Dinosaurs of Steam” spring gala which featured a great line up of island locomotives. The morning went really well as I hung around Ashey as it was recommended to me as a good photo shot and it proved to be. I had a very enjoyable time and met a very lovely guard on one of the trains who was great at entertaining the kids who were in the guards van. This was my third visit to the Isle of Wight steam railway and was the first time I had been when Waggoner wasnt the solo locomotive running so it was really lovely to see the other locos in action. Calbourne is a great locomotive and I was lucky that she stopped at Ashey and I was able to get some good shots of her leaving. Unfortunately terrier tank engine Newport went past Ashey at full speed so the quality was not as good. The new Train Story museum built at Havenstreet is really good and well worth visiting plus the path leading up to it provides photographers a new angle to capture locomotives leaving Havenstreet towards Wotton. I only was able to spend a few hours at the gala before I had to be back on the mainline for my wedding rehearsal and I didnt want to risk being late for that! I do intend on visiting the island again this year as it is a great place and has such a unique atmosphere with its 4 wheel coaches, small locomotives and unique rolling stock. Anyway my best photos are below, I hope you enjoy.

‘O2’ Class 0-4-4T No.W24 ‘Calbourne’ leaving Ashey. I do really like this photo as the loco looks good and you can clearly see the old station building.

‘A1X’ (Terrier) Class 0-6-0T No.W11 ‘Newport’ leaving Smallbrook. She is a lovely locomotive and was really impressed by her.

The cab of Newport with all its new and polished controls. On such a cold dump morning you could feel the heat from the firebox outside the cab.

A1X’ (Terrier) Class 0-6-0T No.W8 ‘Freshwater’ at Havenstreet. The only photo I got of her before my camera died which is a shame. I will have to go back to the Isle of Wight to get some better photos of her.

My favourite photo from the day. Calbourne leaving Ashey and one of the best I have ever taken. Thank you to the guys who recommended this spot.

Newport leaving Ashey unfortunately not as good as the Calbourne as she was traveling at full speed so next time I will have to do a burst of photos and hope I get lucky.

Calbournes cabs was an impressive sight. The condition and how clean the controls are a credit to the railway.

‘E1’ Class 0-6-0T No.W2 ‘Yarmouth’ at the new Train Story. I got to admit it is nice to see her in the new museum but from a purely photographic point of view I prefered her outside.

Ajax acting as station pilot, the photo was taken from the path leading to the Train Story museum. This was where my camera died so it was literally click it as quickly as I could before it died completely.

Thanks for reading, this will be my last blog post for a while as I am getting married on Thursday. So cheers!