february 2019 issue no. 18 isle of wight steam railway ......portakabin we offer grateful thanks to...
TRANSCRIPT
Museum & Archives Review
February 2019 Issue No. 18
Isle of Wight Steam Railway
NEW YEAR AND A CHANGE AT THE TOP
On 1st January, Roger Macdonald and Roger Silsbury exchanged roles, with Roger S
becoming M&A Manager and Roger M his deputy. This arrangement is for 2019 only in
anticipation that a full time Museum & Archive Manager will be recruited to take the
Department forward in 2020 to implement the opportunities that Arts Council
Accreditation status brings. To assist in this transformation, four members of the M&A team
are taking functional responsibility for different areas of activity.
* Roger Macdonald will continue to maintain an overview of accreditation matters,
including the areas for improvement identified by the Arts Council assessor and panel.
* Tony O’Brien is Administrator, responsible for all our IT and Office provisions.
* John Paton is responsible for the Museum Gallery, Displays and Exhibitions.
* Steve Holden is in charge of Records and Cataloguing.
Other members of the Departmental team will also take on areas of responsibility; Richard
Flux is looking after the M&A workshop in our new Portakabin, whilst Derek Bishop will be
keeping an eye of on our finances. Michael Willis continues to oversee Disposals of material
not relevant to our collection as well as surplus items. Nick Felton keeps a watching brief
on EBay and other auction sites for items which would enhance our collections whilst Bob
Fowler looks after Railway Philately.
All members of the Department assist in whatever activities are being undertaken for the
mutual benefit, irrespective of areas of responsibility. There are still many tasks to be
undertaken and I should welcome any offers to become involved in any aspect of the work
of the Department, particularly if you have a relevant, special skill. Don’t be shy, we are a
friendly group, so why not get in touch and see how you can become part of the Museum
& Archive family. My email is [email protected] – I look forward to hearing
from you.
Portakabin We offer grateful thanks to the Isle of Wight College who have donated a surplus 40-foot Portakabin to
the IWSR for the use of the Museum & Archives Department. This will provide much needed extra
space, an office and research area and a workshop to enable conservation and restoration to be
undertaken on artefacts in the collection. This, in turn, has allowed M&A to vacate its Library store in
the Plessey building, which suffered from access issues when the adjacent area was required for major
events, and which has now been handed over to the Commercial Department.
Page 2 From the Photographic Archive
By Roger Silsbury
Recently we were donated some photographs by Mrs Wendy Steen of Cowes,
which had been passed to her by her late friend Miss Susan Hayward. Susan’s
grandfather was Mr W. Hayward, a driver based at Newport, and included was a
small album of ‘snapshots’ taken in the 1920s and 30s containing pictures of
staff posed next to locomotives. The quality may not be of the best but the
historical interest more than compensates; some were dated and here are two
such.
Taken on 10 September 1934, W. ‘Bill’ Haywards stands next to A1X W14 Bembridge by the
coaling stage at Newport. Coupled behind is E1 W2 Yarmouth. SAT573 and SAT 573r
Also taken during September 1934, W. ‘Bill’ Hayward and his Fireman Loyd pose next to
A1X W12 Ventnor appropriately at Ventnor West. SAT587 and SAT587r
The contemporary inscription on the reverse of each image is also invaluable in
determining the date and can be useful when examining other non-dated photographs by
comparing details.
Page 3 Railway Philatelic Collection
By Bob Fowler
The M&A Philatelic collection is focused on assembling examples of all ‘philatelic’ items
involved in the Island railways’ carriage of mail, parcels, newspapers and other goods where
stamps or labels were issued on receipt of payment for the carriage of such items. Also
included are stamps, first day and commemorative covers associated with or celebrating
Island railways and other more loosely related services, such as railway and other air postal
services. Items in the collection also include examples of station stamp and Island Railway
Sub Office (RSO) cancellations and various ephemera associated with the operation of
these services.
The centrepiece of the collection will focus on railway letter stamps (RLS), parcel and
newspaper stamps and associated ephemera from each of the railway companies that
operated on the Island. Readers may be interested to consult the articles about the Island
Railway Letter services that that appeared in IRN issues 45 and 58. Two examples of Island
companies RLS and a parcel stamp included in the collection are shown:
Isle of Wight Railway (IWR) 1899 Railway Letter Stamp - unused
The IWR commenced operation of a railway letter service from January 1899. Its railway
letter stamps conformed to the design specified by the Postmaster General as contained in
the Report of the Railway Clearing House, dated 23 December 1890. The IWR stamps
were issued in three printings: 6 January 1899; 8 November 1899 and unknown date during
1919. All were 2d value and printed by Waterlow and Sons.
IWR Parcel stamp – St Helens station cancellation
Email: [email protected]
Railway Philatelic Collection
By Bob Fowler
Page 4
The IWCR commenced operation of a railway letter service from February 1899. Its rail-
way letter stamps conformed to the design specified by the Postmaster General as con-
tained in the Report of the Railway Clearing House, dated 23 December 1890. The IWCR
stamps were issued in six main printings between February 1899 and September 1920. All
of the first four issues were 2d value and printed by McCorquodale & Co Ltd London and
produced in blocks of 12 stamps in three rows of four. The fifth issue in 1908 and the sixth
in April 1911 were printed by Waterlow & Sons Ltd London. These were all 2d value and
printed in blocks of 12 stamps in 4 rows of three.
Isle of Wight Central Railway (IWCR) 1899 Railway Letter Stamp - unused
The collection at present brings together items that have been acquired or donated in the
past and new items that we are actively acquiring through small purchases from the M&A
fund and through member donations. Some recent acquisitions are shown below:
Left: Stamps issued for the short-lived Air Ferry Postal ser-
vice from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight. The above stamps
from the second printing were never issued as the service
was banned after the first flight on 3 February 1934.
Acquired for the Collection by Nick Felton and Bob Fowler
A more in-depth article about the
collection, intended for publication in a
future edition of IRN is currently being
compiled. If you have any items to add to
the collection please contact Bob via the
Railway.
Left: A Republic of Burundi
stamp showing Terrier FYN
No.2 on a train at Newport
in FYNR days. Acquired for
the Collection by Bob Fowler
Right: IWR 2d RLS
overprinted with the 3d
increased fee,
introduced in January
1920. Acquired for the
Collection by Nick Felton
Page 5
WANTED!
Have you got something to add to the collection?
The Railway is always grateful for donations of Island railway-related artefacts;
archive material; photographs and audio visual material. If you have something
that you would like to donate please contact the M&A Dept. either by email or
at the address shown below.
Contact Details: Isle of Wight Steam Railway, The Railway Station, Havensteet,
Isle of Wight, PO33 4DS
email: [email protected]
Museum Contacts: Roger Silsbury or Roger Macdonald (Museum & Archives Department)
© Isle of Wight Railway Company Ltd 2019
Have you got any tickets
or timetables? Work has commenced on creating a collection of published timetables for research pur-
poses. In stock is a complete run of British Railways Southern Region timetables for the
steam-traction era, with the undermentioned gaps. If you are able to supply any of the is-
sues required, then Roger Macdonald would be pleased to hear from you. Thank you!
26/9/49 – 4/6/50
24/9/51 – 29/6/52
15/9/52 – 7/6/53
21/9/53 – 13/6/54
11/6/56 – 16/9/56
15/6/64 – 6/9/64
5/9/66 – 9/7/67 This was issued as a South West Division timetable We are also interested in any Island issued tickets especially pre grouping examples.
If you have any tickets or timetables that you would like to donate please contact Roger
at the Railway or by email at