Wightlink carried two very unusual loads for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway this week.
On Thursday a railway tamper was transported across the Solent between Portsmouth and Ryde. The maintenance machinery, which lines and lifts the railway track, is rarely seen by the public as they normally work nocturnally or during the day when a line is closed for maintenance.
The equipment is hired by the Isle of Wight Steam Railway at Havenstreet every five years to realign the track to millimetre tolerances.
That wasn’t the only unusual load to cross the water this week…On Friday a large railway locomotive started its journey from the Isle of Wight to the East Somerset Railway at Cranmore for two years of restoration work.
The East Somerset have already undertaken the restoration of another locomotive for the Island tourist attraction, which is now on long term loan to them.
Jim Loe, Director and Commercial Manager for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, said:
“Their workshops are much larger than ours, so they have sufficient space to permit the long term occupation of a length of internal track by a locomotive undergoing extensive restoration work. Although we certainly possess the knowledge and skills to carry out this work, our smaller workshops mean that the job would take far longer here. By contracting out the restoration work, we can concentrate on the maintenance of our fleet of operational locomotives.”
Head of Marketing at Wightlink, Mark Persad, said:
“Serving the Isle of Wight and its diverse community means we see all kinds of unique loads that need to be transported across the Solent. We’re delighted that the Isle of Wight Steam Railway have entrusted us to transport their unique loads safely to their destination. It’s yet another example of how Wightlink continues to support the Island’s tourism industry and play our part in Island life.”
