Museum & Archives Review Isle of Wight Railway Recent Acquisition

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1 November 2014 Issue No. 9 Museum && Archives Department Museum & Archives Review Isle of Wight Railway Recent Acquisition Thanks to generous financial assistance from members of the M&A Dept. the Railway has been able to acquire the annual report of the Isle of Wight Railway Company for This document is significant as it outlines the impact of the outbreak of World War One on the Company. In due course this document will be made widely available in digital format.

2 Page 2 Acquisitions Policy The M&A Dept. is always keen to acquire new items for the Railway s collection. However, the Dept. can only accept items which meet the criteria of the Railway s acquisitions policy. This policy enables the collection to be focused and ensures that we do not acquire items which are not relevant. The policy is crucial in that the Railway is limited by the space that we have to display and store items and resources available to conserve items within the collection. The acquisitions policy is outlined below: The Company may acquire any item which illustrates, relates to or facilitates an understanding of: 1. The history of both private and public railway transport on the Isle of Wight. 2. Other forms of public transport within the Island directly associated with rail services. 3. Connecting services with the Mainland. 4. Services on the Mainland provided either wholly or in part as through services to the Island. Other items which form part of the collection are those which are not necessarily of Island or railway origination, but are deemed to be essential or useful in helping to create the period atmosphere of the railway. Included in this category are such items as enamel advertising signs, luggage and uniforms. museum@iwsteamrailway.co.uk

3 Page 3 Acquisitions Policy Continued The Railway has very limited funds to purchase items for the collection and the majority of new acquisitions are from generous donations, or members providing financial assistance to the Dept. Although not the nicest of subjects to discuss it is nevertheless important to inform your next of kin and make instructions in your will if you want to donate items to the Railway on your death. Without clear instructions regarding items which you intended to come to the Railway, they may go elsewhere and in the worst case to the local tip. If you have any items that you would like to donate to the Railway please get in touch with the M&A Department either via museum@iwsteamrailway.co.uk or by contacting Steve Holden at the Railway. Archive storage material purchased to protect vulnerable Pre-Grouping documents The Dept. has purchased a number of acid free archive document pouches and archive boxes. These have been used to protect and store the majority of the pre-grouping archive material. The Board has recently approved further purchases which will enable all the Southern Railway material to be protected in the same manner. museum@iwsteamrailway.co.uk

4 Page 4 Have you got a ticket? Roger Macdonald is still on the look out for tickets to fill gaps in the collection, especially Southern Railway and Pre-grouping tickets and any tickets from the Freshwater and Bembridge lines. If you have any tickets that you would like to donate please contact him at the Railway or by at roger.macdonald@iwsteamrailway.co.uk Isle of Wight Railway 150th Anniversary A Ryde St Johns Road - Shanklin return ticket was purchased on Saturday 23rd August 2014, the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Isle of Wight Railway between Ryde St Johns Road and Shanklin in These tickets will be added to the ticket collection to mark the anniversary. Watch out for Watchingwell. We have a significant gap in the Railway s ticket collection in that we don t have a ticket to or from Watchingwell. If you can help us fill this gap in the collection please contact Roger Macdonald; he will very pleased to hear from you! museum@iwsteamrailway.co.uk

5 Page 5 From the Photographic Collection Notes from the Photographic Collection. By Roger Silsbury We are very pleased to welcome Tony O Brien, who has defected from the Friday Gang and joined the M&A Dept. and in particular has offered to assist with the Photographic Archive. He is starting to sort through the mass of material relating to the history of the Wight Locomotive Society and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, as this part of the collection has always played second fiddle to the filing and cataloguing of what might be termed the historic photographs, i.e. steam era and post electric railway as well as ferries. It is a sobering thought that preservation now spans nearly 50 years and time is long overdue for the record of this period to be assembled into a fully filed and catalogued archive of its own. Welcome Tony, and I hope you appreciate what you are undertaking! Just to indicate the range that is covered are two images from opposite ends of the spectrum. The WLS stock at Newport on 2 nd August 1969 also shows some of the goods wagons which had been reserved for the abortive Vectrail scheme and which were acquired when it folded.

6 Page 6 From the Photographic Collection Photographers came from far and wide for a special photographic charter on 17th September 2010 and Calbourne takes centre stage as she departs from Smallbrook in ideal conditions for photography. We are always looking to fill gaps in our photographic collection and, as an example, two areas that are not represented are a) the train ferry which ran between Langstone and Bembridge between 1885 and 1888 and b) the rebuilding of Havenstreet station in Can you help, or do you know anyone who may have material they would be willing to either donate or loan for copying? Contact Details: Isle of Wight Steam Railway, The Railway Station, Havensteet, Isle of Wight, PO33 4DS museum@iwsteamrailway.co.uk Museum Contact: Steve Holden (Museum & Archives Department)