The Isle of Wight Steam Railway celebrated the restoration of three Ivatt locomotives, types which never ran on the island in BR days. Brian Sharpe reports on the gala weekend, which saw the 2MT trio in steam together for the first time.
Over the May Bank Holiday weekend, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway staged a Three Island Ivatts event as a tribute to the Ivatt Locomotive Trust.
The three engines were donated to the railway by the trust in various states of repair and have all been returned to service over the past 10 years.
The weekend represented a great milestone for both the railway and the Ivatt Trust, with all three engines in steam together for the first time.
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Ivatt 2MT 2-6-2T No. 41298 was purchased direct from BR on withdrawal, while another 2-6-2T No. 41313 and 2-6-0 No. 46447 were later purchased from Barry scrapyard. Restoration of all three locomotives progressed slowly at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton Road until the trust donated them to the IOWSR, after which No. 41298 was completed at Havenstreet and the other two at Cranmore.
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