The IW Steam Railway is rooted in the past – it was recently named the National Lottery’s Best Heritage Project – but the organisation is definitely looking to the future. Visitor numbers are going up, and could we see steam trains serving Ryde? Tom Stroud finds out
Each year more than 100,000 visitors ride the stretch of track that runs the five miles from Wootton, through Havenstreet and Ashey, to Smallbrook Junction, making the Isle of Wight Steam Railway one of the Island’s top 5 attractions. Visitor numbers are increasing year on year too, with over 105,000 people buying a return ticket at Havenstreet in 2014. This success would have been hard to imagine in 1971 when a small band of enthusiasts re-launched the railway, just five years after the Beeching axe fell and the majority of the Island’s rail network was closed.
These days the trains run for around 200 days a year. The season begins in mid-March, peaking between late June and early September, when the railway is open 7 days a week. The year begins to wind down in October, finishing up with special Christmas events. The steam railway will welcome up to 1,500 visitors on a busy day. 2014 was a vintage year for the company, with visitor numbers up by 5% year on year, with income increased by 17%.
“We’re a registered educational charity and our objective is to preserve the history of railways on the Isle of Wight in an educational way,” explains Peter Vail, General Manager. “I’m often asked whether we are a tourist attraction or a preserved railway. We are both, but although a lot would disagree, I would always say that we are primarily a tourist attraction. Our visitors generate the income that allows us to continue with preserving our stock. A recent detailed survey showed that 95% of our visitors are not railway enthusiasts but couples and families with a general interest in the history of railways on the Isle of Wight. That’s quite unusual for preserved railways, most of which are there for the enthusiasts.”
Peter has been here for 10 years, with a previous background in business as a bank manager working for HSBC. He’s been working with his team to evolve and enhance the business as a commercial operation, despite a certain amount of resentment from some quarters when he was first appointed.
“I think I’m still referred to as ‘the bank manager’ sometimes,” he laughs. “I’d never worked in a railway at the time and I’m not a railway enthusiast. The board were looking for a General Manager with a background in business and not railway preservation. It used to be a natural progression that volunteers would became senior managers but a lot of other railways now recognise that it’s a big business and it needs a business view. Employing an enthusiast as a General Manager can mean an awful lot of money is spent very quickly! I have a great team of managers and staff with expertise that I can tap in to. We work extremely well together and we all share a commercial view, which is progression.”
With 70% of their visitors coming from the mainland it’s important for the IW Steam Railway to engage with the Island audience too. Events are key, with the August Bank Holiday Steam-up an established tradition. Real ale festivals, 1940s events, vintage car shows and Santa specials all bring different audiences during the year. When hosting the Thomas The Tank Engine franchise became cost prohibitive it was replaced by a local alternative – the newly devised Railway Folk, a new brand and image that Peter says is “imaginative and proving extremely successful”.
The organisation is still volunteer led, with a database of 350 enthusiasts who contribute anywhere between two or almost 365 days a year. The company also employs the equivalent of 23 full time staff positions. It’s an operating structure that makes the railway fairly unique.
“It’s been an interesting challenge,” says Peter. “Paid staff do bring consistency, particularly in managerial and supervisory roles. Our volunteers will always have the priority to do the front-line ‘glory’ jobs, like driving the trains, or being a guard. The great thing is that they’re working because they want to be here. Their enthusiasm is never a problem although we do have detailed customer training sessions at the start of each season.”
One of the reasons for the increase in visitors and visitor spend is the new Train Story Discovery Centre, which provides shelter for rolling stock and also includes activities aimed at families, designed by museum interpretation professionals. The Island’s railway heritage is explained in very simple terms, with punchy information displays designed to be read in 15 seconds per panel. Train Story is a £1.2 million project, with funding of £970,000 coming from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It’s the continuation of a project that began in 2004 when a purpose built workshop was opened at Havenstreet, allowing the team to fully refurbish historic carriages and wagons dating back to the 1860s. Once restored to pristine condition, these wooden bodied carriages were once again being left outside, exposed to the elements.
“It was always the next phase to get the carriages undercover and we needed a big shed,” Peter explains. “It took a lot of preparation to get to the point where we could put a further application in to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Their aims are centred on education, visitor access, interpretation and they wanted us to go down the family route. It’s been a huge success because we’ve ended up with the storage shed that we always wanted. From a commercial and visitor point of view it’s opened up a whole new experience and we can tell the story in an entertaining way.”
Train Story has extended visitor dwell time on site which in turn increases the secondary spend, so the shop and restaurant enjoyed a busy 2014. The process has given the team a taste for ambitious projects and they’re currently looking at a new entrance building for the Havenstreet site which could house a multi-purpose function and exhibition room, offices and a new shop. Links have been established with York’s National Railway Museum as there is a desire to significantly enhance the museum, like most museums the IW Steam Railway has far more artefacts than they currently have the room to display.
Looking even further ahead, there’s a rolling 20 year strategic vision document for the company that is always being reviewed and updated. Something that is often discussed by rail professionals and casual observers alike is the dream of seeing steam trains serving Ryde, which Peter says would “put us in the shop window”. He’s confident that it will happen, but it’s a question of time.
“It will happen eventually. The desire and ambition is there and we have an awful lot of support. Esplanade is the dream but Ryde St Johns is initially much easier for us because it’s a double track so we could run alongside Island Line as far as St Johns Road station. It is achievable. We would probably then treat Ryde as the entry point to the railway with Havenstreet becoming a destination, with our shop, Train Story and everything else. It would also bring mainland visitors directly to us, reducing traffic pressure on the narrow winding lanes around Havenstreet.
“The Island Line franchise currently operated by SW Trains is up for review in 2019. There is ongoing discussion about its future and we’re pleased to be a part of those discussions. Seeing steam trains at Ryde Esplanade would completely transform this railway and it would bring a unique situation to the Island as a tourist destination. We keep plugging away at it.”
First published in the April 2015 issue of Island Business magazine.
