The Isle of Westland Railway

When holidaying on the island  why not send your luggage in advance ?    ( (eaflet available detailing  our services )      Isle of Westland Railway Company

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 The  Isle of Westland Railway  exists only in my imagination, and in 16mm scale in the back garden of our home. I see it as an island somewhere off the south coast of the UK.

 I enjoyed holidays on the Isle of Wight when a child and remember  with pleasure the last days of steam trains on the island with the O'2 tanks living out their last days hauling sets of antiquated coaching stock. I have yet to manage a visit to the Isle of Man, but have numerous books and vdeos on the railways there. The idea of a railway network on an island appeals to me as it is a self contained system but allows for more variety than modelling one of the relatively short lines that existed on the mainland.

The 32mm gauge track I have in my garden represents a branch line running from a junction station (Tamacandy Junct) to a small terminus (High Westland). I can assume that both my locos and rolling stock represent a small part of a larger fleet....................which gives me the excuse to keep adding models to my collection way over the level that would be reasonable for a short line. Not that I need an excuse !

 Also appearing in some pictures are other items that are not strictly part of the Isle of Westland Railway ...............................but are part of my collection that I run anyway. When reading the book 'North Devon Clay' by M J Messenger I was intrigued to find an example where a small narrow gauge line had its trackbed taken over by a larger narrow gauge railway company, as the route it had was the best within the geographical area concerned. The original company retained the right to run its trains of small dilapidated stock on the system beside the larger company's trains .......................and no longer had to pay maintenance costs. In addition, a bridge that was on point of collapse got replaced at no expense to the original owners! Fascinating stuff...................hence the small stock on my line labeled 'BLR'. I write into my line's history that the BLR came first and the IOWR later under similar circumstances.

 Island systems also seemed to produce a plethora of small competing companies with little chance of economic success that later combined. I assume the same allowing a greater variety of stock. The IOWR in fact took over the Great Westland Railway....................hence loco no 12 on the line. The GWR had a worse route from the ferry port to the tourist towns than the IOWR so went for a class of tender loco's to save on water stops and allow faster running times. I am not sure whether 60mph speeds were achieved......................... as recorded on the USA Sandy River Railroad 2ft track ! Mind you Captain Howey is suposed to have achieved this speed on the 15 inch Romney Hythe and Dymchurch as well !

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 Why drive when you can travel in comfort by train?  Details from your local station of all services on the island.         Isle of Westland Railway Company