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Railwayana: A unique Isle of Wight Steam Engine Whistle from W4 ‘'Wroxall' A rare brass steam engine whistle from London Brighton & South Coast Railway Class E1 0-6-0 Tank Engine ‘’Wroxall’’ used on the Isle of Wight from 1933 to 1960 being the last survivor of its class on the Island. Stamped ‘’Engine No.4 1887’’ in original unrestored condition. Height 25 cms. (The reference to 1887 is taken to mean that this was the year that the Isle of Wight Central Railway on which it ran came into existence}. Also included is the owner’s copy of the ‘’Isle of Wight Railway’’ by Michael Robbins (Oakwood Press) and the hand written recollection of experiences with the locomotive as reproduced below. History: 80 E1 locomotives were built between 1874 and 1891 and the last survived on the mainland until 1961. This engine was built in October 1878 and named ‘’Gournay’’ and was used on the mainland until June 1933 when it was sent to the Isle of Wight following just three other members of the class which had been transferred in July 1932. Following previous practice of naming steam engines on the island they were named after towns on the Isle of Wight. First batch: W1: ’Medina’, W2 ‘Yarmouth’, W3 ‘Ryde’ – all allocated to Newport. Final transfer: W4 ‘’Wroxall’’ – allocated to Ryde. When first transferred the engines were unsteady at speed and so were balanced at Ryde works in October 1933 which resolved the problem. The engines found work on goods trains and were pressed into hauling passenger trains when needed. They continued giving sterling service until gradual withdrawal as follows: W2 September 1956, W1 March 1957, W3 June 1959 leaving W4 ‘Wroxall’ as the final survivor until withdrawn on 20th October 1960. No members of the class escaped being scrapped apart from one, sold by the Southern Railway back in 1927 to the Cannock & Rugeley Colliery Company. After various owners this is now in the safe hands of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway which operates from Havenstreet and is restoring the engine to take the guise of W2 ‘Yarmouth’ to work alongside its own O2 engine W24 ‘’Calbourne’’. Provenance: The vendor’s father, who lived on the island, acquired the whistle from a friend in circa 1964 and it has been in the family ever since. He had a particular fondness for the engine and wrote in response to an article he had seen entitled: ‘A summer weekend at Ryde shed’ in a publication that it ..‘’had filled me with memories of all things railway on the island and great to see a photograph of ‘Wroxall’ as I managed to secure a superb memento from that loco. Well do I remember it bringing the Loco coal and household coal to Ryde. I used to wait for it at the bottom of Alfred Street near the bracket signal before the mass of track layout at Ryde St Johns. The O2 class (the other well-known class of Victorian era locomotives used on the island until 1966 and named after towns on the island) were common – the only difference were their Drummond boilers, but the E1 was special to me – it was a ‘male’ engine whilst the O2’s were. the ‘girls’ dancing about with three, four or six coaches. They were speedy beauties all dressed up in lined paintwork and big bunkers, but the E1 was an old fella’ struggling with the coal – in fact it was an important loco as it brought the ‘food’ for the O2’s…. A friend and I spent our pocket money weekly either doing a Ventnor or Cowes trip – sometimes the Guard would let me travel with him in the brake end coach – life was one big holiday in the early 1960’s but it was sad to know that ‘Wroxall’ was to be withdrawn and stored at the end of the wagon siding of the coaling stage – my hairdressers was in a wooden building opposite this – so ‘Wroxall’ was my companion while waiting by the window to get my hair cut. Then the cutters torch devoured ‘Wroxall’ and it was no more leaving the ‘Girlies’ (The O2’s) to rule until the end.’’ (31st December 1966 when the 1890’s engines ceased to operate). Railway Photo Credit - Charli