Freshwater to provide breath of fresh air

Resident K&ESR locos, No.753, No.23 and No.3 will be joined in service over the May Bank Holiday weekend by J15 0-6-0 No.65462 for the first time, from the North Norfolk Railway, and a replica demonstration Ford railbus.

Also making its maiden visit to Tenterden will be Terrier W8 “Freshwater” from the Isle of Wight Railway.  Formerly No.46 “Newington”, this is, incredibly, virgin territory for the island stalwart! 

LB&SCR No.46 “Newington” dates from December 1876 as one of six built that month comprising the entire fourth batch, of seven, which also approximately places it at halfway through the Terrier manufacturing programme.

Initially allocated to Battersea, it appears to have had a rather nondescript career until withdrawn by the LB&SCR as No.646 only to be sold to the L&SWR and renumbered 734.

In 1912 it received new cylinders – as ever the Achilles heel – and a new Drummond boiler and left the mainland for the first time in 1913 when hired the financially bereft Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway in the wake of that line falling out with the Isle of Wight Central Railway. Somehow they managed to purchase “Newington” in March the following year, whence it became FYN No.2; placing this in context, therefore just 12 years after the acquisition of “Poplar” by the original RVR.

Sometime after the 1923 Grouping it received SR lined green livery. In 1924 it became W2 – Island locomotives had their own numbering system as distinct from the initial prefix series to be superceded by adding 2000. The engine was named “Freshwater” in the 1920s and later still renumbered W8 in which guise it is currently presented.

Upon its return from the Isle of Wight in 1949, “Freshwater” took on its BR guise of 32646, seeing various service including sporadic spells on the Hayling Island branch until withdrawal.

Sold to the Sadler Railcar Company, it found its own way to Droxford in November 1964. Ownership then passed to Brickwoods in May 1966 who returned it to Stroudley livery as “Newington” and plinthed it outside the Hayling Billy pub.

Fortunately, Brickwoods’ successor – Whitbread Wessex – donated the deteriorating engine to the Isle of Wight Railway, and in just two years it was restored to service on 21st June 1981.

The Colonel Stephens weekend on the K&ESR will be the first occasion that the two Terriers have seen action together since they both received new boilers built by Israel Newton in the late 1990s.

HN-24/04/2007