by the signalmen. IoWR rolling stock At the outset, the Isle of Wight Railway ordered a fleet of standardized tank engines from Beyer Peacock, as well as 24 passenger carriages, four of which had brake compartments, and 30 open wagons from the Oldbury Carriage and Wagon Company. In 1865, the railway ordered 10 more wagons and bought two carriages from the Ryde Pier Company. In 1872, a luggage van was also added to the stock. In 1873 five third class coaches were ordered. Three second class coaches were purchased in 1875 and another luggage van in 1876. In 1882, two composite coaches and four seconds were ordered, the last new carriages bought for the railway. In 1885, three carriages were bought from the Oldbury Company; they had originally been built for the Golden Valley Railway in 1881 but returned when that company was unable to pay for them. These were two saloons, one first class and one second class; the third vehicle was a brake van. Between 1897 and 1898, the IWR purchased ten second-hand North London Railway carriages. Six were first class and four second. The first class vehicles entered service as a first (later converted to a composite), a composite and four seconds. Of the NLR carriages bought as seconds three became thirds while the fourth and two Oldbury carriages were rebuilt at Ryde to passenger luggage vans. In 1914 eighteen former Metropolitan Railway carriages were acquired, enabling scrapping of many of the earliest vehicles. Two more were withdrawn in 1920 with the remaining 49 lasting to grouping in 1923. At the grouping, the IWR had 38 passenger coaches and 19 non-passenger coaching stock vehicles. The passenger coaches comprised twenty third-class (allotted SR numbers 2421–40) and eighteen composites (SR nos. 6329–46). The non-passenger coaching stock comprised ten passenger guard's vans (SR 980–9), seven open carriage trucks (4378–84). one luggage van (2231) and one horse box (3368). There were 221 goods vehicles lasting to grouping in 1923. These comprised 189 open goods wagons (allotted SR numbers 27787–27975), thirteen flat trucks (SR nos. 59011–23), twelve covered goods wagons (SR 46975–86), three cattle wagons (53377–9), two tar tanks (61381–2) and two brake vans (56033–4). In addition to these, there were three in departmental stock: two travelling cranes (SR nos. 425S and 426S) and a match truck (SR no. 426SM). The open goods wagons were also used for coal, and had carrying