With regret we have decided to cancel the 2020 Island Steam Show. This annual event had been scheduled to take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Our annual Steam Show is usually one of the highlights of our year. Over the 4-day event we would expect to welcome up to 10,000 visitors, volunteers and exhibitors who come to see an impressive collection of historic vehicles, and traction engines, live entertainment and music, a fairground, plus steam trains running along the line.
We tried hard to find a way of making this year’s event happen, leaving the decision as late as possible to see if the situation improved. We had hoped that a scaled-back show might be possible; however even this presented significant extra challenges. Ultimately we felt that we couldn’t operate the event in a socially distant way, that would keep our visitors and volunteers safe.
We recognise that cancelling this year’s event will be very disappointing to our many visitors who have supported the Steam Show over the last 45 years.
Please be assured that our Steam Show will return in 2021. This is significant year for the Railway when we will celebrate our 50th anniversary. We look forward to welcoming our exhibitors and visitors back for our 46th show next year.