IT was a tight squeeze but Wightlink’s flagship St Clare accommodated some of its heaviest loads when an Ivatt locomotive and its coal tender crossed the Solent.

The engine, heading to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s Bank Holiday gala, was 20 metres long, 4.6 metres high, 2.9 metres wide and weighed 88 tons on its trailer.

The tender was 20 metres long, 4.64 metres high, 2.9m wide and weighed 65 tons on its trailer.

They travelled on different sailings.

The driver of the locomotive’s trailer had to lower his vehicle’s suspension to make sure the engine’s funnel did not hit the roof.

Wightlink chief executive, Keith Greenfield, said: “We are delighted to support the steam railway when it needs to move engines and carriages on and off the Island.

“We check the weights and carry out safety assessments each time just to be sure, but we will always help when we can.”

The gala will feature three Ivatt locomotives, donated to the railway by the Ivatt Locomotive Trust.

They were designed for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) by George Ivatt.

Twenty were completed from 1946 to 1948 before the railways were nationalised; the remaining 108 were built by British Railways.