Island Images
- The Railways
Goodbye Cowes. The last train has departed and the weeds have taken
over. If there was ever a picture that conveyed the short sighted stupidity
of 1960's transport planners, this must be it. A working transport
infra-structure closed and destroyed in favour of road transport on a small
over crowded island. It must have cost us millions!
More of the same, what would be the tourist potential of a working steam railway network on a holiday island. More, or less than the British Rail estimated savings, cooked up by their accountants? This lot went to the scrapyard at the bottom of Hunnyhill to be broken up before being shipped out to Spain to be made into razor blades.
Newport Station's north signal box before being destroyed by vandals in
a fire after closure. Where big vandals go,
little vandals are sure to follow.
Happier days as the train pulls away from Mill Hill staion, Cowes.
I actually visited the derelict structure in 1970, heavily vandalised and
now gone, but the tunnel still exists.
A Ryde to Ventnor train thunders down by Brading marsh drawing a set of Isle of Wight Central carriages.
Ventnor Station in early days, horse drawn transport is the only competition.
Moving on a bit, it looks as though horse's are still the only competition, judging by the stuff left on the ground.
Left: A Newport to Ryde train glides across the viaduct in the early 1960's,
the end was looming, it was soon to be all gone.
Goodbye Newport, the last steam locomotive No. 24 Calbourne leaves Newport in 1971, to take up residence at Havenstreet with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. The tracks were ripped up soon after to make way for a new road by-pass. Then all Newport's traffic problems would be solved, said the Council planners, as they made sure all the pigs were fed and made ready to fly.
| The train to Ventnor leaves Ryde pierhead in the early 1960's, the passengers having just disembarked from the paddle steamer, Waverley, It puffs contentedly behind the train as it prepares to depart to Portsmouth. |
| Leaving Ryde esplanade the train steams downhill to the tunnel leading to Ryde St. Johns Road station. |
| A rather rusty O2 is undergoing maintenance
in a sunlit Ryde St Johns depot. Note the large white lifting crane
behind the engine. |
| We steam into Brading, note the green Southern Railway station boards and prominent Westinghouse pump mounted on the front right of the locomotive. |
T
| he train has departed and the main
station building can be seen looking south, in later years the line was to
be singled and the footbridge closed. The gas lamps remained, however.
|
| Below: The end of the line, Ventnor Station and a quick refuel of coal and water before running around to the back of the train for the long haul back to Ryde Pier head. |
| Right: Here's a rare one, an
O2 complete with BR red coaches steams out of Bembridge Station in 1952.
|
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