1952 to 1955 Branch line closures

British Railways wasted no time in closing the loss-making lines to Ventnor West (1952), Bembridge (1953), Freshwater (1953) and between Newport and Sandown (1955). The lines from Ryde to Cowes and Ventnor remained open, still using Victorian O2 locomotives and Edwardian wooden-bodies carriages. By the 1960s this bygone transport system attracted many photographers and enthusiasts to the island.