With considerable help from Network SouthEast (then operators of the Ryde-Shanklin railway) and numerous other organisations and local authorities, the Steam Railway was able to rebuild over 3 miles of
The original station at Wootton, which closed in 1953, was situated in a cutting on the opposite side of the road. Volunteers attempted to re-build this but were thwarted by
After four years of storage at the closed Newport Station, the I.W.Steam Railway was founded on 24th January 1971. Preserved stock was hauled by rail with our own locomotive driven
December 31st 1966 saw the end of 104 years continuous operation of the Island’s railways by steam locomotive. Only the railway from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin was left operational.
The Beeching Report proposed the closure of all the remaining lines on the island. Despite a spirited campaign, the line from Ryde to Cowes closed in February 1966, followed in
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
Following the Second World War in 1945, the railways generally were in a run down state. Heavy war traffic, lack of investment and manpower all taking their toll. As part
Britain’s numerous independent railways were grouped into four main companies on 1st January 1923. This was a Government measure in the early post First World War period to make the
The final railway on the island to be constructed ran from Merstone to Ventnor West. It reached St Lawrence on 20th July 1897 and Ventnor in 1900 on a rock