BR British Rail Crimson & Cream
Crimson and Cream Crimson Cream Blood & Custard Blood Custard Blood and
Custard BR British Rail Crimson & Cream Crimson and Cream Crimson Cream
Blood & Custard Blood Custard Blood and Custard BR British Rail Crimson
& Cream Crimson and Cream Crimson Cream Blood & Custard Blood Custard
Blood and Custard
Southern
Ryde
& the Isle of Wight
|
28th August 1965 In the penultimate summer of steam services on the Isle of Wight, W28 'Ashey' leaves Ryde Pier Head with the 14.20 to
Shanklin. Adams O2 no. W28 was built July 1890 as no. 186, shipped to the
island in March 1926 and withdrawn December 1966. © Ben Brooksbank (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
History in Brief
The
Cowes and Newport railway opened in 1862 before branching out towards Ryde. The
Isle of Wight Railway opened the line from Ryde to Sandown
in 1864, extending to Ventnor in 1866; Ryde station was at St Johns Road. Some
distance from Ryde Pier and its tramway. Soon a street-running tramway was operating
from Ryde Pier to St Johns Road.
However,
in 1880 the railway was extended from St Johns Road to the Pier Head. With the
1923 ‘Grouping Act’ the Isle of Wight Railway was absorbed into the Southern
Railway which in turn was became part of British Railways upon
nationalisation in 1948.
The network on the
island was reduced during the nineteen-fifties (from its maximum extent of 55˝
miles) by the closure of the Merstone to Ventnor West line in
1952, followed by the Newport to Freshwater and Brading to Bembridge lines in
1953 and from Newport to Sandown in 1956.
A
public enquiry into the closure of the remaining railway was held in October
1964, the outcome of which confirmed that only the line from Ryde to Shanklin
(8˝ miles) would remain open but emphasised that the route should be
modernised.
The
railway was closed between 1st January 1967 and 19th
March 1967 for completion of the 630v DC third-rail electrification scheme ready
for service on 20th March 1967 using the ‘new’ ex.London Transport stock. 4-car units were classified
as 4 VEC and the 3-car units as 3 TIS, each 7-car train being a
7 VECTIS, the Roman name for the Isle of Wight.
Ryde Pier
|
28th August 1965 Adams O2 class no. W24 'Calbourne' is
running light engine to the Pier Head. W28 was built December 1891 as no.209,
sent to IoW April 1925 & withdrawn March 1967. © Ben Brooksbank (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
1st August 1964 Alongside the water tower, an unidentified © Ian Taylor (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
July 1966 Adams O2 class with train depart Ryde Pier
Head in the last summer of steam. © Chris Morgan (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
28th August 1965 On the left is set 492 forming the 13.40 from Ventnor behind Adams
class O2 no. W17 'Seaview' (built as no.208 in November 1891,
transferred to IoW as no.W17 in May 1930, withdrawn December
1966). On the right is one of the Pier Tramway’s diesel-powered tramcars
returning to the Esplanade. © Ben Brooksbank (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
Summer 1967 Coupled to a 4 VEC unit, 3 TIS no.035 is
seen at Ryde Pier Head platform one /two alongside a Drewry diesel-powered tram in summer 1967 (these
trams having been converted from petrol in 1959). The tramway closed on 26th
January 1969. |
|
July 1967 With car S9S
leading, 3 TIS unit no.035 is on a seven car ‘VECTIS’ train from Ryde Pier
Head to Shanklin in the first summer of the island’s electric train operation
in July 1967. The funnel of paddle steamer ‘Ryde’ can be seen behind the
train. |
Ryde Esplanade
|
August
1963 With the Portsmouth ferry waiting at the
Pier Head a train departs Ryde Esplanade. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August
1963 A train arrives at Ryde Esplanade from Ryde
Pier Head. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
28th August 1965 Calling at Esplanade station on the 14.35 Ryde Pier Head to Cowes is no.
W24 'Calbourne'. Appearing to have lost its
'W' prefix, no.W24 was built in December 1891, was
brought across to the island in April 1925 and survived until March 1967
fortunately to be preserved on the heritage Isle of Wight Steam Railway. © Ben Brooksbank (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
5th August 1963 No.31 ‘Chale’
departing Ryde Esplanade. © Colin Pyle (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
Ryde Esplanade Hoverport
By
comparison to the railway, alongside Esplanade station the new Hovercraft
service to Southsea was making steam traction look very antiquated. Hovertravel commenced services in 1965 using SNR6
hovercraft yielding a ten-minute crossing time to Southsea. Also used on the
route to Cowes (1965-1980) the last of these SNR6 ‘Winchester Class’ hovercraft lasted until 1981.
|
July 1966 SRN6 Hovercraft moving from sea to land. © Chris Morgan (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
28th August 1965 Passengers disembark from a SRN6 Hovercraft at
Ryde. © Ben Brooksbank (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
Ryde St. John’s
Road
|
August 1963 O2 with train approach Ryde St John’s Road
passes another in the sidings. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 Train has the ‘road’ for Ryde Pier Head. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
10th April 1954 Adams O2 no.25 “Godshill” sits outside
Ryde St John's Road Locomotive Shed ‘70H’ besides the station. One of two on
the Isle of Wight (the other being at Newport) it had an allocation of eleven
in 1954, all being O2 class, It closed December 1966
with the cessation of steam working. No. W25 was built November 1890 as no.
190, transferred to the Island as W25 in June 1925
and withdrawn in December 1962. © Ben Brooksbank (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
1st September 1958 Class O2 no.W24 ‘Calbourne’ and others © Alan Passmore (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
15th July 1965 Minus one pair of driving wheels, no.W28 ‘Ashey’ outside the works. The last steam
locomotive was overhauled here in 1966. © Ian Taylor (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
28th
August 1965 A significant number of O2 class locomotives
are visible from a passing train. © Ben Brooksbank (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 W26 ‘Whitwell’ and the locomotive
yard from inside the shed. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 A view inside the shed with a line-up of class O2 locomotives. By this
time, this was the only active locomotive depot on the island, that at
Newport having been closed a few years earlier (although it was still being
used for rolling stock storage). © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
4th September 1966 Ministry inspection train gets the road at Ryde St Johns Road. The
first electric car to be shipped was CT S38S on 1st September 1966, and this
was used for a ministry inspection and clearance tests on 4th
September 1966 to Shanklin, one pair of doors being made operable using
compressed air from the steam locomotive braking supply. © Brian Hardy |
Brading
|
4th September 1966 Ministry inspection train undertaking gauging at Brading with ex.LSWR ‘O2’ steam locomotive
no.24 ‘Calbourne’. Details of the barrier
‘box’ wagon are unknown. © Brian Hardy |
Sandown
|
17th September 1964 Children look on as the porter makes his way along the platform. Note all the baggage trolleys. © Norman Griffin (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
Shanklin
Shanklin station opened on 23rd August 1864 with the line
south to Wroxall and Ventnor closing on 17th
April 1966.
|
18th September August 1965 Trains
passing at Shanklin station. In the foreground the train for Ryde waits for
the tablet giving permission to occupy the section ahead when the signals would
be cleared. © Richard Green (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
Ventnor
Ventnor was
the southern terminus of the Isle of Wight Railway, opening on 10th
September1866, renamed Ventnor Town in 1953 before reverting to Ventnor in 1953
and closing on 17th April 1966. The site was quarried to create
space for the station with the line immediately entering a tunnel under St
Boniface Down. On a separate line south from Merstone,
a second station serving the town (Ventnor Town) opened 1st June
1900, renamed Ventnor West in 1923 and closed 15th September 1953.
|
18th September 1965 A train leaves the tunnel into Ventnor
station like a cork leaving a bottle! © Richard Green (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 Ventnor was the terminus of the ex-Isle of Wight Railway from Ryde;
south from Shanklin was closed on 18th April 1966. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
16th April 1954 Towards buffer-stops at Ventnor station, which was built in a confined
space above the town just outside the tunnel under St Boniface Down. Running round its train before returning to Ryde Pier Head, no. W32 'Bonchurch'
is an ex-LSW Adams class O2 built as No. 226 November 1892, renumbered &
named on transfer to the Isle of Wight May 1928 and withdrawn October 1964. © Ben Brooksbank (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
15th July 1965 Class O2 no. W26 ‘Whitwell’ runs
round its train at Ventnor. © Ian Taylor (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
7th June 1965 W16 ‘Ventnor’ has the ‘road’ for Ryde.
Today, the young lad in the photograph will
be approaching retirement! © Howard Fuller (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 Locomotive running
round at Ventnor station; by this time the O2 class were the only type
running on the Island. The 'caves' were the
remains of chalk quarrying but, by the time of the photograph, some were
occupied by coal merchants. Coal was imported into the Island through Medina
Wharf, near Cowes, which was connected to the Cowes to Newport line by a
short siding. Once the station was closed in 1966, movement of coal to
Ventnor would have been by road. Medina Wharf survives
and is still used for importing bulk materials into the Island but is, of
course, no longer rail connected. Ventnor signal box is visible on the right.
It stood just by the portal of the St Boniface Down tunnel. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 Ventnor Station from St. Boniface Down. Class O2 locomotive no.W14
'Fishbourne' is preparing to couple up to a Ryde train. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 O2 class locomotive no.W14
'Fishbourne' departs with a train to Ryde. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 Entering Ventnor tunnel under St Boniface Down, a train for Ryde just
leaving Ventnor Station. Ventnor signal box is seen, just at the entrance to
the tunnel. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
Cowes
Opened on 16th June 1862, Cowes
station was notable for its relatively unusual operating procedure using
gravity-shunting. The engine would propel the empty coaches back up the 1 in 95
gradient towards Mill Hill, detach and then run
forward and round the train using a crossover. The coaches were then allowed to
run back down into the station by gravity (under handbrake control by handbrake
by the guard) ready for the locomotive to be reattached ready for the next
service to Newport and Ryde. The station closed on 21st February
1966.
|
28th August 1965 Headind by no.W24 ‘Calbourne’
the train has just arrived from Newport and beyond. The branch from Newport,
closed for passengers on 21st February 1966 and goods on 16 May 1966.
No.W24 was built in December 1891 as no.209, shipped
to the Island in April 1925 but not was not withdrawn until March 1967. It is
now preserved. © Ben Brooksbank (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 A train from Ryde has just arrived, hauled by an unidentified class O2
locomotive. The gradient at Cowes allowed running round to be achieved by
means of a gravity shunt. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 Although this appears to be a train approaching from Newport the ‘off’
shunt signal would appear to suggest it is propelling back in readiness for a
gravity shunt. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
August 1963 Departing from Cowes. © John Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
Of Interest….
RAF Calshot Flying Boat Station
|
1938 This is
probably a Short Sunderland (introduced in 1937). As well as being a flying
boat station, Calshot became a base for Air Sea
Rescue boats during World War II. It was closed in 1961 although part of the
site is now used by the RNLI and Coastguard. © J.L. Lucas (CC-by-SA/2.0) |
|
|
|
|
COPYRIGHT BLOODANDCUSTARD PHOTOGRAPHIC COPYRIGHT AS INDICATED |
|
