Isle of Wight Railways: A New History

The Isle of Wight railways are a popular subject among railway enthusiasts. Although the network reached a maximum extent of only 55 miles and always struggled to be profitable, the special character of the island's railways are fondly remembered by many. In this new history of the Isle of Wight's railways, the author has researched original historical documents to produce a fresh account of the development of the network. As in the rest of Victorian Britain, numerous independent companies scrambled to build their lines but often with little chance of making a profit in underdeveloped areas. Despite the island's small size the first two railways - the Cowes & Newport Railway which opened in 1862 and the Isle of Wight Railway which opened in 1864 from Ryde to Shanklin, then Ventnor in 1864 - were physically isolated from each other until the opening of the Ryde & Newport Railway in 1875.