The Isle of Wight Railway 1963 - 1965

A journey by train across the Isle of Wight from Ryde to Ventnor. Filmed between 1963 and 1965. From the Model Railways On-Line website www.mrol.com.au.

[@fjstraw]

This is the best footage in colour of the fantastic asset that was destroyed in the name of progress ,namely the IOW steam railway in all its Victorian splendour . I first visited in there in about 1962 when decline and neglect were all too obvious , but it was still in working order and obvious that there was an opportunity to create something special and unique in the world . About half of the system had already been closed but was easily recoverable , and due to the light loading gauge most of the rolling stock was used only on the island , it was one of a kind . I returned a few years later to see what exists today and the further closure of the line to Ventnor . One can only speculate what an attraction it would have been to rail enthusiasts the world over since it was complete and standard gauge ,using original signalling,workshops ,stations etc little or nothing had changed in 100 years . Most thing we’re still marked Southern Railway , only the locomotives sported the BR logo . Barbara Castle was the transport minister at the time of closure and I believe she signed off the the work that would use the Underground Trains as replacements . It would appear that despite local objections , the local authorities had no interest in preservation , so the big chance was missed . The only good news is a small section of line is still in action today at the IOW steam railway , but a fraction of what it could have been .

[@em1500uk]

I have to say, I'm a 30 something from Norfolk who only visited the island for the first time last October and comparing things on this video to what they are now, I fully agree with you.

[@markg6860]

Many happy memories of holidaying in Ventnor, as a kid. When the railway closed in 1966, Ventnor suffered economically. It was never the same.

[@HughTerry69]

Lovely film, a poignant reminder of a bygone age. Thanks for posting. How sad to think most of the island's rail network was ripped up by the stroke of an accountant's pen! A travesty.

[@Tinker1950]

I used to regularly travel from Mill Hill just after the Cowes tunnel, to Newport in the pre-Beeching days. I was a twelve to fourteen years old during the years of this film collection. To me it was a wonderful way to travel.

[@vishengro]

Heartwarming! Many thanks to Paul for posting this wonderful video.

[@MagicaLucem]

I remember watching this film at the National Film Theatre on the Southbank of the Thames when it won it's 4 star award in the National Ten Best of the year competition. Nice to see it on KZbin. Thank you.

[@simonwood5204]

Amazing footage! There are plans on the IoW Council website about reinstating the line to Ventnor which if it ever happens will be simply amazinh

[@barry5111]

I went on the steam railway to Shanklin as a kid and it was a wonderful holiday. Last time I went to the island I stayed in Ventnor and it was pretty run down I must say and the old station had been turned into an industrial estate.

[@TheMattlockyer]

@@barry5111 My Nan and Grandad lived on Hyde road, Shanklin. She said she knew there would be trouble because most times she saw the train go by it was empty. My Grandad worked at Wroxall and then Ventnor stations so the idea of closure was a worry. He did manage to stay with the railway though. I do hope they reinstate the line to Ventnor but i will miss visiting the small cave in the embankment on my returns to the Island. It was dug out when they built the line and my Grandad used to utilise it when he worked as a ganger in the 30's and 40's. He had a great story about that cave. Fingers crossed the feasibility study shows reopening the line to be worthwhile.

[@barry5111]

@@TheMattlockyer Last time I went to Ventnor the old station had become a small industrial estate. To be honest Ventnor was on the way downhill bigtime. I don't think there would be any case for opening that line up. Sadly the glorious past has gone and reopened railways have to have an economic prospect like the varsity line.

[@michaelhearn3052]

@@barry5111 The business case for its retention was poor, even in 1964. The bulk of passengers alighted at Shanklin where the main number of B&Bs, Guest Houses and Hotels were, you can see this at time point 7:49 in this video. Compared to time point 9:07 with passengers alighting at Ventnor. BR knew this from receipts and ticket sales. Secondly, it would cost £264lk for the 4th substation to electrify down to Ventnor. BR did not have this money.

[@michaelhearn3052]

@@TheMattlockyer Both Wroxall and Ventnor stations have been built over. There is also a water pipe owned by Southern Water down one side of the tunnel and a sewage pipe along the other side. My understanding is that Southern Water owns the tunnel. The original business case to retain that section of the line was poor even back in the 1960s, and BR did not have £264k to electrify down to Ventnor.

[@levichalcraft8702]

The Adams O2 tank is my favourite tank engine and as a young person I can imagine just seeing these at great quantity at ventnor

[@anotherfreediver3639]

I'm lucky enough to have been hauled over the entire IoW network as it stood in around 1965 by these lovely locos. Including both Ventnor and Ventnor West!

[@MrMichaelrobinson]

Brilliant video brought back memouries from 1962 travelling in the guards van and get the steam train to brading, and then a bus to Carpenters Farm camp site for a week camping with the boy scouts always remember my visits to the Isle of Wight as a child stayed at Lower Hyde Farm in 1964 I think. Wonderful to relive such golden memouries thanks again for posting Kind regards, Mike Robinson Montrose

[@misstrever1952]

What a lovely old archive film! Fast forward 60 years am sure today everything here would have preservation status, what a shame 👍

[@kend.5894]

Gem of a film. I had a couple of holidays at Warner's (Hi De Hi stuff) at the end of the fifties and remember spending time at Ryde Esplanade watching the trains coming round from Pierhead and diving down into the tunnel. It all seemed like one huge model railway!

[@robertmarsh3588]

Wonderful. Thanks for sharing. Would love to see IoW Railway running from Ryde to Newport! (Indeed I would love a railway to be running this whole route, plus re-opening to Ventnor!!!)

[@ModelRailwaysUnlimited]

Absolutely brilliant, what a snapshot of time

[@LuckyTrucker1]

What a brilliant find , thank you so much for posting . I visited the Island 63, 64 and 65 with our local church Sunday School . Caught the train at Ryde Pier , camp site was at St Helens so I think a bus must have involved . Loved the film especially with the sound . Thanks for posting .

[@PowderedCowsMusic]

I find videos like this very calming. Thank you for uploading it

[@soundnicetome]

Great piece of railway history....thanks...from all of those who wish `steam` was still with us?

[@Cheeseatingjunlista]

Bring it back, they reinsted most of Majorcas old lines, another holiday island, now their trains are packed

[@michaelberg9656]

I rode on this train to Ventnor a few times as a kid, when we spent our summer holidays on the beautiful IOW. Great to see the engine "running round" at the end. Thanks for the video!

[@thefakewasp503]

Great video with some nice filming. At least I did get to travel on some of the lines in steam days. Thanks for sharing it.

[@100SteveB]

Lovely to see and hear all those 02's working hard. The backbone of island steam for so many years. Would be nice to see steam back on the Shanklin line one day.

[@MIRaill]

Back in 2012, there were plans to take a GWR manor and run it over the full Isle of Wight line. This was called off and they had to change loco so. So there might be south demons collett engine running on the full line in the near future.

[@markamey2544]

+MI Rail not unless they rebore Ryde tunnel! always the problem as the trackbed was raised when electrified as surface water and live rails do not mix. even at original track spec however most stock would be out of guage

[@PhilPage227]

Lovely. I have done the trip behind steam from Ryde Pier Head to Cowes many times, now that would be a great video to watch.

[@tangie777uk]

What a beautiful video..thank you

[@tominnis8353]

Fantastic! Thank you.

[@PhilPage227]

Fabulous video. I used to travel from Ryde Pierhead to Cowes behind a grubby Adams 02 as a kid, happy days. yes, they should have preserved the whole network there as a tourist attraction.

[@someguy3162]

It feels like Isle of Sodor While everything is modernized,and most of the steam had gone (either static or cut up)the steam locomotives still plays a big role in the island’s railway network

[@DavidMartin-ym2te]

My goodness - just found this. I was there on holiday during those years and recall the train ride very well. Shame the tunnel collapse in '65(?) precluded taking the electric trains through to Ventnor.

[@100SteveB]

I think it was more the cost of up keeping the tunnel prevented the line being electrified all the way to Ventnor, or rather that was the excuse they used. The tunnel suffered no collapse. Back in the 70's and early 80's i often walked through the tunnel, a great adventure for me. Inside the tunnel is in wonderful condition all the way through. It was built to last! Sadly the tunnel is well sealed of these days, no chance of walking through it any more.

[@DavidMartin-ym2te]

Thanks for that. I didn't know the tunnel was still walkable for so long after the 60s. I have seen the station many times since. My wife gets fed up with me waxing lyrical every time we drive past!

[@peterstanton5318]

As far as I'm aware it was the cost of the traction power supply and distribution equipment that caused the shortening of the line: I suspect going on to Ventnor would have required an extra substation? By the way it was Ernest Marples that aimed to emasculate our railway network; Beeching actually avoided quite a chunk disappearing! Barabara Castle carried on the bad work!

[@michaelhearn3052]

@@peterstanton5318 Yes you are correct with this as the budget set to electrify the line was set at £500k. The scheme was iirc attached to the £16 million Bournemouth electrification scheme back in 1966. Due to the foot fall analysis that was done by BR the bulk of passengers alighted at Shanklin and not Ventnor. I would be of the opinion that Shanklin was where the bulk of the B&B's were. Also electrifying down to Ventnor would require the fourth substation at 33kV/750V DC and its associated connections. This extra cost put the scheme over budget, and as a consequence was not included at the final planning stage. With regards to Marples and Castle, the closures were done in accordance with the Transport Act 1962, in that the lines had to operate at a profit, If not then they were candidates for closure. Both had to act and demonstrate that they were acting within the letter of the Act. One of the concerns by both Marples and Beeching was the lack of financial information within BR about how much it cost to actually run the railways. later on the Transport Act 1968 organised by Castle allowed the government to pay BR a subsidy for remunerative lines that were of a social need.

[@MiLLwallpaul231258]

I agree with some comments....they should have kept all the lines open and run it as a working museum

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

Who is "they" and who is going to subsidise "they" with vast amounts of money for running a loss making operation. Would you pay your own salary towards this?

[@calldfwp2230]

@@PreservationEnthusiast British Railways which was a public owned company running a public service. Profitability shouldn't be the only motivation for a state owned company running a vital public service.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@calldfwp2230 You didnt answer my question. And in many respects rail serving communities with very few customers is not a vital service. It is just a loss making one which is better replaced by more flexible road transport, both public and private.

[@mcbenman1793]

It’s such a shame they are not running steam on the Isle of Wight mainline and that they cut the line at wootton

[@michaelhearn3052]

That was a decision by Newport Council not to allow the IoW steam train service into Newport. Had they allowed it, as a P&R scheme, it may have reduced the traffic jams that occur on the island during the summer time. It was a lack of forward thinking by Councils.

[@TheVectensis]

Those little O2's took me to and from school every day.

[@jackchatfield5464]

Paul O'Rourke They should rebuilt more of the smaller engines on Heritage Railways. 😔💨 Like for example. they should replicate / rebuild more of the Adams O2s. W16 Ventnor W20 Shanklin W26 Whitwell and W35 Freshwater. As well as W24 they would have four O2

[@pansparrow]

And here I am who sadly never got to see BR Steam, ah well at least we have what we have

[@nickmiller76]

Me too, Sandown Grammar School, 1964-66.

[@TheJonnyfrank]

Paul thank you so much for posting this vid. Lived in Ventnor in 1966, the station was already closed, as a kid remember walking halfway through the Ventnor tunnel. Station was abandoned with a few workman around. Barely remember the few steam trains in sidings. not yet scrapped. Not sure what year the London Underground trains came to the island, must have been around 66 or 67. Life was simpler back then but hey now we have youtube. Thanks again

[@railwaychristina3192]

Just look at those crowds! Ventnor never recovered from the loss of its two stations. The census to measure footfall was conducted om Christmas Day! Scandalous. I lived in Ventnor and the buses were scarce and expensive, very isolating for non drivers. The island's many non paved lanes are dangerous because of heavy traffic.

[@michaelhampton9493]

They should never have got rid of steam on the I.O.W.It would have beena great tourist attraction.

[@paulhitchcock9760]

+michael hampton Sorry if I seem a bit sarcastic but I have news for you. The I.O.W does have steam trains as a highly successful tourist attraction. Just go and have a look (and ride)! The Isle of Wight Steam Railway would not have the resources to run Ryde to Shanklin at the same standard as Smallbrook to Wootton achieves.

[@michaelhampton9493]

Yes i know about the I.O.W Steam railway. I was talking about the entire Island system and all the stations that closed.

[@anotherfreediver3639]

The worst thing was that people on the island were saying so at the time. I later found out that the BR study had used some accounting tricks that were close to fraud to 'prove' that the lines were uneconomic to run.

[@HeavensGremlin]

Typical BR.

[@arthurbaldwin1804]

Isn’t it always the way those people with no foresight end up in government making the same mistakes over and over again

[@christopherbentley5216]

I travelled on the line early 60s as a small child,tsken on holiday by my parents.

[@petercanning2022]

And I with my parents in 1957. Rode from Ventnor to Ryde. Distant but never forgotten.

[@jackchatfield5464]

They should replicate / rebuilt more of the smaller engines on the heritage railways. Like more of the Adams O2s like 217 E217 W16 Ventnor 211 E211 W20 Shanklin 210 E210 W26 Whitwell and 181 E181 W35 Freshwater then ass well as The saved one 209 E209 W24 Calbourne. They Especially do 211 E211 W20 Shanklin next in my opinion.

[@davidcorbett8125]

A very interesting and important social film of when travelling was a much less stressful activity.. Very enjoyable as to how the railway was run etc. I just wish the cameraman had of done a movie of the old "Derry road" in N Ireland to show it in its glory before corrupt managers and politicians closed it down

[@mcbenman1793]

I stood on calbourne 2 years ago but I did not ride in the cab but I did ride in her brake van

[@Delta-pantages]

Let's see the line to Ventor from Shanklin reopened.

[@pfplowman]

Looking at Google Earth, I think it is too far gone now. Its been about 55 years!

[@lachlantanseytheii4412]

1967 Standard Stock

[@simonframpton7090]

The trains were looking hard worked

[@johnkeepin7527]

An enjoyable find! Presumably some of the footage was done using "Super 8" with an audio track. At that time, the 02 locos were unique in using rolling stock air brakes in this country on steam locomotives; some of the audio output reminded me of that fact.

[@MrRnipperBrockleBroadcasting]

Super 8 film only came out in 1965 so seems unlikely, perhaps Standard 8, but quite likely 16mm which Ivo Peters used. How things have changed now so many have HD cameras in their pockets, but seem more interested in “selfies”!

[@billcobbett9259]

@@MrRnipperBrockleBroadcasting From what I've seen on You Tube recently, the advent of HD cameras has not improved the poor composition, wobbly hand held shots, and poor editing of many railway videos purporting to be from specialist production outfits with fancy titles.

[@MrRnipperBrockleBroadcasting]

Bill Cobbett good point Bill, plus the insistent use of music when there’s perfectly adequate location audio.

[@alanjpoole7274]

Brilliant. Although I was going down to the Island from about 1957, I was to young to remember ever using the section of the line, Shanklin - Wroxal - Ventor, which would have been a great experience, be it as a lad, or a man. I do wonder though, how good the Southern Vectic buses would have been at Ventnor, conntecting the train station with the town, way down below.

[@xanaxsnax]

Such a pity they closed the line to Ventnor.

[@Martindyna]

Yes, after all that work tunnelling under St. Boniface Down.

[@martinmargerrison2300]

Look at what we had then and what we have now. I know which I would rather have. They threw the baby out with the bathwater.

[@martinmargerrison2300]

@Alexander Challis This is very true. Having worked for both the nationalised British Rail, EWS and FGW I can assure you that privatisation was not, is not and never will be the glorifying panacea they said it would be. HM government Minister for Transport is a junior cabinet position. That's how important Britain's transport infrastructure is.

[@HeavensGremlin]

Charming. :-)

[@itzzdustyspartan3241]

There is a rumour that if the 38 stock are withdrawn. the IOWSR Will be able to take control of the WHOLE line. but they will not be able to go as far as Ryde pier. they will terminate at Ryde esplanade. so there may be a chance that Calbourne will run some of his old line again.

[@anotherfreediver3639]

The real challenge would be recreating a large enough fleet of 02s, and re-laying the track to Freshwater! :-)

[@billcobbett9259]

The problem with returning to standard railway stock is the reduced clearance in the Ryde tunnels. This I think is the problem with replacing the 38 stock. The IoWSR would also have to prove that they can run a public railway as opposed to a heritage one, with modern safety standards.

[@garethbramley1]

Excellent - pity some of the passages are muted.

[@pfplowman]

Unfortunately although music was purchased with a copyright free license Google will not accept it.

[@garethbramley1]

@@pfplowman You Tube can be a pain in this respect.

[@johnduffin3361]

what was it that british rail destroyed this historic railway a total museum piece,perhaps one day the I.O.W. steam railway could maybe take over the 'electric' trains and put steam back in their place,wonderful old movie how could you dislike this( the 7 who did)

[@TheEnglishTrainSpotter2021]

It's a shame I like ventnor but I go on the train pass so I have to pay to get the bus to ventnor