Railways On The Isle of Wight - The Independent Companies

The Independent Companies

The first conventional railway line to open on the island was that from Cowes to Newport. The Cowes & Newport Railway Company began construction of the line in 1859 after an enabling Act of Parliament was passed earlier that year. The line opened to passengers in June 1862.

Shortly after this, the Isle of Wight Railway (IWR) company built its initial line from Ryde to Shanklin, opening in 1864. Also in 1864, horse-drawn trams began running along Ryde Pier, connecting ferry services to the town. The IWR opened an extension of its main line to reach Ventnor in 1866. In 1871, the Ryde tramway was extended to meet the railway line at Ryde St John's Road.

The Ryde & Newport Railway opened in December 1875, with operations controlled by the Cowes & Newport company.

In 1875, the Isle of Wight (Newport Junction) Railway opened the main part of its 10-mile Sandown to Newport line, planned in 1868. It would have opened sooner, but failed official inspections. In February 1875, the line was opened between Shide, a suburb of Newport, and the IWR station at Sandown. Eight months later the line was extended a further half mile to reach Pan Lane. However, the final half-mile from there to Newport station did not open until 1879. Four years of poor connections in Newport meant not enough passengers or freight had been attracted to the line, and the company passed into receivership in 1880. At this point, it was bought by the Cowes & Newport/Ryde & Newport company, who were legally renamed as the Isle of Wight Central Railway.

In 1877 the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and London and South Western Railway were granted an Act of Parliament to extend Ryde Pier, building a railway line from the pier head to St John's Road. This was complete in 1880, and at this point the Ryde tramway was shortened to simply run along the pier.

In 1882, the IWR opened a branch line from Brading to Bembridge, serving a large natural harbour between Bembridge and St Helen's stations. A short-lived train ferry from Bembridge Harbour to the Hayling Island branch also started at this point.

In 1889, the Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway(FYN) opened its 12-mile line from Newport to Freshwater, the only line to run west of Newport. Services on its line were operated by the IWCR under a mutual agreement.

The network was completed by the Newport, Godshill and St Lawrence Railway's Ventnor West branch line from Merstone, on the Sandown-Newport line, to St Lawrence on the south coast. This was opened in 1897, and extended to Ventnor West in June 1900. This line, the last to be built on the island, was taken over by the Isle of Wight Central.

By the end of 1900, a total of 55½ miles of railway covered the island, including railway lines on Ryde Pier (but excluding the pier tramway).

A fixed railway link to the mainland was authorised by Parliament in 1903. The South West and Isle of Wight Junction Railway was a joint project between the London & South Western Railway and the FYN. The excavation of a two and a half-mile long tunnel was approved in 1903, 1904 and 1909. However, the tunnel project was abandoned due the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

As mentioned above, the IWCR and FYN had an agreement whereby the IWCR would provide the train service along the FYN line. However, in 1913 this agreement deteriorated to the point that the FYN was forced to purchase its own locomotives and rolling stock.