THE LAST TRAINS DEPARTED FROM FRESHWATER AND …
The railway lines between Brading – Bembridge and Newport – Freshwater saw their final passenger trains depart on Sunday 20th September 1953 – 70 years ago today.
The train on the 12-mile-long Newport to Freshwater line left the crowded West Wight terminus 3 minutes early at 21:31 after one of the busiest passenger-carrying days in its 64 years of operation.
The last train to run between Bembridge, St Helens and Brading was greeted with cheers from a crowded platform, bugle calls and explosions from fog signals. Over 300 passengers made the return journey, including a Mr Occomore, who had made the journey on the first train to run the route in 1882.
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The Isle of Wight Mercury expressed fears that the loss of the 2 lines would eventually result in the loss of the whole Isle of Wight rail network.
The letter writer Mr Guy Mitchell wrote:
“It is with many misgivings as to the future that I read of British Railways’ threat to close all the lines in the Isle of Wight in five years’ time. The congestion on the roads would be too great to contemplate with an easy mind. Especially do I think the line from Ryde to Ventnor ought to be kept open, both for passenger and goods traffic.
“If a million pounds would have to be spent on improving the roads, there does not seem to be much saving! Instead of increasing fares, I think the reverse should be the case, to encourage people to use the railways more than they do now.”
Following the closure of the lines to Bembridge and Freshwater, the line between Newport and Sandown ceased operation in 1956, that between Ryde, Newport and Cowes in 1966, together with the one between Shanklin and Ventnor.
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Today, we have only 8 stations – Ryde Pier Head, Ryde Esplanade, Ryde St Johns, Smallbrook, Brading, Sandown, Lake and Shanklin – compared with the 40 or so that existed at the end of World War II.
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