Ryde Rail

One of the most interesting and unique parts of the whole national railway network is the line from Ryde to Shanklin on the Isle of Wight which has been operated by former London Transport tube trains since the 1960s. This book charts the history and operation of the line since the end of steam and the closure of most of the island’s railway system in 1966. Providing a brief history of the LT Standard Stock and why, when and how it was chosen and transported to Isle of Wight, these elderly trains soldiered on into the 1990s when they were finally replaced with 1938 London Transport stock. The narrative follows the operation of the line in the decades since electrification to the present day and the changes which came about with privatisation of the national network. The book concludes by looking at the current operation of the line and options which might be available to replace the 1938 stock. The future of the line is also discussed including the likely extension of Isle of Wight Steam Railway trains to Ryde St John’s. This is a well-researched and very readable account of a unique survivor and perhaps the most singular line in the whole of the Britain’s surviving railway network.