* The Lost Lines of England series documents a lost age of steam-train travel which thrived from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century.

* An informative, accessible and portable resource for the train enthusiast as well as the general reader, and a superb souvenir or gift for visitors past and present.

* Photo illustrated throughout, including many archive images which are appearing in print for the first time.

This title recalls the Ryde to Cowes railway line, a route that joined the two principal Isle of Wight steamer ports with the county town.

Taking a rather circuitous and hilly route from Ryde to Newport, it then turned north along the west bank of the River Medina to reach its Cowes destination.

With rural stations some distances from their villages, continual green landscapes and vintage trains, the line possessed an ever-increasing charm as the years progressed.