Steam on the Isle of Wight

At the end of World War 2, the railway network that served the Isle of Wight was intact. Less than a generation later, the majority of lines had closed and steam traction had been replaced on the one surviving section - from Ryde to Shanklin - by surplus electric rolling stock acquired from London Underground.

Always physically separated from the rest of the railway network, the railways on the Isle of Wight attracted the enthusiast fraternity as, due to their restricted loading gauge, they were redolent of a much older era. Vintage rolling stock hauled by diminutive locomotives were the hallmarks of the railway down the years until the final withdrawal of steam in early 1967.

Featuring a wide range of images from the two decades of operation after the end of World War 2, Steam on the Isle of Wight: The Postwar Years is an evocative reminder of the railways that once served the island. Drawing upon the work of a number of photographers who visited the island during the period, most of the photographs are previously unpublished and provide a superb tribute to now long-departed steam operations and the trains that once plied their trade on routes linking Ryde, Newport, Ventnor, Cowes and Freshwater.