Ian Heys

Format: PAL
Duration: 60 minutes

First Pasture Price:  £13.95       

Status: In Stock

The railways of the Isle of Wight have always had a special charm with memories of long hot summer days, golden beaches and blue skies.  An 02 tank at the Pier Head waiting to take the holiday maker to Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor, Yarmouth and Freshwater.  Only a small section of this line remains.

This programme has brought together a unique collection of cine film, archive photographs and memories of railwaymen who worked on the line.  Each of the lines, both open and closed, are explored in turn as we travel from Ryde Pier through to Ventnor, including a look at the Bembeidge Branch.  From Smallbrook Junction we take the line to Newport and Cowes before visiting Yarmouth and Freshwater.  On our return to Newport we follow the line to Merstone Junction in order to travel down the much loved branch to Ventor West before finally covering the remaining section between Merstone and Sandown.

Using either cine film or archive photographs each station is seen in it's heyday and then compared with the scene today.  There is more than twenty minutes of cine film, some of which dates from the 1920s.  The programme includes full commentary.