March 1967 saw the introduction of ex-Underground stock on the Island line between Ryde and Shanklin. Fifty years on, with the new South West Trains franchise award imminent, this is set to be a critical year for the line’s future
Train meets ferry: unit No 483008 heads up Ryde Pier with the 17.38 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head working on 18 August 2016.
Travelling on the Isle of Wight’s 8½-mile route between Ryde and Shanklin is like stepping back in time. This remnant of a 55-mile network of lines which criss-crossed the island is now the domain of ex-tube stock built in 1938.
