2. An Isle of Wight Adventure-02 & 03.01.20

THE ARCHIVE FILES > Archive-2020 > 2. An Isle of Wight Adventure-02 & 03.01.20
In order to sample the delights of the Island Line's 1938 stock before its imminent withdrawal from service, Mike, Andy and I travelled south on the second day of the year. On an incredibly dull January day, we took in the Wessex Line between Wool and the New Forest before an overnight stay in Chichester. Then, we took the ferry to Ryde Pierhead from Portsmouth and travelled all day on the Island Line's eighty years old stock operated by South West Trains. If I'm honest, we found a very rundown railway that was crying out for some serious investment.
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1. Journey there incorporating Wessex-02.01.20 A very easy drive down to Wessex followed by us driving eastwards and following the railway and ending up in the New Forest after dark on a thoroughly miserable day!
A very easy drive down to Wessex followed by us driving eastwards and following the railway and ending up in the New Forest after dark on a thoroughly miserable day!
2. The Isle of Wight-03.01.20 Mike, Andy and I left the car in the excellent park and ride facility just off the M275's Junction 1 then taking the PR1 service right to the Hard Interchange terminal. Here we took the FastCat catamaran service to Ryde, a journey of about twenty minutes. Buying a combined Island Line and ferry ticket enabled unlimited travel on the classic 1938 stock still in operation on the island's relatively short network between Ryde Pierhead and Shanklin. It was quite an experience to travel on the former London Underground stock with its maximum speed of forty-five miles per hour as it bounced and rattled along the ancient bullhead track. With the new stock due in the coming few months, I am not sure that this will be enough to drag the line into the twenty-first century. Far greater levels of investment are still needed.
Mike, Andy and I left the car in the excellent park and ride facility just off the M275's Junction 1 then taking the PR1 service right to the Hard Interchange terminal. Here we took the FastCat catamaran service to Ryde, a journey of about twenty minutes. Buying a combined Island Line and ferry ticket enabled unlimited travel on the classic 1938 stock still in operation on the island's relatively short network between Ryde Pierhead and Shanklin. It was quite an experience to travel on the former London Underground stock with its maximum speed of forty-five miles per hour as it bounced and rattled along the ancient bullhead track. With the new stock due in the coming few months, I am not sure that this will be enough to drag the line into the twenty-first century. Far greater levels of investment are still needed.
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