A Cruise To The Isle Of Wight
Until yesterday, I’d never been to the Isle of Wight.
I took the train from Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour station, from where I walked to the catamaran for Ryde.
The pictures were taken on the way over.
The ferry was fairly busy with passengers. Unfortunately, you don’t seem to be able to get into the fresh air.
The fort incidentally, is one of the Palmerston Forts.
A Trip On The Island Line
The Island Line on the Isle of Wight, is a unique train line, as these pictures show.
It was just like going back to my childhood and be transported in one of the old 1938 Stock, London Underground trains, that I can just about remember on the Piccadilly line in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Class 483, as they are now called, still have all the same noises and a lot of the wooden features, although the seats and a few other internal features had been updated.
I do wonder whether old London Underground trains, which generally have been immaculately maintained could be used on some of the far flung parts of the network to re-instate old lines.
One of the reasons, they ended up on the Isle of Wight, was that this line has gauge clearance problems and London’s redundant tube trains fit the space available. And of course, third-rail electric trains are easier to install than those with overhead wires.
There is a lot of talk about using new trams or tram-trains on some branch lines, but surely some retired tube trains, would be a lot more affordable and a tourist attraction as well. Over the next few years, there is going to be a lot of these trains, that will be replaced in London.
They deserve better than being scrapped!
The Anonymous Widower 