Wroxall railway station explained

Wroxall
Status:Disused
Borough:Wroxall, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight
Country:England
Platforms:Two
Pregroup:Isle of Wight Railway (1864 to 1923)
Postgroup:Southern Railway (1923 to 1948)
Southern Region of British Railways (1948 to 1966)
Years:10 September 1866[1]
Events:Opened
Years1:17 April 1966
Events1:Closed

Wroxall railway station was an intermediate station on the Isle of Wight Railway line from Ryde, situated between Shanklin and Ventnor with an upland situation. To the north lay Apse Bank with its three miles of 1 in 70 gradient and three bridges.[2] The gradient eased in the station but increased again to 1 in 88 as Ventnor Tunnel was approached.[3]

History

Reasonably busy with commuter traffic all the year round[4] it was originally built with a single siding, goods traffic diminished rapidly with the advent of the motor bus.[5] The Station Hotel was situated on the Up Platform and was converted into housing after the station closed.[6] Next to this was a single storey station, now demolished.[7] On the down side was a small shelter.[8] The station was lit by gas up until its closure. Apse bank was a favourite location for photographers as it presented by far the hardest challenge to steam trains on the Ryde-Ventnor route.

The station has been demolished with a new road (Station Road) running across the south end of the site. The adjacent Station Hotel still stands having been converted into residential units, located on St. Martins Road, as does the road overbridge.

Stationmasters

See also

Notes and References

  1. Southern Region Record by R.H.Clark page 92
  2. Upper Hyde Lane, Cliff and Three Arch Sheet 196, The Solent & Isle of Wight . Ordnance Survey . 2006 . 0-319-22869-X.
  3. Book: Paye, Peter . Isle of Wight Railways remembered . OPC . Oxford . 1984 . 0-86093-212-5 .
  4. Book: George Lewis, porter at Wroxall Station, quoted in Once upon a line (Vol 4) . Britton,A . Oxford . OPC . 1994 . 0-86093-513-2.
  5. Book: Steaming Through the Isle Of Wight . Hay,P . Midhurst . Middleton . 1988 . 0-906520-56-8.
  6. Book: Isle of Wight Railways . Pomeroy, C . Oxford . Past & Present Publishing . 1993 . 0-947971-62-9.
  7. Book: Southern Holiday Lines in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight . Bennett, A . Cheltenham . Runpast . 1994 . 1-870754-31-X.
  8. Wroxall Station
  9. News: . The Isle of Wight Railway . Hampshire Telegraph . England . 28 June 1871 . 25 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  10. News: . Wroxall . Isle of Wight Observer . England . 27 May 1882 . 25 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  11. News: . Ventnor. Presentation . Portsmouth Evening News . England . 10 July 1912 . 25 July 2021 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .