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Offshore on the Southern: The Isle of Wight railways in the 1950s and 1960s

Category: Transport

This album is a delightful collection of images of the Isle of Wight railways as they were operating in 1953 and 1956, when all the lines were open except the Ventnor West branch. However, even this line is covered in the book, as the track was still in situ in 1953.

Starting at Newport, Tony Burges takes us on a trip around the island, concentrating on the routes and stations now closed, using his own photographs and a few taken by his friends JH Aston in 1949 and GR Siviour in 1965. Tony is an accomplished photographer and his pictures includes many delightful station views. As well as superb shots of O2 0-4-4Ts and E1 0-6-0Ts in action.

So, sit back and enjoy the delights of Calbourne, Yarmouth, Freshwater, Cowes, Ventnor, Bembridge, Newport and many less well known haunts.

The Author

After an initial period as a ‘mourner’ in the fifties at branch line funerals in the UK and Ireland, Tony pursued studies at Southampton University followed by graduate school at Northwestern University, Chicago. His subsequent career in the Canadian government as Transport Policy Advisor in the Department of Finance , Director General, Grain Transportation & Handling, and subsequently Deputy Executive Director, Australian Railway Research & Development Organization earned him the sobriquet of ‘Mr Branchline’ among his colleagues. Retiring recently from a Washington DC based firm of transportation consultants he is now devoting his time to writing railway books in Ottawa.

 ©2008 Colourpoint Books