St Helen's with its 232-foot-long (71 m) single platform[1] was the only intermediate stop on the 2+3⁄4-mile (4.4 km) branch line that connected Brading to the coast at Bembridge.[2]
History edit
Opened in 1882, when the area was the Island's main port,[3] it ran with ever-dwindling passengers until 1953.[4] Pomeroy[5] described the station thus:
An imposing structure with tall chimneys and elegant dormers, particularly pleasing to the eye.[6]
Train Ferry edit
From 1885 to 1888 St Helens was the Isle of Wight end of a Freight only Train ferry Service. This connected the Isle of Wight Rail Network with Mainland Great Britain's network at Langston railway station, using the Former Firth of Tay Train Ferry TF Carrier.
Stationmasters edit
In 1931 the stationmaster, Thomas George Clayton Weeks was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for theft and forgery of receipts. He had created fictitious wage sheets for casual workers at the Southern Railway quay and robbed the company of around £3,000 (equivalent to £216,900 in 2021)[7] in four years.[8] It was reported that he had been spending about £5 (equivalent to £400 in 2021)[7] per week on drink, and made presents of joints of beef to various villagers, spending over £400 (equivalent to £28,900 in 2021)[7] at one butchers shop in twelve months.
- William Weeks from 1882[9] (formerly station master at Wroxall)
- George Wetherick ca. 1897 ca. 1910
- Thomas George Weeks until 1931
- Charles Willcocks ca. 1935
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brading | British Railways Southern Region Isle of Wight Railway (Brading Harbour Improvement and Railway Company) : Brading to Bembridge line |
Bembridge |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Paye, Peter (1984). Isle of Wight Railways remembered. Oxford: OPC. ISBN 0-86093-212-5.
- ^ Bennett,A "Southern Holiday Lines in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight": Cheltenham, Runpast 1994 ISBN 1-870754-31-X
- ^ Viv Hailes quoted in "Once upon a line (Vol 4) Britton,A": Oxford, OPC, 1994 ISBN 0-86093-513-2
- ^ Hay,P "Steaming Through the Isle Of Wight": Midhurst,Middleton, 1988 ISBN 0-906520-56-8
- ^ "Isle Of Wight Railways, Then and Now": Oxford,Past & Present Publishing, 1993, ISBN 0-947971-62-9
- ^ A view Gammell(Southern Branch Lines": Oxford, OPC, 1997 ISBN 0-86093-537-X) concurs with One of the most attractive station conversions I have ever seen.
- ^ a b c UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "Modern "Robin Hood". Joints of Beef for the Villagers". Hampshire Telegraph. England. 27 November 1831. Retrieved 26 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Wroxall". Isle of Wight Observer. England. 27 May 1882. Retrieved 25 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
External links edit
50°41′37″N 1°06′44″W / 50.6936°N 1.1123°W
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