Starting in 2026, the Railway Work, Life & Death project has been working with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. Together we’ve been finding out more about the people who worked on the Railway before it was preserved, and more widely on the Island’s railways.
This is part of the project’s wider work with heritage railway organisations (about which you can find more here), to support their engagement with the social history of the railways. It helps to put people back into railway history and heritage – all too often absent. Below you’ll find the life stories of a few railway staff who worked on the Isle of Wight’s railways before 1939.
The Isle of Wight’s railways
At its height in the early twentieth century, the Island’s railway network extended to around 55 miles, reaching from Freshwater in the west to Bembridge in the east, and Ventnor in the south to Cowes in the north. Newport, the Island’s capital was a key junction for reaching the different lines.
The first route in the network opened in 1862, with extensions continuing until 1900. Though some goods were moved on the railways, passenger traffic provided most of its revenue. This included holiday-makers, with a particular annual peak over the summer months.
The four companies operating the railways were merged in 1923 into the Southern Railway (SR). All British railway companies were nationalised in 1948, including those on the Island. Closures on grounds of economies started in the 1950s, with more under the Beeching Report in the 1960s. The only railway to be retained in mainline service was the route between Ryde and Shanklin, which was electrified in the late 1960s.
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway
Today the Isle of Wight Steam Railway runs between Smallbrook Junction and Wootton. The route, opened in 1875, originally extended between Ryde and Newport. From 1880 it was part of the Isle of Wight Central Railway, but became part of the SR in 1923. It was nationalised in 1948, becoming part of British Railways.
The line closed on 21 February 1966. The Isle of Wight Steam Railway bought the origins of the present line (Haven Street to Wootton) in early 1971. Since then it has gradually expanded the route to reach Smallbrook Junction in 1991, where it connects to the remaining mainline network on the Island. There’s more on the history of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway here.
Isle of Wight railway staff life stories
Below you’ll find the life stories of a handful of railway staff who worked the Isle of Wight’s railways in the steam era. That includes two who worked on what is now the route of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. We know about these people because they appear in the Railway Work, Life & Death project database and had an accident at work.
For each, during 2026 we worked with the Railway to research and share their life stories. For those visiting the line, we’ve collaborated to produce a leaflet (available as a PDF, here) with short summaries of the life stories. This leaflet was produced with funding from the University of Portsmouth’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. You can read the fuller versions of the life stories via the links here:
E Bates and G Mitchell, near Ashey
Robert White, Yarmouth – full story coming soon
Elsie Knapp, Newport – full story coming soon
Albert Shepherd, Ryde – full story coming soon
If you know more about any of the railway workers featured we’d be keen to hear from you – do please let us know.
Needless to say, these five people are only the tip of iceberg. There were plenty more staff who appear in the Railway Work, Life & Death project database, and who could have been researched. As we continue the collaboration with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway we hope to bring you more of their stories.
Looking more widely, there were many, many more railway workers along the route of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway over the years and on the Island’s railways more widely, beyond those we know to have had an accident. Their stories are just as interesting and should also be told. It’s excellent that the Isle of Wight Steam Railway recognise this and are actively engaging with the social history of their line and the Island.
Thanks
Our thanks are due to colleagues at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, including Andy Merritt (Heritage and Learning Manager), and volunteers Derek Bishop, Tony O’Brien, Steve Holden and Roger Silsbury. They have all variously provided research, images, guidance and practical support, making the leaflet and this work possible.