Freshwater railway station

This article is about a defunct station on the Isle of Wight. For the station on the Kuranda Scenic Railway, Australia, see Freshwater railway station, Queensland.

Freshwater
The old Freshwater to Newport railway line (now part of CycleRoute NCN23 route) as it approaches the village.
General information
Location	Freshwater, Isle of Wight England
Grid reference	SZ343871
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	Freshwater, Yarmouth & Newport Railway(1888-1913) Isle of Wight Central Railway (1913 to 1923)
Post-grouping	Southern Railway (1923 to 1948) Southern Region of British Railways (1948 to 1953)
Key dates
10 September 1888	Opened (freight)
20 July 1889	Opened (passengers)
21 September 1953	Closed
Location

A 1914 Railway Clearing House map of lines around The Isle of Wight.

Freshwater railway station was the westerly terminus ^[1] and largest station ^[2] of the Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway, the platform being extended to accommodate the "Tourist Train", a non-stop service from Ventnor. ^[3]

History

Incorporated as the Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway Company in 1860, ^[4] and opened over a ten-month period between 1888 and 1889, it closed 65 years later, ^[5] having been situated too far from the tourist honeypots of The Needles and Alum Bay to be consistently profitable. ^[6] There was a run-round loop, and a goods siding often used for cattle loading. ^[7] After closure the station was built over by a factory, ^[8] but this in turn has been demolished and a supermarket now occupies the site. ^[1]

Stationmasters

• Frederick George Drudge 1889 - ca. 1894 ^[9] (formerly station master at Horringford)
• William Denyer ca. 1899 ca. 1901
• F. Newland 1905 - 1908 ^[10] (afterwards station master at Whitwell)
• Samuel John Urry 1908 - ca. 1915 (formerly station master at Shide, then Calbourne)
• S. Russell ca. 1936

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Terminus		British Railways Southern Region Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway		Yarmouth

See also

• List of closed railway stations in Britain

References

1. Subterranea Britannica's page on Freshwater station - Nick Catford
2. Pomeroy, C,A "Isle Of Wight Railways, Then and Now": Oxford,Past & Present Publishing, 1993, ISBN   0-947971-62-9
3. Maycock,R.J/Silsbury,R: The Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway: Usk, Oakwood, 2003 ISBN   0-85361-601-9
4. Bennett,A "Southern Holiday Lines in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight": Cheltenham, Runpast 1994 ISBN   1-870754-31-X
5. Hay,P "Steaming Through the Isle Of Wight": Midhurst,Middleton, 1988 ISBN   0-906520-56-8
6. Britton,A "Once upon a line (Vol 4)": Oxford, OPC, 1994 ISBN   0-86093-513-2
7. Paye, Peter (1984). Isle of Wight Railways remembered. Oxford: OPC. ISBN   0-86093-212-5.
8. Gammell C.J "Southern Branch Lines": Oxford, OPC, 1997 ISBN   0-86093-537-X
9. "Mischievous Passengers on the Freshwater Railway" . Isle of Wight County Press and South of England Reporter. England. 27 January 1894. Retrieved 25 July 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "New Station Master" . Isle of Wight County Press and South of England Reporter. England. 3 October 1908. Retrieved 25 July 2021– via British Newspaper Archive.

External links

• Freshwater station on navigable 1946 O. S. map

50°40′56″N1°30′58″W / 50.6821°N 1.5161°W / 50.6821; -1.5161