The Isle of Wight once boasted 54 miles of railway, most of which was closed between 1952 and 1966. However its unique atmosphere has been perfectly preserved by the largely volunteer-run Isle of Wight Steam Railway, which began operating trains in 1971.
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The Railway is truly a journey back in time - a living, breathing museum! All of our carriages and most of our locomotives have spent much of their working lives here on the Island. They have all been painstakingly restored to pristine condition and are the hallmark of our delightful railway. Our oldest locomotive was built in 1876 and carriages date back to 1864!
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The railway runs five miles from Wootton, through Havenstreet and Ashey, to Smallbrook Junction, which is the interchange with Island Line's electric trains that run from Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head (Connecting with the Wightlink high-speed catamaran service from Portsmouth Harbour). Havenstreet is our main station with a large tarmac car park. Granny Winter's Pantry offers a wide variety of hot and cold meals, snacks and beverages and our Railway Shop has a fascinating cornucopia of unusual and nostalgic gifts to satisfy all tastes. A children's play area, woodland walk and museum of Island railway history are also to be found at Havenstreet. Your train ticket is valid for unlimited travel on the day of ticket issue, so please ride as much as you wish!
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The Steam Railway is an ideal day out from the mainland with the journey time from Portsmouth Harbour taking as little as 30 minutes. Through tickets are available from the Wightlink booking office at Portsmouth Harbour and from many mainland railway stations.