Ventnor, Isle of Wight, 1970

[andyram]

I have just found this thread and would like to say thank you for posting the photographs. I was not even alive when the line to Ventnor closed. In fact I first visited the Island in the mid-1980's but have still developed a soft spot for the Island's steam railways. Ventnor was such an iconic station - right up there with Ryde Pier Head. I really wish I could have travelled behind the 02's on the Island network and pulled into Ventnor Station. The photographs look great- something very different to what has been published. The published pictures of the various Island models are inspirational. One day I may turn my attentions to a model of an Island station.

[bécasse]

Retaining  the  Shanklin  Ventnor  line  would  have  been  desirable  but  the  decision  to  Electrify  put  paid  to  it.

A  fourth  sub  station  would  have  been  needed  somewhere  in  the  Wroxall  area  and  the  local  electrical  supply  was  not  up  to  supplying  this.  Funding  for  upgrading  the  grid  and  the  additional  substation  could  not  be  found.

 

That isn't quite what I understood the situation to be.

 

My understanding is that, had the Ministerial decision been to retain the line right through to Ventnor, the electrification could have taken place with three sub-stations but they would have been sited differently. As it was, Shanklin-Ventnor had been authorised for closure (and did so in April 1966), so the three sub-stations were sited in a way that meant that two could provide sufficient traction voltage to operate the line, albeit with restrictions, should one of the three go down. Although, post-electrification, reopening to Ventnor was briefly considered, the actual siting of the three sub-stations precluded working through to Ventnor unless a fourth was provided - and that, as Pete indicates, killed the idea.