caravanman
Engineer
I awoke about 6 weeks ago with double vision, and after a hospital visit and MRI scan, I was diagnosed with having suffered a minor stroke, or TIA as it is known. Vision all good now, efforts underway to reduce cholesterol, etc..
Long story short, all okay but instructed not to fly anywhere for the time being, so instead, took a mini adventure to visit the Isle of Wight, just a few miles off the UK southern shore.
This visit was as a motor coach holiday, something quite popular here among mostly old folk, so I fitted in quite well...
I had seen a you tube video previously, showing former London Underground trains being used on the Isle of Wight, all above ground only in this location.
I have a nostalgia for the old red and the silver London tube trains that I rode as a youngster. Sadly, the older style trains were withdrawn just a few years ago, but I enjoyed a trip on the modernised replacement, once again former Underground stock.
The line currently runs from Shanklin station, above, to Ryde pier head, where it connects with Ferries to the mainland.
(A cycle path leads off from the Shanklin station, so I expect the line continued onwards at some point in the past.)
A detail from the Shanklin station ornate roof canopy supports.
The latest version of the former Underground stock. I don't think its provenance would have occurred to me, had I not already known, it looks so modern and swish!
Although a surprise to me to see a train with 3rd rail powering it on an island, Southern Region in the UK did have a lot of third rail supply, rather than overhead electric supply.
Modernised interior above, even USB charging ports on the armrests. Pleased to see makers, Metro-Cammell nameplates were still on the door entry points.
My "Ticket to Ryde" sorry, couldn't resist saying that!
The train stops here at Ryde Esplanade station in the main part of the town, before heading out to the terminus at Ryde Pierhead.
A different design on the roof canopy supports at Esplanade station. Pleased to see "Mind The Gap" painted on the platform, as heard at Bank Underground station ad nauseum!
Okay, it's not the Rameswaram rail bridge, but still an unusual placement for a London Underground train.
The structure to the left is the walkway and vehicular access to the pierhead, which can be seen ahead of the train. Yes I did make the effort to walk to the end, with nice old ornate iron barriers all along the edge of the roadway...
By coincidence, Ryde is also the terminus of the passenger Hovercraft from the mainland, said to be the only one operating as a commercial service in the world.
I will post a few pics of that in the non rail thread later.
The last pic above is a photo from 1952, showing the older style carriages that I remember, slatted wooden flooring, red armrests, etc. Not sure when smoking was banned, maybe after the Kings Cross escalator fire? (And no, that's not the Queen in the pic...)
Long story short, all okay but instructed not to fly anywhere for the time being, so instead, took a mini adventure to visit the Isle of Wight, just a few miles off the UK southern shore.
This visit was as a motor coach holiday, something quite popular here among mostly old folk, so I fitted in quite well...
I had seen a you tube video previously, showing former London Underground trains being used on the Isle of Wight, all above ground only in this location.
I have a nostalgia for the old red and the silver London tube trains that I rode as a youngster. Sadly, the older style trains were withdrawn just a few years ago, but I enjoyed a trip on the modernised replacement, once again former Underground stock.
The line currently runs from Shanklin station, above, to Ryde pier head, where it connects with Ferries to the mainland.
(A cycle path leads off from the Shanklin station, so I expect the line continued onwards at some point in the past.)
A detail from the Shanklin station ornate roof canopy supports.
The latest version of the former Underground stock. I don't think its provenance would have occurred to me, had I not already known, it looks so modern and swish!
Although a surprise to me to see a train with 3rd rail powering it on an island, Southern Region in the UK did have a lot of third rail supply, rather than overhead electric supply.
Modernised interior above, even USB charging ports on the armrests. Pleased to see makers, Metro-Cammell nameplates were still on the door entry points.
My "Ticket to Ryde" sorry, couldn't resist saying that!
The train stops here at Ryde Esplanade station in the main part of the town, before heading out to the terminus at Ryde Pierhead.
A different design on the roof canopy supports at Esplanade station. Pleased to see "Mind The Gap" painted on the platform, as heard at Bank Underground station ad nauseum!
Okay, it's not the Rameswaram rail bridge, but still an unusual placement for a London Underground train.
The structure to the left is the walkway and vehicular access to the pierhead, which can be seen ahead of the train. Yes I did make the effort to walk to the end, with nice old ornate iron barriers all along the edge of the roadway...
By coincidence, Ryde is also the terminus of the passenger Hovercraft from the mainland, said to be the only one operating as a commercial service in the world.
I will post a few pics of that in the non rail thread later.
The last pic above is a photo from 1952, showing the older style carriages that I remember, slatted wooden flooring, red armrests, etc. Not sure when smoking was banned, maybe after the Kings Cross escalator fire? (And no, that's not the Queen in the pic...)
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