Ventnor West railway station
Ventnor West | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Isle of Wight |
| Owned by | Southern Railway (1923 to 1948) Southern Region of British Railways (1948 to 1952) |
| Managed by | Newport, Godshill & St Lawrence Railway (1900-1913) Isle of Wight Central Railway (1913 to 1923) |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Key dates | |
| 1 June 1900 | Opened (Ventnor Town) |
| 1923 | Renamed (Ventnor West) |
| 15 September 1952 | Closed |
Ventnor West railway station was opened on 1 June 1900 as the final addition to the railway network on the Isle of Wight. It was originally opened as Ventnor Town but the station was renamed in 1923 by the Southern Railway.
Location
The station built on the former stables of the Steephill Castle estate, was inconveniently situated for the town, being some distance west of the town centre and 168 feet above sea level. Consequently, it never lived up to the expectations of the operators and was an early casualty of the pruning of the railway network. Plans were made to extend the line beyond the station to a new terminus, closer to the Town Centre. Continuing to run along Park Avenue, the Ventnor Central Terminus would have been sited where Park Avenue meets Zig Zag Road - opposite the Royal Hotel. However, the combination of newly built housing on the proposed formation along Park Avenue and the company's ailing finances meant this scheme was never realised. If it had, it would have provided a very convenient alternative to the Isle of Wight Railway's Ventnor station, located high above the town, and this may have turned around the fortunes of this otherwise very sleepy branch. The station closed along with the others on the line on 15 September 1952. Today the main station building is still standing, surrounded by modern housing in Castle Close.
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | British Railways Southern Region IoW CR : Ventnor West branch |
St Lawrence |
Other stations on the branch
The other stations on the Ventnor West branch were:
- Merstone (where the branch joined the Newport-Sandown line)
- Godshill
- Whitwell
- St Lawrence (the original terminus of the line from 1897 to 1900)