Jai lived in Crossfield Avenue in Cowes on the Isle of Wight.  While there actually never was a disused railway line at the bottom of his garden, linking Gurnard to Cowes – just a wood that lay between his home and another – his grandad’s story does have a basis in fact – there was and still is a steam railway on the Island.

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The Cowes and Newport Railway opened on the 16th June 1862, covering the 4½ miles between the two towns.  This line remained in use for 104 years, closing on 21st February 1966.

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Over the years, many different companies opened up lines, joining different parts of the Isle of Wight. Up until the 1950’s, the Island boasted some 55 miles of railway lines, connecting the Island’s towns and villages

 

Eventually, as lines closed and electrification took over those still open, all the old steam engines, carriages and wagons were broken up, except for the few precious items saved for preservation by the Wight Locomotive Society, forerunner of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, which was founded on 24th January 1971.

 

It has taken many years of voluntary effort to get to the position whereby they are able to run and maintain both track and trains.   Film and television crews have used the line extensively for programmes ranging from period dramas to documentaries as it is unique in offering travel exclusively in original, wooden-bodied Victorian and Edwardian carriages pulled by tank engines and incorporating traditional operating practices, equipment and old railway buildings – just like the signal box in The Dreaded Hippotigerdile!