St Helens railway station (Isle of Wight)

St Helen's with its 232-foot-long (71 m) single platform was the only intermediate stop on the 2+3⁄4-mile (4.4 km) branch line that connected Brading to the coast at Bembridge.

History

Opened in 1882, when the area was the Island's main port, it ran with ever-dwindling passengers until 1953. Pomeroy described the station thus:

An imposing structure with tall chimneys and elegant dormers, particularly pleasing to the eye.

Train Ferry

From 1885 to 1888 St Helens was the Isle of Wight end of a Freight only Train ferry Service. This connected the Isle of Wight Rail Network with Mainland Great Britain's network at Langston railway station, using the Former Firth of Tay Train Ferry TF Carrier.

Stationmasters

In 1931 the stationmaster, Thomas George Clayton Weeks was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for theft and forgery of receipts. He had created fictitious wage sheets for casual workers at the Southern Railway quay and robbed the company of around £3,000 (equivalent to £257,500 in 2023) in four years. It was reported that he had been spending about £5 (equivalent to £400 in 2023) per week on drink, and made presents of joints of beef to various villagers, spending over £400 (equivalent to £34,300 in 2023) at one butchers shop in twelve months.

See also

• List of closed railway stations in Britain

References

External links

• St Helens on Subterranea Britannica

1. Isle of Wight Railway
2. Railways on the Isle of Wight
3. St Helens railway station
4. Isle of Wight Central Railway
5. St Helens
6. Bembridge railway station
7. Transport on the Isle of Wight
8. Brading railway station
9. Isle of Wight
10. Bembridge
11. Isle of Wight Coastal Path
12. List of places of worship on the Isle of Wight
13. Wroxall railway station
14. Brading
15. Ashey
16. London Waterloo station
17. Merseyside
18. TF Carrier
19. Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria
20. Great British Railway Journeys