The Isle of Wight Central Railway (IoWCR) came into being when, by Act of Parliament in July 1887, the following railways were amalgamated:
Cowes & Newport Railway, incorpated 1859
Isle of Wight (Newport Junction) Railway, incorporated 1868
Ryde & Newport Railway, incorporated 1872
By this means the Railway served the major part of the Island. The route down the eastern coast was worked by the Isle of Wight Railway.
Managed & worked railways
In addition the following two railways were managed and worked by the IoWCR (see additional notes below):
Freshwater, Yarmouth & Newport Railway (FYNR)
With some backing from the London and South Western Railway the FYNR, 12 miles in length, opened for passengers on 20 July 1889. From the beginning, its trains were worked by locomotives and rolling stock supplied by the IoWCR. The Railway had its own platform at Newport station. It was eventually closed to all traffic on 21 September 1953.
(Notes taken from Railway Magazine May/June 1947 issue
Newport, Godshill & St Lawrence Railway (NGStLR)
The NGStLR, 6.75 miles in length, opened in two stages:
Merstone Junction - St Lawrence, 20 July 1897
St Lawrence - Ventnor Town, 1 June 1900 1900 The delay was caused by the building of a tunnel
Notes taken from The Railway Year Book 1912
Position in 2004
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway operates some of the tracks of the erstwhile IoWCR. To begin with, there is no direct connection between that Isle of Wight Steam Railway and the Island Line at Smallbrook Junction.
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