Island Line train has new home at Havenstreet

Built in 1940 for London Underground, these trains were already the oldest on the national network when they arrived on the Island in 1989.

31 years later, they finally retired from the Ryde to Shanklin line on 3 January 2021 after 80 years of service.

The train was generously donated to the Steam Railway by South Western Railway, ensuring that it will be preserved for future generations.

The train made its final journey along the Island Line from Ryde to Sandown on the evening of Wednesday 19 May, from where it travelled by road to the Steam Railway at Havenstreet.

Unit 007 now on display in the Railway’s Train Story Discovery Centre.

Visitors will be able to get on board and learn more about the Island’s electric-railway era since 1967.

“The Class 483 units have an important place in the Island’s railway history, so it’s very appropriate that an example is preserved here at Havenstreet”, explains General Manager,

Steve Backhouse. “Preserving an electric train is a new chapter for the Steam Railway, however it’s interesting to note that unit 007 is actually a decade older than several of our steam locomotives.”

The Railway now has a near complete collection of carriages from the Ryde to Shanklin line, ranging from those built new for the line’s opening in 1864 to the present day.