Smallbrook Junction railway station is a railway station on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

, England. It is unusual because it has no public access but exists purely to provide a connection between two rail systems. Another similar station is Manulla Junction in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

. However, that station allows interchange between two national network rail routes, rather than between a network route and a heritage route.

History

The station was opened in 1991 by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...

when the Isle of Wight Steam Railway was extended to reach the

Island Line Island Line or Island line may refer to: * Island line (MTR), one of the lines of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong * Island Line, Isle of Wight, a railway line on the Isle of Wight, England ** Island Line (brand) Island Line is a brand of the ...

, in order to provide a passenger interchange between the two. It is only served on days that both the Island Line and the Steam Railway are open, as there is no access either by path or by road. Prior to 1991 there was no station on this site, but it was still an important railway junction. "Smallbrook Junction" is the historic name, long predating the station. Between 1875 and 1926 there were two separate lines here, independently run by the

Isle of Wight Central Railway The Isle of Wight Central Railway (IoWCR) was a railway company on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. It was formed in 1887 by the merging of three earlier railways, the Cowes and Newport Railway (opened 1862), the Ryde and Newport Railway (opened ...

and the

Isle of Wight Railway The Isle of Wight Railway was a railway company on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom; it operated of railway line between Ryde and Ventnor. It opened the first section of line from Ryde to Sandown in 1864, later extending to Ventnor in 1866. ...

. In 1926, following the island's rail network passing to the Southern Railway, a signal box and

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Points ...

were installed at Smallbrook. From then until 1966, the line was the Junction between the Ryde Pier Head to Ventnor and Ryde Pier Head to Cowes Lines, and was notable for only being operated as such during the summer months when traffic increased. The junction has been featured in many photographs from the time. If the Isle of Wight Steam Railway achieves its long-term aim of extending to Ryde St. Johns Road, it is likely that Smallbrook Junction station would close.

Flooding

In October 2000, flooding near the station washed away much of the

track ballast Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railroad ties (sleepers) are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to bear the load from the railroad ties, to facilitate drainage of water, and also to keep down veget ...

on the

. Due to the dangerous state of the line, and the damage caused to trains by related flooding at Ryde depot, Island Line Trains had to suspend their services for several days. Hardy, Tube Trains, p. 76 Similar events occurred in December 2013, closing the line for many weeks.

Services

On days when the steam railway operates, there is an hourly service in both directions between approximately 09:00 and 16:30.

Gallery

File:IoW Steam Railway 69199.jpg, From Smallbrook towards Ashey File:Whitefield Farm - 262329.jpg, Looking towards Whitefield Farm from the "Terrier" File:Smallbrook Junction railway station.jpg, Steam engine running around its train.

References

External links

{{coord, 50.711, N, 1.155, W, type:railwaystation_region:GB, display=title Railway stations on the Isle of Wight DfT Category F2 stations Heritage railway stations on the Isle of Wight Rail junctions in England Railway stations opened by British Rail Railway stations built for UK heritage railways Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1991 Island Line railway stations (Isle of Wight) Railway stations in Great Britain without public access Railway stations in Great Britain without road access 1991 establishments in England Ryde Railway stations accessible only by rail