Plans in the 19th century to develop St. Helens and neighbouring Bembridge into holiday resorts led to the construction of the branch in 1882, which met the Ryde to Ventnor line at Brading. However, the grand plans were never fulfilled and, as Peter A. Harding recounts, the line became a rural backwater.

Click on the cover image for a photo of Terrier W9 Fishbourne at Bembridge.

Peter A. Harding, 1988, revised 2006, 32 pages. Paperback.