Railways on the Isle of Wight Railways on the Isle of Wight There once existed a network of railway lines on the Isle of Wight. They were opened by several companies between 1862 and 1901, and all but the Island Line closed between 1952 and 1966. A further have reopened as the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. The first railway to be built on the island ran for a distance of . It was opened in 1833 on the Nash Estate near Yarmouth. Its usage is presumed to have been for transporting brickmaking materials to and from a jetty on the Solent, and it is not
History of the Isle of Wight are retained in the county archaeological centre. From about 685-686 the island can be considered part of Wessex, and after the West Saxon kings ruled all England, then part of England. The Anglo Saxon Chronicle tells how "Wiht-land" suffered from Viking raids: ""And then another time they lay in the Isle of Wight, and meanwhile ate out of Hampshire and of Sussex"". Alfred the Great's navy defeated the Danes in 871 after they had "ravaged Devon and the Isle of Wight". Around 900 the kingdom was divided into shires, and the island became part of the shire of Hampshire. During