I got a ticket to Ryde, as "The Beatles" never sang...

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

caravanman

Engineer
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Messages
5,004
Location
Nottingham, England.
I awoke about 6 weeks ago with double vision, and after a hospital visit and MRI scan, I was diagnosed with having suffered a minor stroke, or TIA as it is known. Vision all good now, efforts underway to reduce cholesterol, etc..
Long story short, all okay but instructed not to fly anywhere for the time being, so instead, took a mini adventure to visit the Isle of Wight, just a few miles off the UK southern shore.
This visit was as a motor coach holiday, something quite popular here among mostly old folk, so I fitted in quite well... :cool:
I had seen a you tube video previously, showing former London Underground trains being used on the Isle of Wight, all above ground only in this location.
I have a nostalgia for the old red and the silver London tube trains that I rode as a youngster. Sadly, the older style trains were withdrawn just a few years ago, but I enjoyed a trip on the modernised replacement, once again former Underground stock.

shanklin station.jpg

The line currently runs from Shanklin station, above, to Ryde pier head, where it connects with Ferries to the mainland.
(A cycle path leads off from the Shanklin station, so I expect the line continued onwards at some point in the past.)

canopy 2.jpg

A detail from the Shanklin station ornate roof canopy supports.

Island underground train.jpg

The latest version of the former Underground stock. I don't think its provenance would have occurred to me, had I not already known, it looks so modern and swish!
Although a surprise to me to see a train with 3rd rail powering it on an island, Southern Region in the UK did have a lot of third rail supply, rather than overhead electric supply.

interior best.jpg

Modernised interior above, even USB charging ports on the armrests. Pleased to see makers, Metro-Cammell nameplates were still on the door entry points.

ticket.jpg

My "Ticket to Ryde" sorry, couldn't resist saying that! ;)

canopy ryde.jpg

The train stops here at Ryde Esplanade station in the main part of the town, before heading out to the terminus at Ryde Pierhead.
A different design on the roof canopy supports at Esplanade station. Pleased to see "Mind The Gap" painted on the platform, as heard at Bank Underground station ad nauseum! ;)

Ryde pier train.jpg

Okay, it's not the Rameswaram rail bridge, but still an unusual placement for a London Underground train. :D
The structure to the left is the walkway and vehicular access to the pierhead, which can be seen ahead of the train. Yes I did make the effort to walk to the end, with nice old ornate iron barriers all along the edge of the roadway...

ironwrk best.jpg

By coincidence, Ryde is also the terminus of the passenger Hovercraft from the mainland, said to be the only one operating as a commercial service in the world.
I will post a few pics of that in the non rail thread later.

tube 1952.jpg

The last pic above is a photo from 1952, showing the older style carriages that I remember, slatted wooden flooring, red armrests, etc. Not sure when smoking was banned, maybe after the Kings Cross escalator fire? (And no, that's not the Queen in the pic...) :D
 
Last edited:
I awoke about 6 weeks ago with double vision, and after a hospital visit and MRI scan, I was diagnosed with having suffered a minor stroke, or TIA as it is known. Vision all good now, efforts underway to reduce cholesterol, etc..
Long story short, all okay but instructed not to fly anywhere for the time being, so instead, took a mini adventure to visit the Isle of Wight, just a few miles off the UK southern shore.
This visit was as a motor coach holiday, something quite popular here among mostly old folk, so I fitted in quite well... :cool:
I had seen a you tube video previously, showing former London Underground trains being used on the Isle of Wight, all above ground only in this location.
I have a nostalgia for the old red and the silver London tube trains that I rode as a youngster. Sadly, the older style trains were withdrawn just a few years ago, but I enjoyed a trip on the modernised replacement, once again former Underground stock.

View attachment 36273

The line currently runs from Shanklin station, above, to Ryde pier head, where it connects with Ferries to the mainland.
(A cycle path leads off from the Shanklin station, so I expect the line continued onwards at some point in the past.)

View attachment 36276

A detail from the Shanklin station ornate roof canopy supports.

View attachment 36274

The latest version of the former Underground stock. I don't think its provenance would have occurred to me, had I not already known, it looks so modern and swish!
Although a surprise to me to see a train with 3rd rail powering it on an island, Southern Region in the UK did have a lot of third rail supply, rather than overhead electric supply.

View attachment 36275

Modernised interior above, even USB charging ports on the armrests. Pleased to see makers, Metro-Cammell nameplates were still on the door entry points.

View attachment 36277

My "Ticket to Ryde" sorry, couldn't resist saying that! ;)

View attachment 36278

The train stops here at Ryde Esplanade station in the main part of the town, before heading out to the terminus at Ryde Pierhead.
A different design on the roof canopy supports at Esplanade station. Pleased to see "Mind The Gap" painted on the platform, as heard at Bank Underground station ad nauseum! ;)

View attachment 36279

Okay, it's not the Rameswaram rail bridge, but still an unusual placement for a London Underground train. :D
The structure to the left is the walkway and vehicular access to the pierhead, which can be seen ahead of the train. Yes I did make the effort to walk to the end, with nice old ornate iron barriers all along the edge of the roadway...

View attachment 36280

By coincidence, Ryde is also the terminus of the passenger Hovercraft from the mainland, said to be the only one operating as a commercial service in the world.
I will post a few pics of that in the non rail thread later.

View attachment 36281

The last pic above is a photo from 1952, showing the older style carriages that I remember, slatted wooden flooring, red armrests, etc. Not sure when smoking was banned, maybe after the Kings Cross escalator fire? (And no, that's not the Queen in the pic...) :D
Don’t lose that ticket. Entertaining ride.
 
I had a mild stroke a few years ago, but with my Doctors help, I too over came it by following a healthier life style ever since.(just got a clean bill of health after my Annual physical)
Glad to know you made a good recovery yourself Jim. Keep up the healthier lifestyle, even if it's not quite so much fun! ;)
 
I think the teak floors were still in situ in the early 2000's (2002/2003ish).

My mom just had a TIA (your welcome) and no lasting effects - and it seems to have licked her vertigo - she already had double vision which is 'cured' with special lenses on her glasses. I think she's been given a similar treatment, but I'd wager she's a bit older than you...
 
I commiserate; I've had double vision twice. Fortunately it wasn't due to a serious underlying cause. The first time, I just woke up one morning with double vision. My ophthalmologist said it was 99% something that would clear up on its own, but just in case, he booked me for an MRI. They found nothing, which I took to mean my skull was completely void of any annoying brain tissue. The doctor said it should clear up on its own in 4-6 weeks. He lied, there was no change at all in the symptoms for six weeks, but then the next day (six weeks and one day) I woke up and realized when I put on my glasses. I could see across the room and there was only one triceratops (a gift from my dinosaur-crazed niece) on the poster on the far wall.

I forget the medical term, but basically one of the tiny muscles attached to one eye was paralyzed. It was the muscle that moves it from side to side to compensate (more or less automatically) for the slightly different angles between my two eyes Curiously, I could deliberately move my eyes to the left or right, but the automatic system didn't work. (Different muscles or nerves, maybe?)

I discovered it was safe to drive (and a lot easier to do everything else) if I kept one eye closed. I tried the eye patches they use for people with lazy eye or other eye injuries, but they didn't stick very well. Eventually I got an eye-patch, which worked great and I'm all set if I ever want to be a pirate on Halloween. It didn't matter which eye I covered, the one that was paralyzed or the one that wasn't. I hope covering or closing one eye works for you; it makes life MUCH easier.

Now the train-related bit: it happened again about two years later in June 2016, on the east bound Empire Builder! I bumped my head (not very hard) on the upper bunk in my roomette as I was going to bed, and I had double vision again the next day, My eye doctor confirmed it was the same thing, and it should clear up in about the same time. He said it is extremely unusual for it to happen more than once, but it does happen. There were no signs of a concussion or other brain or nerve injury, and it may have had nothing to do with the bump. It did clear up again on its own in about 5 weeks. Using an eye-patch was again very helpful.

-------------
Love the photos, especially Shanklin Station. I remember a children's story (maybe The Three Little Pigs?) that mentioned Shanklin Fair, which I always thought was a made-up event. A few years back one of the AU members (maybe you?) posted about the retired London Subway cars being used on the Isle of Wight and mentioned Shanklin, and I was surprised to find it was a real place. How cool!

--------
Get well soon.
 
Glad to hear your doing well and hope you can fly again soon.

Those IOW trains were former District Line D78 stock which I guess still had some life left in them when retired in favor of the S stock. That's great that they have a second life.

I only ever rode the D78s once on a 2004 work trip. I recall the train still had the slatted wooden floors. I thought they had been vanished after Kings Cross but apparently not.

I also recall riding those older trains as a child on visits to my aunt and uncle who lived in the Waterloo area at the time.
 
I hope covering or closing one eye works for you; it makes life MUCH easier.
Good to know you recovered well after some weeks. My own vision is fine now, related to a small issue with blood supply to one eye muscle. Probably caused by high blood pressure, or cholesterol restricting the flow, or both.
To avoid a recurrence, I am on new medication, which hopefully will allow normal travel fun to resume soon! :cool:
 
Back
Top