They were pulled from service at the start of 2021, but the end of the line has well and truly been reached for Island Line’s iconic Class 483 trains which are, 1 by 1, being lifted off the track.
The arrival of a large crane at Ryde St John’s station today (Tuesday) drew the attention of enthusiasts and passers-by as efforts were undertaken to lift the ageing carriages off the track and onto flatbed lorries.
Built in 1938 for the London Underground, the 83-year-old trains have been serving the Isle of Wight since 1989. However, they have now been officially retired and will soon be replaced by refurbished Class 484 trains as part of a £26million investment programme. The last Class 483 ran on 3rd January 2021.
It’s thought that the units lifted at Ryde today are most likely heading to the scrap heap, but other carriages are set to be preserved at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. Originally, it was planned that The London Transport Traction Group at the Epping Ongar Railway in Essex would take another train but now it will be heading to a ‘private location’.
In order to secure one of the historic Island Line trains, organisations needed to demonstrate the capacity and financial security to remove and look after the train, as well as a suitable long-term physical location.
The history of the Class 483s
Originally built in 1938, these trains operated London Underground’s Northern Line until they were withdrawn from service in the late 1980s.
In July 1989, the first of the 1938 stock, now the Class 483, arrived on the Isle of Wight to operate the 8.5-mile Island Line, from Ryde Pier Head to Shanklin.
The trains have now seen over 80 years of passenger service, 30 of which have been on Island Line.
In September 2019, South Western Railway announced £26million of investment in Island Line that would see the Class 483 replaced by VivaRail’s Class 484 trains, as well as improvements in infrastructure allowing for a trains service at regular 30-minute intervals.
In keeping with Island Line’s tradition of former London Underground trains, the new trains will be refurbished former District Line trains, but with modern features including WiFi, passenger information screens and dedicated wheelchair spaces.
Having worked on these trains many years ago and the stock prior to them, i do hope the new old trains the best and all that travel in them.
I hope they put a ticket machine at Ryde St John. At rush hour you don’t always get time to get one from the conductor. They must loose so much money.
The Island Line will never be the same without the Old London Boneshakers.
Done up they will make nice Restaurant or Cafe
Very sad but inevitable, but why do organisations need to “look after the train” if they want to purchase one, bearing in mind if they do not come forward, the trains will be scrapped anyway. Better to be used as virtually anything rather than be cut up and destroyed. Hopefully, they will all end up in transport museums.
Sad but inevitable scenes, but at least one unit will be preserved on the island by isle of wight steam railway, and the other returning to London, or near London (Epping ongar railway) means that the class wont be forgotten for a long time to come and they have provided many happy memories for many people over many years with their character, and looking to the future, with the ex D78 stock, the question on every bodies lips is how long will they last – they have been thoroughly overhauled and fully refurbished to make them as good as new, but given their age, they will be hard pushed to make 80 years of service from new to final withdrawal
I would have had one in my garden instead of it been scrapped, I could have restored it and used it as a workshop.
They make good weekend holiday homes too, there are quite a few dotted around the island from ex steam stock.