Whippingham railway station was arguably the most underused station on an often sparsely used network. Built solely because of the need to have a station within close proximity to Osborne House

Osborne House

Osborne House is a former royal residence in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a summer home and rural retreat....

, the only royal ever spotted actually using the station was a young Lord Mountbatten

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma

Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...

. In its early days its passenger carrying status was ambiguous and, although always clean and tidy, never very busy. A passing loop was added in 1912 and indeed was retained for a further three years after closure in 1953. The station house, now a splendid private dwelling, still stands with the only other building within any sort of close proximity being the Island crematorium.

See also

• List of closed railway stations in Britain