Just the ticket for rail lovers
RAILWAYS have always had the power to mesmerise people – and for many the chance to live in an old station would be the ultimate thrill.
Former police officer Graham Carter admits he had dreamt of owning a station of his own since his childhood days.
And his wish finally came true after discovering the old station next to the village of Whitwell on the Isle of Wight in 1992.
‘When we found it, derelict though the property was, we thought the site, with its elevated views over Whitwell and beyond, was just idyllic,’ says Graham.
He snapped it up and embarked on the ambitious renovation of the whole 1½ -acre site. ‘It had barely been touched since 1952, when it was the first station on what was considered the prettiest branch line in Britain to be closed,’ he explains.
Graham and his wife Julia moved into the three-bedroom stationmaster’s house and turned the adjacent waiting rooms on the platform into a pair of two-bedroom holiday cottages. ‘ They could be knocked through to ours to make a sevenbedroom house, but they produce a healthy income and we’ve loved meeting so many people who also love old stations,’ says Graham.
Running self-catering accommo- dation also alleviates any feeling of isolation, he adds, ‘as most of our neighbours are sheep!’
In 1998, a century after the station was constructed, for the Ventnor West branch line, Graham put up a new three-bedroom, twostorey house designed to resemble an old engine shed.
‘Whistle Stop Cottage has been done in keeping with the station complex and has many eco- features,’ he says. It is available by separate negotiation.
In the interests of authenticity, Graham also sourced Victorian cupboards for the kitchen in the station master’ s house, which retains its original stone floor and fireplaces.
His only regret is that he did not keep the platform in front of the house – although the station canopy has been preserved, providing a covered patio for the holiday cottages.
‘ And although the tracks have been filled in, you can still see the edges, which would be great for containing a swimming pool,’ says Graham. ‘It would be the perfect project for whoever buys our station when we downsize.’
The property also boasts a hobby vineyard which, says Graham, ‘has produced more than 200 litres of good red when the weather’s kind’.