Railcam installations

By Chris Cornford Nov 24, 2020

Two new railcams have been installed on the Royal Esplanade Hotel in Ryde offering views of Ryde Pier and the seascape and land movements in the area.
The cameras have been installed by Railcam UK who have been installing live lineside cameras for more than 10 years and now have more than 69 cameras across the UK covering mainline and heritage railways.

Royal Esplanade Hotel General Manager, Bobby Oddy, said: “We are delighted to be hosting these cameras for Railcam UK. To share this view over the Solent with the world is exciting and can only encourage more people to come and visit our wonderful hotel and Island.”

The first camera has a static view that will focus on Ryde Pier and the South Western Railway operated Island line with its 1938 former tube trains. These are due to be replaced by 5 class 484 former underground stock. The new trains are due to begin service in April 2021 after a 3-month closure to update the line.

The camera will also give great views of Hovercraft movements and the Solent Vectis bus station – making the views a haven for transport enthusiasts across the country.
The second camera provide much wider views of the Solent including the commercial, cruise, and naval movements that operate into Portsmouth and Southampton. The camera will operate on a pre-programmed sequence to take in as much as possible from its location on the hotel roof.

Adrian Bradshaw, Railcam Director, said: “After our team visited Ryde recently and live-streamed the wonderful view from the Royal Esplanade Hotel, we were inundated with people asking if we could do something permanent there. We are delighted to be able to do just that, with not one, but two live cameras offering stunning views of trains, hovercraft and shipping.”

In addition to the two new cameras, Railcam will feature the Isle of Wight Steam Railway webcams on its site railcam.uk.