RARE railway equipment originally used in Southampton Docks has helped a historic track on the Island.

A ceremony at Havenstreet saw the latest stage in the expansion and development of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway with the opening of new sidings.

The sidings, now known as Griffins Sidings, were named after the farmer who formerly owned the land on which they are built, and are the first to be constructed at the railway for more than ten years.

A spokesman for the railway said: "As the missing piece of an elaborate jigsaw the essential pointwork, which was donated by Associated British Ports, the owner and operator of Southampton Docks, provides the vital connection between newly-built sidings and the existing railway.''

It was in autumn last year that a team of experts from the railway removed the points from Southampton Docks and moved them across to the Isle of Wight to be incorporated in the track near Havenstreet.

Andrew Kent, Southampton port director, performed the opening ceremony and watched the railway's 1916 steam-shunting locomotive, Invincible break through a ribbon and inaugurate the sidings. Mr Kent said: "ABP's port of Southampton has had close links with the Island over many years and we are delighted to be able to help with the railway's preservation and at the same time give a new lease of life to equipment which has already given long service in the docks."

The railway operates a five-mile section of the ex-Ryde to Newport line, attracting thousands of visitors yearly.