was cramped and often congested with commercial traffic and the footway from there to the station was lengthy. Moreover at low tide the steamers could not come alongside and passengers had to be taken out to the ferries in tenders. The Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway was granted its authorising Act in 1880, and this encouraged the LSWR to plan improvements to the Lymington side of the Solent. Authorisation was obtained on 22 August 1881 to extend the line for 34 chains (690m), crossing the estuary to a new Pier station, where ships could berth at any state of the tide. The extension and Pier station opened on 1 May 1884; four trains from London connected daily with steamers, and a cargo steamer operated daily in connection. After 1 July 1884 the LSWR acquired the Solent Sea Steam Packet Company's paddleships Mayflower and Solent as well as several cargo boats, for £2,750. The fortunes of the branch line and the ferry services had been limited for many years, in part because of the LSWR's preference for its own Isle of Wight services via Portsmouth. Now that Lymington was completely in the LSWR's hands, the line's use flourished. The twentieth century Independent promoters developed a scheme to tunnel to the Isle of Wight. They floated a company named the South Western & Isle of Wight Junction Railway, incorporated by an Act of 26 July 1901. It had authorised share capital of £600,000 to build a mile (4km) Solent tunnel, and miles (12km) of railway linking the Lymington branch and the Freshwater, Yarmouth & Newport Railway between Freshwater and Yarmouth. The tunnel would be operated by electric traction. Running powers were sought over the LSWR to Brockenhurst and over the FY&NR and the Isle of Wight Central Railway. The scheme required the co-operation and more particularly the financial support of the LSWR, but negotiations for a working agreement were conducted fruitlessly for several years. Some aspects of the scheme were abstractive from LSWR revenue and were obviously unwelcome. In 1921 the scheme was allowed to fade away. The LSWR proceeded with some modernisation of its maritime fleet on the Lymington route, and on 1 May 1902 a new saloon paddler Solent was handed over. The old Mayflower of 1866 was sold in June 1905 for only £50. A cargo boat Carrier was purchased on 6 February 1906; she was a 36-ton twin-screw