Isle of Man Steam Railway

Railways came to The Isle of Man before the Victorians. There are the remains of track in the 18th Century lead mines at Barrada Head.

In 1871 The Isle of Man Railway Company was formed to link the four Major towns of Douglas, Castletown, Peel and Ramsey.

A three foot gauge was recommended by Robert Fairly, the inventor of the patented double Locomotive.

Sufficient finance for the Railways was not to be ...
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Construction was started on routes to both Peel and Port Erin in 1872. However there was a difficulty with local labour who would down tools and rush away to the Herring fishing. Labour had to be found with Welsh and Irish labourers.

The station at Douglas is one of the finest examples of a Victorian narrow gauge station in all of Europe. Although now much reduced with the demise of the Douglas-Peel railway and The Manx ... more

Railways came to The Isle of Man before the Victorians. There are the remains of track in the 18th Century lead mines at Barrada Head.

In 1871 The Isle of Man Railway Company was formed to link the four Major towns of Douglas, Castletown, Peel and Ramsey.

A three foot gauge was recommended by Robert Fairly, the inventor of the patented double Locomotive.

Sufficient finance for the Railways was not to be found on the Island so private finance was found elsewhere.

Construction was started on routes to both Peel and Port Erin in 1872. However there was a difficulty with local labour who would down tools and rush away to the Herring fishing. Labour had to be found with Welsh and Irish labourers.

The station at Douglas is one of the finest examples of a Victorian narrow gauge station in all of Europe. Although now much reduced with the demise of the Douglas-Peel railway and The Manx Northern. The station building is in Ruabon red brick in the Victorian Gothic style this was in keeping with the railway offices around it.

The line climbs away from Douglas at a 1 in 150 gradient steeping to a 1 in 65. Large trains of twelve or more coaches had to be double headed and sometimes required banking as well. By the time the line has reached Keristal it is some 200ft above sea level. There are some very narrow cuttings on this stretch of the line and the line pass through some fine open country with good views. The line is single track with passing loops.

Port Soderick is the first station stop at just over three miles.There is a passing loop at this station. The area around the station is a beautiful wood

From Port Soderick the line climbs again at a 1 in 400 gradient passing through a beautiful bluebell wood at Crogga Glen until the line reaches its highest point at some 230ft above sea level. It again passes through some narrow cuttings and over a large embankment until the station at Santon is reached. This station is known for its palm trees.

From here the line descends at a 1 in 150 gradient to the Ballaquegga bridge when it steeped to 1 in 80 until the station at Ballasalla is reached This is roughly halfway through the journey at some eight miles from Douglas. down trains usually pause here to take on water.
There is a passing line here also and any train of more that eight coaches going to Douglas need banking assistance up the 1 in 80 gradient.At about nine miles is a request halt for Ronaldsway. This was opened in 1967 and the Airport is only a short walk away from the station.

In some places there is a gradient of 1 in 100 and the line serves existing villages rather than avoid natural obstructions

Castletown is the next station at nearly ten miles. From here the line curves across country serving several request stops on its way to Port St Mary at just over 14 miles.

The final station is Port Erin at just over 15 miles. Here the engine runs around its train for the return journey.

There is a very smart railway museum here which was opened in 1974.

The entire journey takes about one hour.

The Locomotives are original Beyer-Peacock 2-4-0 of the 1874 period.
The coaches are somewhat more modern being built in 1881.All the engines, coaches and stations have been lovingly restored and kept.

There are open type carriages that will seat twenty, and the first and second class carriages are divided up to seat about six per section.
I think that first has compartments like older mainline carriages and second had no divider above the height of the seat back.

The railway has been closed for some two years following the use of the trackbed to lay a main sewer under. This has resulted in much rebuilding and new automatic barrier level crossings have been installed. Through trains are running again.

Cost Adult return is £7.00 and single is £4.20.
Children are free when with a paying adult, under fives, two children five to sixteen, one child.

The train runs from 5th April to 31st October. From 10.00am to 05.30pm from Douglas, and 10.10am till 16.40pm from Port Erin.

Disabled access is limited though there is ample car parking at Douglas.

The trains are an absolute delight to any train fan or anybody else.The ride is somewhat bumpy, but you do not care. On a fine day, you pass through such beautiful countryside. Care should be taken about leaning out of windows to take photographs due to this being a narrow gauge line and very limited clearance on some bridges and cuttings.

You can take a train in the morning to see Port Erin and return in the late afternoon, having spent the day exploring or just on the beach.

On a point of technical interest. The line used is a flat bottom rail, so is spiked direct to the sleepers rather than using chairs. All the railways are like that.

 

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