Rail transport in the Isle of Man

The Isle of Man has a rich transport heritage and boasts the largest narrow-gauge railway network in the British Isles[1] with several historic railways and tramways still in operation. These operate largely to what is known as "Manx Standard Gauge" (3 ft [914 mm] narrow gauge)[2] and together they comprise about 65 miles (105 km) of Victorian railways and tramways. The Isle of Man Railway Museum in Port Erin allows people to find out more about the history of the Manx railways, and was until 1998 accompanied by a similar museum in Ramsey, which was dedicated to the history of the electric line, but this was closed and converted into a youth club. The steam railway to the south of the island, electric to the north and mountain line to the summit of Snaefell, the island's only mountain, are all government-owned, and operated under the title Isle of Man Railways, as a division of the island's Department of Infrastructure. The lines at Groudle Glen and Curraghs Wildlife Park are both privately owned but open to the public.[3]

Map of main railways in the Isle of Man
Railways and tramways of the Isle of Man
Principal stations and interchanges only
Orchid Line
details
not shown
 Ramsey
(MNR)
Queen's Pier Tramway
(SMR)
Snaefell Summit
Ramsey
(MER)
Kirk Michael
Great Laxey Mine Railway
 Laxey
 Sea Lion Rocks
(GGR)
Groudle Glen
Lhen Coan
(IoMR)
Peel
Knockaloe
(IoMR)
St John's
St John's
(MNR)
(FR)
Foxdale
Derby Castle
 Broadway
(UDCT)
 Sea Terminal
(DBHT) ferry/water interchange
Douglas
Douglas Head
(DSET)
Port Soderick
Ronaldsway
for Isle of Man Airport
Castletown
Port Erin

See also: List of Isle of Man railway lines and locations

Lines

The lines listed in the table are or have been open to the general public. Most of the major lines had/have "Manx Standard Gauge" of 3 ft (914 mm).

Lines open to the general public
Name Opened Closed Gauge Length Notes
Isle of Man Railway1873—3 ft (914 mm) 15.5 miles (24.9 km) Peel line closed 1969
Manx Northern Railway187919053 ft (914 mm) 47 miles (76 km)Taken over by the Isle of Man Railway in 1905. Last tracks used 1969.
Foxdale Railway188619053 ft (914 mm) 2.25 miles (3.62 km)Taken over by the Isle of Man Railway in 1905.
Snaefell Mountain Railway1895—3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) 5.5 miles (8.9 km)
Groudle Glen Railway1896—2 ft (610 mm) 0.9 kilometres (0.56 mi)No service 1962 to 1983
Manx Electric Railway1893—3 ft (914 mm) 17 miles (27 km)
Douglas Bay Horse Tramway1876—3 ft (914 mm) 1 mile (1.6 km)
Great Laxey Mine Railway1877
2004		1929
—		19 in (483 mm) 0.25 miles (0.40 km) Former mine railway, reopened in 2004 as a tourist heritage railway
Upper Douglas Cable Tramway189619293 ft (914 mm)
Douglas Southern Electric Tramway or Marine Drive railway189619394 ft 8 in (1,422 mm) 4.7 miles (7.6 km)
Douglas Head Funicular Railway or Douglas Head Inclined Railway[4][5][6]190019544 ft (1,219 mm) 450 feet (140 m) Passenger incline railway
Port Soderick Cliff Lift[5][7][6]189619394 ft (1,219 mm) 217 feet (66 m) First Falcon Cliff Lift sold to Port Soderick and re-erected there in 1896
Laxey Browside Tramway[6]189019065 ft (1,524 mm) 300 feet (91 m)
Queen's Pier Tramway, Ramsey188219713 ft (914 mm) 0.424 miles (0.682 km) Restoration works under way[8]
Orchid Line, Wildlife Park, Ballaugh1992—Various Miniature railway
First Falcon Cliff Lift, Douglas[9]188718964 ft (1,219 mm) 218 feet (66 m)Sold and became the Port Soderick Cliff Lift
Second Falcon Cliff Lift, Douglas[9][10][5][6]192719905 ft (1,524 mm) 129 feet (39 m)Track and installations still in place but overgrown.

There have been various other railways on the Isle of Man that have never been open for public transport, such as those in the various mines around the island. Among these are/were:

Glenfaba
  • Glenfaba Brickworks Tramway[11]
  • Knockaloe branch line, owned by the IMR, for Knockaloe Internment Camp internees and supplies
  • Peel Harbour Tramway, construction railway, 3 ft (914 mm), steam locomotives, built 1864 or 1865 and dismantled 1873.[7]
    • Incline railway connecting to the Peel Harbour Tramway, self-acting incline.[7]
    • Corrin's Hill, 3 ft (914 mm) horse-drawn construction railway connecting a stone quarry to the incline railway.[7]
Garff
  • A second Laxey Mine tramway, 3 ft (914 mm), horsedrawn, on the lower washing floor, constructed around 1865 and lasted until at least 1918[7]
Middle
  • Douglas Breakwater Crane Railway
  • Douglas Holiday Camp[7]
  • A construction railway to the Injebreck Reservoir, 3 ft (914 mm), built 1899, length 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) from Hillberry to the Reservoir, worked with steam locomotives.[7]
Rushen

About fifty other minor tramways, in the various mines, quarries and sand pits, or on RAF gunnery lines, existed on the island.[7]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rail transport in the Isle of Man.

See also

References
  1. Herring, Peter (2004). Yesterday's Railways. David & Charles. pp. 270–272. ISBN 978-0-7153-1733-4.
  2. Railways in the United Kingdom
  3. The Manx Steam & Model Engineering Club Archived 16 March 2011 at archive.today
  4. The Isle of Man Railways: The Douglas Head Railway
  5. Marine Drive
  6. Isle of Man Cliff Railways
  7. The Industrial Archaeology of the Isle of Man Archived 21 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Ramsey Queen's Pier - National Piers Society". 20 March 2016.
  9. Turner, Keith (2002). Cliff railways of the British Isles. Usk: Oakwood. pp. 141–142. ISBN 0853615942.
  10. Falcon Cliff
  11. The Isle of Man Railways: The Glenfaba Brickworks Tramway
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