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The Manx Northern Railway (MNR) was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905.
When the people in the town of Ramsey realised their town was not going to be incorporated into the newly promoted Isle of Man Railway (IOMR) network in the 1870s it was left to them to promote their own railway as a link with the rest of the island. The rugged geography of the east coast forced the Manx Northern Railway into an indirect route: first westwards to Kirk Michael and then south to St John's where a junction could be made with the Isle of Man Railway's Peel to Douglas line which opened in 1873.
Built to a common Manx gauge, a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge, construction began in 1878 and the railway opened for business without formality on 23 September 1879. It was operated by the Isle of Man Railway until 6 November 1880 when the MNR took over the responsibility. [1] In 1881, passenger services started operating through to Douglas using running rights over the tracks of the Isle of Man Railway. [2]
Some significant engineering works were required on the west coast section of the line, including the bridging of Glen Wyllin (at Kirk Michael) and the nearby Glen Mooar. An embankment high on the cliffs south of Glen Mooar, the "Donkey Bank", was an unending maintenance problem and a drain upon the line's profitability. [3] To try to stabilise the track, this section was the only part of the Manx railways to have its rails mounted in chairs. The rest of the system had the rails directly spiked to the sleepers.
Between Kirk Michael and Ballaugh, the MNR had a halt purely for the use of the Bishop of Sodor and Man at Bishop's Court. A simple wooden bench comprised the station's entire facilities.
The northern part of the line was flat compared to the western coastal section, and had numerous hand-worked level crossings. These were so close together in places that the protecting signals for one crossing stood beside the previous crossing up the line. A distinctive lattice girder bridge, the "basket bridge", was built over the Sulby River near Ramsey. It was renewed in 1914.
The MNR had the only dockside track on the railway system, allowing direct transfer between the railway and sea-going vessels. This line, at Ramsey, opened in 1883 and closed in 1952. [2] [4] Various schemes to emulate this in Douglas were often proposed but the work was never undertaken. [5]
The Manx Northern Railway was not independent for long. In 1905, it became part of the Isle of Man Railway Company when that company took over the operation of the entire system, nearly 47 miles of track. A depression in the mining industry resulted in the closure of the Foxdale Mines in 1911 with the resultant loss of traffic. Services to Foxdale ceased in 1940 but the odd ballast train continued to collect mine waste up to the early 1960s. The Ramsey route had a brief boom between the wars and after World War II, but then, in line with the rest of the system, patronage sharply declined. The whole railway system reached a crisis in 1966 when no services operated. After a brief revival when the system was leased by the Marquess of Ailsa, the rest of the former Manx Northern Railway closed for 1968 along with the original IOMR Douglas-Peel line. One of the last services was the transport of fuel oil from the electricity generating station at Peel to the one at Ramsey, for which a special siding was laid. [6] [7] The last oil train ran in April 1969. [2] The track was lifted in 1974 and the Glen Wyllin and Glen Mooar viaducts were dismantled in 1975. The majority of the six-wheeled coaching stock was also lost at this time, having been stored out of use for many years on a siding at St. John's station in the open air.
| Point | Coordinates (Links to map resources) | OS Grid Ref | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsey station | 54°19′19″N4°23′13″W / 54.322°N 4.387°W | SC4477294468 | |
| Lezayre | 54°19′30″N4°25′44″W / 54.325°N 4.429°W | SC4205394895 | |
| Sulby Bridge | 54°19′26″N4°28′19″W / 54.324°N 4.472°W | SC3925394881 | |
| Sulby Glen | 54°19′08″N4°29′28″W / 54.319°N 4.491°W | SC3799894368 | |
| Ballavolley Halt | 54°18′54″N4°31′01″W / 54.315°N 4.517°W | SC3629293984 | |
| Ballaugh | 54°18′36″N4°32′28″W / 54.31°N 4.541°W | SC3471193483 | |
| Bishop's Court | 54°18′13″N4°34′13″W / 54.3036°N 4.5703°W | SC3278192842 | |
| Kirk Michael | 54°17′02″N4°35′13″W / 54.284°N 4.587°W | SC3161490701 | |
| West Berk | 54°16′17″N4°35′59″W / 54.2713°N 4.5998°W | SC3072889321 | |
| Gob-y-Deigan | 54°15′11″N4°37′59″W / 54.253°N 4.633°W | SC2849187364 | |
| St. Germain's | 54°14′10″N4°39′14″W / 54.236°N 4.654°W | SC2705385524 | |
| Peel Road | 54°12′54″N4°39′36″W / 54.215°N 4.66°W | SC2657483203 | |
| St John's | 54°12′04″N4°38′29″W / 54.2012°N 4.6415°W | SC2772281623 |
| Point | Coordinates (Links to map resources) | OS Grid Ref | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| St John's | 54°12′04″N4°38′29″W / 54.2012°N 4.6415°W | SC2772281623 | |
| Waterfall | 54°10′48″N4°38′31″W / 54.18°N 4.642°W | SC2760179267 | |
| Foxdale | 54°10′12″N4°38′10″W / 54.17°N 4.636°W | SC2795178140 |
A separate undertaking, the Foxdale Railway, was promoted by the MNR and worked by them from opening in 1886. This line branched southwards from St John's and allowed lead and silver ores from the mines at Foxdale to be delivered directly to the dock side in Ramsey.
The Milntown Railway ( 54°19′16″N4°22′55″W / 54.321°N 4.382°W ) was a short 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge spur off the ex Manx Northern line just south of the terminus at Ramsey, Isle of Man. It was constructed only in the final year of operation for the purposes of transporting fuel oil from Peel to Ramsey by rail. The siding was a direct spur off the main line and was on a very tight curve directly into the yard that it served. Short-lived, it did however have the distinction of being the reason for one of the last trains to travel over the line in April 1969 prior to lifting. [2]
Two 2-4-0 side tank locomotives were ordered from Sharp, Stewart and Company for the opening of the line. Numbered 1 and 2, they were named Ramsey and Northern respectively. [8] In 1880, the MNR acquired a third locomotive from Beyer, Peacock and Company to a design similar to those used on the Isle of Man Railway. Given the number 3 and named Thornhill , it was built alongside the IOMR’s engine number 7 – Tynwald – in Beyer, Peacock’s Manchester works. [9] In 1885 it was realised that a much more powerful locomotive was required for working the mineral traffic on the Foxdale Railway. This time they turned to Dübs and Company, Glasgow for an 0-6-0 tank locomotive. This powerful engine, numbered 4, bore the name Caledonia . [10] When they were taken into Isle of Man Railway stock, they were renumbered as a continuation of the then IOMR series. Thornhill became number 14 and Caledonia became number 15. Ramsey and Northern were allocated numbers 16 and 17 respectively but never bore them in service. [11] After very little use by the IOMR they were scrapped in 1923 and 1912.
For the opening of passenger services, the Manx Northern Railway ordered fourteen six-wheeled coaches built to the Cleminson system, a first on the island and using a complex system of six-wheeled arrangement whereby the middle set were not fixed. This arrangement allowed the outer wheels to pivot and the centre pair to slide from side to side thus allowing the coached to more easily negotiate tight curves than a rigid wheelbase. Expensively constructed, they proved to be troublesome in traffic, so much so that in service after the amalgamation with the Isle of Man Railway Company they saw little further use, occasionally being used for school traffic. A number of examples survive in preservation (see below). For the Foxdale branch a special bogie coach with enhanced braking capabilities was constructed by the Oldbury Carriage and Wagon Co. in 1886. It was a composite coach with a guard’s compartment, three third class compartments and one first class compartment specially for the Foxdale Mines’ Captain. To celebrate the centenary of the Manx Northern Railway in 1979, the coach was restored to its original livery. [12] which it carried until 2001 when it reverted to the standard livery of red and cream. It remains in regular service today. Almost all of the original non-passenger stock was lost with only one closed van surviving today (Gr.12) which was rebuilt in 2001.
Today, many of the station buildings along the line survive and have been converted to form a variety of uses including a village fire station, several private dwellings and museum displays. Of the locomotives, No. 3 Thornhill is in private preservation in the north of the island having been purchased in 1978 and removed from the railway; No. 4 Caledonia was returned service in 1995 and remains in sporadic service (although as of 2011 it is undergoing a complete rebuild and is expected to return to traffic in 2012) whilst the first two locomotives built by Sharp, Stewart and Company did not survive. At least one six-wheeled coach has been purchased for preservation as part of a private collection in the UK but this is not publicly accessible.
Three of the unusual six-wheeled coaches survive on the island with one accompanying Thornhill in private ownership and two on the railway: one without its running gear and another in private ownership having spent 1976–1998 in the Port Erin Railway Museum. The unique Foxdale Coach survives in regular traffic on the south line, and a goods van (Gr. 12) was rebuilt in 1997 and remains in use on the line. As part of the annual transport festival a genuine Manx Northern Train has operated in recent times. Many smaller items survive in use on the railway today, such as signal levers and various point levers inherited in 1905 and transferred around the system.
Ramsey is a coastal town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the island after Douglas. Its population is 7,845 according to the 2016 Census. It has one of the biggest harbours on the island, and has a prominent derelict pier, called the Queen's Pier. It was formerly one of the main points of communication with Scotland. Ramsey has also been a route for several invasions by the Vikings and Scots.
The Manx Electric Railway is an electric interurban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Castle at the northern end of the promenade in Douglas, and with the Snaefell Mountain Railway at Laxey. Many visitors take an excursion on the trams. It is the oldest electric tram line in the world whose original rolling stock is still in service.
The Snaefell Mountain Railway is an electric mountain railway on the Isle of Man in Europe. It joins the village of Laxey with the summit of Snaefell, at 2,036 feet (621 m) above sea level the highest point on the island. It connects with the Manx Electric Railway (MER) in Laxey. The line is 5 miles (8 km) long, is built to 3 ft 6 in gauge and uses a Fell Incline Railway System centre rail for braking on the steep gradients. It is electrified using overhead wires at 550 volts direct current, with bow collectors.
The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin on the Isle of Man. The line is 3 ft narrow gauge and 15+1⁄2 miles long. It is the remainder of what was a much larger network that also served the western town of Peel, the northern town of Ramsey and the small mining village of Foxdale. Now in government ownership, it uses original rolling stock and locomotives and there are few concessions to modernity.
The Isle of Man Railway Museum in the village of Port Erin in the Isle of Man is a small museum of the history of the Isle of Man Railway from its founding in 1873 to the present, including the now-closed lines that served Peel, Ramsey and Foxdale, and the remaining line to Port Erin which forms part of the southern terminus.
The Isle of Man has a rich transport heritage and boasts the largest narrow-gauge railway network in the British Isles with several historic railways and tramways still in operation. These operate largely to what is known as "Manx Standard Gauge" 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.
The Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association Ltd (IoMSRSA) is a railway preservationist group dedicated to ensuring the continued operation of the Isle of Man Railway on the Isle of Man. Since its inception in 1966 the group has provided volunteer workers, acted in a watchdog role and undertaken the restoration of the Groudle Glen Railway on the island, as well as supporting projects on the railway and producing a journal Manx Steam Railway News regularly.
The rolling stock used on the Isle of Man Railway today is entirely original although, from an original total of 75 carriages, the number serviceable dropped as low as 14, but this total is once again increasing as a result of recent rebuilds The 3 ft gauge railway was provided with a variety of stock from different manufacturers over its time, and types of coach were categorised according to a lettering system, with the original four-wheeled coaches being of A, B, C and D types, and so on. The F prefix encompassed all bogie vehicles including conversions from the A-D series. Letters G-M denoted goods stock. N referred to ex-Manx Northern Railway 6 wheel carriages. The types of stock can be summarised as follows:-
The locomotives of the Isle of Man Railway were provided exclusively by Beyer, Peacock & Company of Manchester, England between 1873 and 1926; other locomotives that appear on this list were inherited as part of the take-over of the Manx Northern Railway and Foxdale Railway in 1905, when the railway also purchased two more locomotives from Beyer, Peacock. All the steam locomotives have or had the 2-4-0T wheel arrangement, apart from No. 15 Caledonia which is an 0-6-0T.
The Foxdale Railway was a 3 ft narrow gauge branch line which ran from St. John's to Foxdale on the Isle of Man.
This article details each of the lines operated by the Isle of Man Railway, including the original line to Peel in the west, opened in 1873, followed by the Port Erin line the following year, as well as the Manx Northern Railway's line between St John's and Ramsey and the Foxdale Railway's line between St John's and Foxdale.
Steam 125 was a series of events held in 1998 to mark the 125th anniversary of the Isle of Man Railway opening its first route from Douglas to Peel the railway ran a large number of special events. Most notable was the return to service of the original steam locomotive No. 1 "Sutherland" which hauled special services all year, including excursions on the Manx Electric Railway; other highlights included night trains, arranged photography sessions, slide and film shows, unusual tram trips, and visiting locomotives on the Groudle Glen Railway and many more. This was the last of the "big" railway events on the island, which had begun with the "Year of Railways" in 1993 to mark the centenary of the Manx Electric Railway. Although there are still annual events periods on the island these are now a very half-hearted affair and do not bring the enthusiasts as they once did.
Kirk Michael Railway Station was an intermediate station on the Manx Northern Railway (MNR), which ran between St. John's and Ramsey in the Isle of Man, later owned and operated by the Isle of Man Railway; it served the village of Kirk Michael.
Waterfall was the only intermediate station on the Foxdale Railway on the Isle of Man.
St John's Railway Station was on the Isle of Man Railway (IMR), later merging with the nearby station of the Manx Northern Railway (MNR); it was the junction of lines to Douglas, Peel, Ramsey and Foxdale. It was close to Tynwald Hill.
Ramsey Station was a station on the Manx Northern Railway, later owned and operated by the Isle of Man Railway; it served the town of Ramsey in the Isle of Man, and was the terminus of a line that ran between St. John's and this station, which was the railway's headquarters.
Sulby BridgeRailway Station was a station on the Manx Northern Railway (MNR), later owned and operated by the Isle of Man Railway; it served the village of Sulby in the Isle of Man and was an intermediate stopping place on a line that ran between St. John's and Ramsey.
One of the characteristics of the Isle of Man Railway are the numerous level crossings and farm crossings along the various routes; many smaller crossing places are marked only by gates the criss-cross farm land and provide access to individual private roads which connect the farms to the main roads. Being largely rural in nature the railway has many of these scattered along the existing South Line, and there were, as one might expect, many more on the closed sections of the railway. These can be summarised as follows, along with other points of interest along the line not covered in the Isle of Man Railway stations section:-
Gob-Y-DeiganRailway Station was a station on the Manx Northern Railway, later owned and operated by the Isle of Man Railway; it served a beach near Kirk Michael in the Isle of Man and was an intermediate stopping place on a line that ran between St. John's and Ramsey.
The geology of the Isle of Man consists primarily of a thick pile of sedimentary rocks dating from the Ordovician period, together with smaller areas of later sedimentary and extrusive igneous strata. The older strata was folded and faulted during the Caledonian and Acadian orogenies The bedrock is overlain by a range of glacial and post-glacial deposits. Igneous intrusions in the form of dykes and plutons are common, some associated with mineralisation which spawned a minor metal mining industry.
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