The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin in 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 mining village of Foxdale. Now in government ownership, it uses original rolling stock and locomotives and there are few concessions to modernity.
Colby railway station is a small railway station on the southern edge of the village of Colby in the south of the Isle of Man served by the Isle of Man Railway; it forms part of the sole remaining section of the network which once covered over 46 miles island-wide.
The Manx Northern Railway (MNR) was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It was a steam railway between St John's and Ramsey. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905.
Union Mills is a village in the parish of Braddan on the A1, the primary road which connects Douglas and Peel in the Isle of Man, close to the River Dhoo.
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.
Braddan Bridge is a bridge over the river Dhoo on the Douglas to Peel road, from which a halt on the Isle of Man Railway's first line to Peel took its name.
Crosby Railway Station was an intermediate stop on the Isle of Man Railway; it served the village of Crosby in the Isle of Man and was a stopping place on a line that ran between Douglas and Peel. It was part of the island's first railway line.
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. The station began life in 1873 as the penultimate stop on the Peel Line, the island's first passenger railway line; it consisted of a simple wooden waiting shelter with accommodation for the station master, and a passing loop. This layout remained until the arrival of the new line from the north in 1879 when a second station was established, later merging with the existing one. The station was the hub of the island's railway network, where the lines to Douglas, Peel, Ramsey and Foxdale met.
One of the characteristics of the Isle of Man Railway is the numerous level crossings and farm crossings along the various routes; many smaller crossing places are marked only by gates that criss-cross farm land and provide access to private roads connecting 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 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:-
Crosby is a small village located 3+3⁄4 miles west of Douglas in the parish of Marown in the Isle of Man.
Bishop's Court Halt was a station on the Manx Northern Railway, later owned and operated by the Isle of Man Railway; it served the residence of the local bishop in the Isle of Man and was a stopping place on a line that ran between St. John's and Ramsey.
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 Four Inch Course was a road-racing circuit first used for the 1908 Tourist Trophy Race for cars, held on public roads closed for racing by an Act of Tynwald. The name of the course derives from the regulations for the 1908 Tourist Trophy adopted by the Royal Automobile Club, which limited the competitors' engines to a cylinder-diameter of four inches. The Four-Inch Course was adopted by the Auto-Cycle Club for the 1911 Isle of Man TT Races. The Four-Inch Course was subsequently known as the Snaefell Mountain Course or Mountain Course when used for motor-cycle racing.
Greeba Bridge is situated between the 6th milestone and 7th road milestones on the primary A1 Douglas to Peel road and the junction with the Greeba Mill Road in the parish of Kirk German in the Isle of Man.
Gorse Lea is situated between the 6th Milestone and 7th Milestones on the primary A1 Douglas to Peel road in the parish of German in the Isle of Man.
Quarterbridge is situated soon after the 1 mile-marker measured from the TT Grandstand, part of the Snaefell Mountain Course used for the Isle of Man TT races, at the junction of the primary A1 Douglas to Peel road, A2 Douglas to Ramsey road and the A5 Douglas to Port Erin road which forms the boundary between the parishes of Braddan and Onchan in the Isle of Man.
Devil's Elbow is a hairpin bend situated on the primary A4 Peel to Kirk Michael coast road in the Isle of Man parish of German.
Quarry Bends is situated adjacent to the 20th Milestone road-side marker on the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey, in the parishes of Ballaugh and Kirk Christ Lezayre in the Isle of Man.
Douglas Road Corner or Kirk Michael Corner is situated adjacent the 14th Milestone road-side marker on the Snaefell Mountain Course on the primary A3 Castletown to Ramsey Road and the road junction with the A4 Peel to Kirk Michael Coast Road in the parish of Michael in the Isle of Man.