Douglas Southern Electric Tramway Raad Yiarn Lectragh Jiass Ghoulish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The course of the tramway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Douglas, Isle of Man | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Terminus | Port Soderick | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commercial operations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name | Douglas Southern Electric Tramway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Original gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preserved operations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operated by | Douglas Southern Electric Tramways Co., Ltd. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 4 (Plus Loops) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Length | 4.5 miles (7.2 km) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commercial history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 2 September 1896 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | 28 August 1939 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Douglas Southern Electric Tramway (Manx: Raad Yiarn Lectragh Jiass Ghoulish) was a standard gauge tramway between the top of Douglas Head on the Isle of Man and the nearby resort of Port Soderick. [1] The route ran atop the cliffs and crossed a number of viaducts and bridges. [2]
The tramway was opened in 1896 by the New General Traction Company and operated until 1939. It never reopened after the war, and was largely lifted and destroyed by 1955. One of the motor cars was retrieved for preservation at the National Tramway Museum at Crich in Derbyshire, where it resides to this day.
There is little left of the line as it was, save for the castellated entrance to the Marine Drive itself. The tramway's sheds and workshops were located mid-way along the line at Little Ness, together with the power station for generating the electricity but this was filled in and is now a car park. The roadway has been closed for several years owing to a number of serious landslides, but in the 1960s the local authority of Douglas Corporation attempted to rejuvenate the area by introducing a bus service on the coastal route. However, it was short-lived owing to further landslides which made the road unsafe. Today parts of the route can be used by motor traffic, but a stretch north of Little Ness is only open to pedestrians. The route of this railway provides views of the Irish Sea, and forms part of the Isle of Man's coastal footpath Raad ny Foillan (Way of the Gull), created in 1986.
There exists a film of a ride on this tramway in 1902 made by Mitchell and Kenyon and available at the film British Film Institute]. The journey has been described as a white knuckle ride.
Point | Coordinates (Links to map resources) | OS Grid Ref | Notes |
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Douglas Head | 54°08′36″N4°28′10″W / 54.1434°N 4.4695°W | SC3871374789 | |
Marine Drive Arch | 54°08′27″N4°28′15″W / 54.1407°N 4.4707°W | SC3862474491 | |
Pigeon Stream Depot | 54°08′16″N4°28′47″W / 54.1378°N 4.4797°W | SC3802574189 | |
Wallberry Viaduct | 54°07′53″N4°29′44″W / 54.1314°N 4.4955°W | SC3696873514 | |
Horseleap Viaduct | 54°07′48″N4°29′53″W / 54.1300°N 4.4980°W | SC3679973364 | |
Little Ness Depot | 54°07′39″N4°30′16″W / 54.1276°N 4.5044°W | SC3637273112 | |
Whing Loop | 54°07′47″N4°30′41″W / 54.1297°N 4.5113°W | SC3592973361 | |
Port Soderick | 54°07′27″N4°31′49″W / 54.1243°N 4.5302°W | SC3467372805 |
The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway on the Isle of Man runs along the seafront promenade for approximately 1.6 miles (2.6 km), from the southern terminus at the Victoria Pier, adjacent to the Isle of Man Sea Terminal, to Derby Castle station, the southern terminus of the Manx Electric Railway, where the workshops and sheds are located. It is a distinctive tourist attraction. However works have been underway to relay all of the track in 2019 and at present only a third is usable, with no published completion date for the works.
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.
Port Soderick Railway Station is the first station on the Port Erin line of the Isle of Man Railway and is located near the settlement of the same name on the Isle of Man. It forms part of the sole remaining section of the railway which once served a 46-mile network across the island.
Douglas Head is a rocky point on the Isle of Man overlooking Douglas Bay and harbour. Views extend to include Snaefell Mountain and Laxey.
Baldrine Station is a railway halt in the Isle of Man. It is an intermediate request stop on the east coast route of the Manx Electric Railway in the village of Baldrine in the parish of Lonan, on the route to Ramsey.
Glen Mona Railway Station is an intermediate stopping place on the northerly section of the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man.
Douglas Head Amphitheatre is a structure on the promontory of Douglas Head on the Isle of Man.
Ramsey Station serves the town of Ramsey in the Isle of Man; it is the northern terminus of the Manx Electric Railway. It was formerly known as Ramsey (Plaza) Station after the nearby Plaza cinema, now demolished and turned into a car park. Today it is often also known as Ramsey Tram Station and signage to this effect adorns the station, despite the line being described as a railway. It should not be confused with Ramsey's former station on the Isle of Man Railway.
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 Upper Douglas Cable Tramway was a tram line serving all points between the southern end of the promenade and the upper part of the town of Douglas in the Isle of Man. It opened on 15 August 1896 and closed on 19 August 1929.
Ballabeg Station is a rural intermediate request stop on the coastal route of the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man with a small station house constructed in 1905.
Groudle Glen Station is the first mandatory stopping point and major station on the Manx Electric Railway which serves the village of Groudle Glen in the Isle of Man, and is situated between Groudle Lane and Eskadale on the route to Laxey and Ramsey.
Groudle Lane Halt is a request stop on the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man, located below the line's first summit on the descent into the nearby valley of the same name.
Scarffe's Crossing is a diminutive and little-used request stop on the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man
Ballamenagh Halt is a request stop on the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man.
Ballagawne Halt is a rural request stop on the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man.
Miller's Crossing is a small request stop on outskirts of Laxey on the route of the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man.
Laxey Old Road is a diminutive request-only stop on the northern side of the valley on the climb out of Laxey on the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man, and serves the local community rather than visiting tourists. It, like many of the other small stops on the line established itself over a number of years as a requested stop for local traffic but despite this, and in common with many similar halts, it has never been included on the timetable for any of the line's services. Its location is above an area known locally as "Little Egypt" because it was used as a tipping ground for the ore spoils of the Great Laxey Mines, giving the area the appearance of what looked like pyramids. These spoils have long-since disappeared and the area is a desirable residential area.
There have been five cliff railways in the Isle of Man, none of which remain operational. Usually referred to as 'cliff lifts', they were all railways, having wheeled carriages running on weight-bearing rails. The two Falcon lifts served the same hotel at different periods ; the first Falcon lift was moved to become the Port Soderick lift, at the south end of the Douglas Southern Electric Tramway, with the Douglas Head lift at its north end. The Browside lift served the Laxey Wheel.