Rail transport in the Isle of Man

Map of main railways in the Isle of Man

Railways and tramways of the Isle of Man (Principal stations and interchanges only)

Legend Orchid Line (details not shown) Ramsey(Manx Northern Railway) (Queen's Pier Tramway) Ramsey(Manx Electric Railway) Kirk Michael Snaefell Summit(Snaefell Mountain Railway) (Great Laxey Mine Railway) Laxey Sea Lion Rocks(Groudle Glen Railway) Lhen Coan Groudle Peel(Isle of Man Railway) Knockaloe St. John's(Manx Northern Railway) St. John's(Isle of Man Railway) Foxdale(Foxdale Railway) Derby Castle Broadway(Upper Douglas Cable Tramway) Sea Terminal(Douglas Bay Horse Tramway) Douglas Douglas Head(Douglas Southern Electric Tramway) Port Soderick Ronaldsway(for Isle of Man Airport) Castletown Port Erin

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 the Wild Life Park are both privately owned but open to the public.^[3]

Lines

Most lines have "Manx Standard Gauge" of 3 ft (914 mm).

• Snaefell Mountain Railway, since 1895, 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
• Groudle Glen Railway, since 1896, 2 ft (610 mm)
• Manx Electric Railway, since 1893 3 ft (914 mm)
• Isle of Man Railway, since 1873 3 ft (914 mm)
• Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, since 1876 3 ft (914 mm)
• Great Laxey Mine Railway, since 1877, 19 in (483 mm)
• The Orchid Line, since 1992, various gauges
• Upper Douglas Cable Tramway, until 1929 3 ft (914 mm)
• Douglas Southern Electric Tramway, until 1939 4 ft 8 in (1,422 mm)

See also

• Isle of Man
• List of heritage railways
• Mountain railway
• Transport in the Isle of Man

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