Isle of Man: Foxdale

Starting Point - Crosby Station site, Finishing Point - St John's Station site, Distance 7.5 Miles.

The Foxdale branch on the Isle of Man was built by the Foxdale Railway Co and operated by the Manx Northern Railway from opening in 1886. It was mainly built for freight from the mines at Foxdale, though a couple of passenger stations were provided. More information about the line, and the others on the island, as well as details of the stations I visit on this walk can be found on the Disused Stations website.

Rail Map Online

Open Street Map

I started from the site of Crosby station (right hand side on the above map where Old Church Road meets the Steam Heritage Trail). I walked to Ballacurry Farm, about half way between Crosby and St John's. From Ballacurry Farm a path called Ballacurry Road runs to the site of Cornelly Mine. The "Road" in the name Ballacurry Road is a bit of a delusion of grandeur, it seems to be a dried up stream bed with rocks underfoot and thick vegetation.

Cornelly Mine

Cornelly Mine was at the northern edge of the mines of Foxdale and some of the buildings of the mine survive.

Below - The surviving buildings of Cornelly Mine. The buildings seem to include two engine houses and chimneys, this is the one on the western edge of the site.

Below - An information plaque on the chimney.

Below - Chimney and engine house on the eastern edge of the site.

Below - Behind the buildings a footpath leads in to an area of mine waste. The area around the mine buildings was quite overgrown with brambles so I wasn't able to get much closer to the mines buildings.

Below - Another view of the engine house and chimney from the west of the site.

Below - Another view of the buildings at the east of the site.

Below - A view from the corner of Ballacurry Road

Ballacurry Road continues after its dog leg at the site of the mine, emerging on to Ballavar Road. Another footpath connects from Ballavar Road to Lhoobs Road. Across Lhoobs Road it passes Kionsleiu Plantation and Kionsleiu Reservoir. Kionsleiu Reservoir is a man made reservoir with an earth bank as a dam and is a remnant of the mining industry in the area.

Below - Kionsleiu Reservoir, the dam can be seen on the far side.

The footpath emerges on to East Foxdale Road which heads in to the village of Foxdale. In Foxdale a clock tower is another remnant of the local mining industry.

Below - The clock tower in Foxdale.

Below - Information board at the clock tower. Click to enlarge.

Below - Remnants of the Miners Institute building behind the clock tower.

Below - This building across the road from the clock tower is the former mines office.

Below - The Clock Tower Industrial Park occupies the site of mines buildings in Foxdale. Railways entered the mines site here from the railway station across the road.

Below - Another information board in Foxdale village.

Foxdale

Below - The former station building at Foxdale, now a visitor centre which unfortunately wasn't open at the time of my visit. The station opened in 1886 and closed to passengers in 1943 but goods trains continued until 1960.

Below - Information board at the station.

Below - Another view of the station. The middle section of the front wall would originally have been wooden but has been replaced with brickwork that blends in with the rest of the building. There were originally plans to extend the line to Castletown but the Foxdale branch was never more than a short branch primarily for freight. The passenger service was just a couple of trains a day with a single coach (which is still in use on the Isle of Man Steam Railway).

Below - Another information board at the site of the railway.

Below - The former trackbed is now a footpath most of the was to St John's. The railway follows the Foxdale River, at this point on the right in a deep valley. The river was utilised by the mining industry.

Below - Information board describing the route of the line.

Waterfall

Below - The low bridge over the Foxdale Main Road has been removed. After crossing the road the wooden steps up the embankment at the other side have been condemned so the trackbed is next accessed at Ballamoar Farm Lane. This was originally the access for Waterfall station.

Below - Farm access bridge near at the site of Waterfall station.

Below - The site of Waterfall station, the road is on the left and the station was on the embankment in the centre of the picture. The station was just a wooden shelter which no longer survives.

A bridge across Gleneedle Stream is missing so the path joins the road to cross the stream but is back on the railway route at the other side.

Below - Bridge under Ballanass Road.

Below - Another bridge not shown on the map.

Below - Approaching St John's, remains of the drainage for the line.

Below - A sleeper seen next to the route near St John's. The track was removed around 1970.

On the approach to St John's the line crossed Foxdale Road on a large two span metal viaduct. The metal spans have been removed but the abutments and centre pier survive. With the bridge removed the footpath takes a left turn to emerge on to Slieu Whallan Road which can be followed in to St John's. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the remains of the bridge over Foxdale Road.

Below - I did get a picture of the bridge over the Douglas to Peel route from my walk on that line. The trackbed of the Foxdale branch on top of the bridge is not accessible at this point.

Below - Station Road in St John's crosses over the former Foxdale branch on a bridge. This is the view east from the bridge where the cutting of the railway can be seen.

St John's (MNR)

Below - Looking west from the bridge the Manx Northern Railway's St John's station can be seen, now in use as a house but remarkably intact with the platform, station building and water tower surviving.

Below - The station building can just be seen through the trees, this was built to the same design as that at Foxdale. The centre wooden section has again been replaced but in this case with a rendered finish. The base of the water tower can just about be made out covered with Ivy to the right of the station building.

 The MNR originally had its own station for Ramsey across the road from the IoMR station on the Douglas to Peel route, thought to have just been a wooden building. When construction started on the Foxdale branch this was abandoned and MNR trains from Ramsey used the above station. When the IoMR took over the MNR the Ramsey trains were diverted in to the IoMR station. From 1927 the Foxdale branch train was also diverted in to the IoMR station, running through the MNR station and reversing in to the IoMR station.

From St John's I got the bus onwards to Ramsey before returning to Douglas on the Manx Electric Railway.

I have done earlier walks of the Douglas to Peel line and St John's to Ramsey Line as well as the Laxey Mines Trail.

Isle of Man: St John's to Ramsey

Starting Point - Site of St John's Station. Finishing Point - Site of Sulby Bridge Station plus walking around the site of the railway in Ramsey. Distance 22 Miles.

Frustration with stalled plans to extend the Isle of Man Railways north to Ramsey after the opening of the Peel and Port Erin routes a led to a separate company being set up to build the line, the Manx Northern Railway. The route north from Douglas along the east coast was too hilly for a railway route so a route was constructed north from St John's and along the west coast to Kirk Michael before heading inland and on to Ramsey on the east coast. The line opened in 1879. In 1899 the Manx Electric Railway reached Ramsey with a more direct route up the east coast, the gradients within the capabilities of electric trams. From 1905 the MNR and IOMR were merged. Despite the introduction of tram services the steam railway from St John's to Ramsey continued running until the cutbacks across the steam railway in 1968, closing the day before the Peel line on 6th September. 

Much more about the history of the railways and details of the stations I visit can be found on the Disused Stations website.

Most of the route is now a footpath, though the footfall is far less than that of the Douglas to Peel route so the standard of the path is not as good in places. From Sulby to Ramsey the trackbed is now private land so after walking from St John's to Sulby Bridge I got the bus to Ramsey.

I previously walked the former railway route from Douglas to Peel so following a bus ride from Douglas this walk picks up at the former junction station at St John's. More information on the site of St John's station is included on the description of that route.

Rail Map Online (it is best to select Open Street Map on the Maps as this has better coverage of footpaths than the default Google Maps).

Open Street Map

Below - Picture of a train from Ramsey at St John's in 1951, photo from Wikipedia (details)

Below - The former Railway Junction Hotel seen in the background on the above photo.

Below - Access to the former railway to Peel and Ramsey from Station Road in St John's. The path along the trackbed can be seen across the centre of the shot. When the Ramsey line first opened the MNR established its own station here, likely a simple wooden halt. Through running between the two railways and eventual merger meant the trains went on to use the IOMR station on the other side of the crossing. The MNR also went on to build its own station north of here when it began operating the Foxdale Railway, I cover this in my visit to the Foxdale Railway. 

Below - The junction between the Peel and Ramsey lines, the Ramsey line is on the separate bridge span on the right. Just after the bridge a less well defined path cuts across to the Ramsey trackbed. The path is not very clear as it is covered with grass on a slight embankment up to the A1 Peel Road.

Below - Abutments of the former bridge over the A1 Peel Road.

Peel Road

Below - Before the former railway crosses under Poortown Road is the former Peel Road station. A replica nameboard has recently been installed to mark the station site. The platform can still be seen, as can the access ramp down from Poortown Road (on the left but not clear on the picture). Though the location of the station was the village of Poortown the station was known as Peel Road as it offered the possibility of passeners for Peel walking in to the town rather than changing trains at St John's.

Below - Bridge under Ballagyr Lane.

Below - Bridge under the Lhergydhoo Farm track.

Below - Former level crossing on the A4 with the crossing keeper's cottage.

St Germain's

Below - The former St Germain's station on the left, now a house.

Below - Footbridge over streams built on the abutments of the railway bridges.

Below - Bridge carrying a footpath between Coast Road and the beach over the railway.

Gob Y Diegan

Below - A small halt was provided for the scenic spot with views of the coast, just a wooden hut was provided.

Below - Footpath bridge over the railway.

Below - Bridge under the Coast Road. The road has been strengthened by constructing a tunnel and filling under the bridge.

Below - Bridge over the Glion Sheltan stream built on the old railway bridge abutments.

Below - Gates to a farmers field featuring the old cast iron fencing from the railway.

Below - Abutments of removed bridge over Stockfield Road.

Below - Remains of Glen Mooar viaduct. The lattice spans of the viaduct was removed in 1975 so a detour down to the valley bottom and back up to the trackbed is necessary.

West Berk

Below - The crossing keeper's cottage at West Berk level crossing. A short lived halt was provided here next to the cottage. Nothing remains of the halt which probably had no structures to speak of aside from the cottage. There are no known pictures of the halt.

Below - Another crossing under the Coast Road, also strengthened for heavier road traffic.

Below - Ivy covered footpath bridge.

Below - Glen Wyllin viaduct, another with the lattice spans removed requiring a slight detour around it.

Kirk Michael

The former station at Kirk Michael is now a fire station. The facilities are in the station building and the fire engine is kept in the former goods shed.

Below - The former station. The track panel has been reinstated since the closure of the line.

Below - A section of rails remains in the level crossing.

Below - The station buildings.

Below - The station buildings and goods shed.

Below - The goods shed with fire engine now inside.

Below - Bridge over Balleira Road and Balleira stream.

Below - Bridge under a farm access.

Below - Bridge under Orrisdale.

Below - Bridge under a footpath.

Bishopscourt Halt

Below - Level crossing over Orrisdale Road. This was the location of Bishopscourt Halt on the south side of the road so behind me in the photo. The only facility provided was a wooden bench which has long gone, the halt having been abandoned around 1950. Only the crossing keeper's cottage remains, though a new bench has been provided on the footpath.

Below - Crossing Bollyn Road and another crossing keeper's cottage.

Below - Antoher remnant of the cast iron railway fence posts.

Below - Former railway bridge over a couple of streams on the approach to Ballaugh.

Ballaugh

Below - The trackbed runs at the back of houses on Station Road in Ballaugh before crossing the level crossing in to the station site. The goods shed can be seen on the left.

Below - The former goods shed. The passenger station would have been on the right.

Below - A panel of track has been installed

Below - The former cattle dock and goods platform.

Below - Crossing Ballacrye Road, the crossing keeper's cottage can be seen on the right.

Ballavolley Halt

Curraghs Wildlife Park was opened in 1965 and a halt was provided to serve it, though the facilities just consisted of a sign. Though this was potentially a boost for the line it came a bit late with periodic closures until complete closure a few years later.

Below - The crossing keeper's cottage and a panel of track marking where the railway had run. The rails were unearthed when a pipe was laid here and were reinstated at the former level crossing. The halt was in the trees in the background, now at the back of the car park for the wildlife park.

Sulby Glen

Below - The former station building at Sulby Glen. The station had a single track with platform and building. There was a goods platform and cattle dock similar to Ballaugh behind the station building though the station site is hidden from the path by the line of trees seen here where the platform edge would have been.

The footpath ends where it meets Kella Road. This is not far from the next station at Sulby Bridge so I walked along the nearby Sulby Main Road and St Judes Road to reach it.

Sulby Bridge

Below - The former station building at Sulby Bridge, now a house.

Lezayre

The trackbed runs through farmland most of the way to Ramsey from Sulby and is not accessible so I got a bus from Sulby Bridge to Ramsey. This did mean missing the former station at Lezayre which can be seen from Garey Road where the station was situated at a level crossing. The small station building survives as a house now and can be seen from the road.

Ramsey

At Ramsey a stretch of the line has been turned in to a footpath serving housing developments around Ramsey. I doubled back on foot to Garderners Lane where that path ends. Though with all the development around Ramsey there is little sign of the old railway left around Ramsey.

Below - The former crossing keeper's cottage on Garderners Lane.

Below - The path looking towards Ramsey.

Below - Where the lines once fanned out into the goods yard at Ramsey there was a stack of railway materials.

Below - The site of the goods yard.

Below - Some of the perimeter wall around the station site can be seen. There is some wall on the left in this shot.

Below - A bakery has been built on the site of the station itself. Some of the perimeter wall can be seen on the left.

Below - This would have once been the view of the station building across Station Road.

Below - Another bit of retaining wall once at the back of the station site. On the other side of the wall was a line which continued across the road and on to the harbour. The harbour branch was used mainly for Iron Ore from the mines at Foxdale but closed in the mid 1950s.

Below - The harbour along the Sulby River. The goods line continued along the harbour well past the bridge up to the point where West Quay met East Quay.

 From Ramsey I got the Manx Electric Railway back to Douglas.