Level railway station
Encyclopedia
Request stop
In public transport, a request stop or flag stop describes a stopping point at which trains or buses stop only on an as-need or request basis; that is, only if there are passengers to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, infrequently used stopping points can be served efficiently.Trains save...
on the Isle of Man Railway
Isle of Man Railway
The Isle of Man Railway is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The line is built to gauge and is long...
located in the sheading of Rushen
Rushen
Rushen , formerly Kirk Christ Rushen , is a parish in the sheading of the same name in the Isle of Man. The parish is a fishing and agricultural district at the south-westernmost point of the island. The parish is one of three in the sheading of Rushen...
on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. This is the sole remaining section of the railway which once spanned over 46 miles.
Locale
This diminutive request stop serves the hamlets or individual houses of Level (Rushen), Croit-E-Caley, Kentraugh, Ballagawie and Ballakillowey. The 1 km section of line from the previous station (Colby) is straight and has a level crossing for Kentraugh Farm; to the west, towards Port St Mary, the line curves to the left on the approach to the next crossing for Ballagawne Farm and continues to Four Roads crossing.Crossing
Automatic barriers were introduced in 2002 and the manually operated gates were removed. Since then the crossing keeper's hut has been unmanned but remains in situ housing storage facilities for the railway out of season.At that time a section of raised platform, of just one coach length, was also installed at the request of a regular passenger.
Surroundings
Until recently the road that leads to the level crossing also served the local Level Garage and until well into the 1990s trains carried motor parts from Douglas for dropping off at this point; the garage was closed in 2000 and the site has since been redeveloped into residential housing. The village that has built up around the level crossing site has been expanded considerably since the arrival of the railway making the halt frequently utilised during the summer months.Naming
Today the painted running-in board declares the halt as The Level (bilingual since 2008 to include the Yn Laare translation into the gaelic) but in the past it has been variously called Colby Level, Level, Level (Rushen) etc., and a metal nameboard stating Colby Level - Crossing installed in 1973 is still in place but the timetable uses "The Level" in all literature. The origin of the name comes from the stretch of main road at the top of the lane that leads from the level crossing, being a straight level section when macadamed, the name being used in local parlance ever since. The halt is usually timetabled in the railway's literature but the 2011 timetable for example omits to give the stopping places; the halt however remains open as a request stop despite this.It is also called the level due to the Adit level at colby, as part of the Ballacorkish mine near Colby.