Ramsey Station was a station on the Manx Northern Railway

Manx Northern Railway

The Manx Northern Railway was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905.- History :...

, later owned and operated by 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...

; it served the town of Ramsey

Ramsey, Isle of Man

Ramsey is a town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the island after Douglas. Its population is 7,309 according to the 2006 census . It has one of the biggest harbours on the island, and has a prominent derelict pier, called the Queen's Pier. It was formerly one of...

 in 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...

 and was final stopping place on a line that ran between St. John's and this station, being the railway's headquarters.

Description

The station opened to traffic on and was provided with an imposing station building was an Italianate one-storey structure and unlike any other railway building on the island. It was accompanied by a stone built locomotive shed and workshop, corrugated iron carriage shed, water tower and various stone-built goods sheds and warehouses. The station befitted its status as the headquarters of the railway company but after the merger in 1905 with the Isle of Man Railway Company

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...

 the interior of the main station was modified, the office space being surplus to requirements after this point, with all administration being undertaken at Douglas Station

Douglas railway station

Douglas Railway Station is the main terminus of the Isle of Man Railway and is located at the landward end of the quay in Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man...

 after this point. The station boasted its own separate ladies and gentlemen's waiting rooms and refreshments facilities although the latter closed relatively early in the line's history. The workshop behind the engine shed was also closed at stripped of its equipment c.1905. The station closed on to passengers but certain freight services operated the following year.

Extensions

At one time there was a branch that spurred off from the northerly edge of the station that passed behind the carriage shed and the goods yard and on to the harbour side, terminating near the market square. This branch was used exclusively for wagons carrying ore from Foxdale Mines to awaiting ships for transportation to the mainland and Ireland and ran parallel to the road; at one time it stretched as far as the site of today's Ellan Vannin public house at the far corner of the square. The extension was positioned directly along the quayside making it ideal for direct loading and unloading onto boats. During the 1930s it was in decline though sections of rail remained in situ for a number of years after this. In 1988 a commemorative stamp featuring an artists' impression of a train on this extension was issued by the Isle of Man Post Office

Isle of Man Post

The Isle of Man Post Office , which formerly used the trading name Isle of Man Post, operates postal collection, ancillary mail services, philatelic goods and delivery services and post office counter services on the Isle of Man.-History:...

 and this was part of a set showing old railway and tramway views of the island. A further extension to the southwest of the station also existed at Milntown

Milntown Railway

The Milntown Railway was in fact a short spur off the ex Manx Northern line just south of the terminus at Ramsey and was constructed only in the final year of operation for the purposes of transporting fuel oil from Peel to Ramsey by rail. The siding was a direct spur off the main line and was on...

 and this was installed in the railway's last year of operation in 1968 in an effort to increase rail traffic. In fact, this siding ensured that limited non-passenger services continued into 1969 when trains ran to collect oil wagons for delivery to Douglas

Douglas railway station

Douglas Railway Station is the main terminus of the Isle of Man Railway and is located at the landward end of the quay in Douglas, the capital of the Isle of Man...

, these being the very last services on this line.

Decline

The station was located on the outer edges of the town and even in the railway's busiest days would often appear to be deserted; in later years the station canopy, which was adjoined to the building and of wooden construction, developed a distinct sag and the buildings took on a somewhat abandoned appearance. Passenger services declined rapidly in the 1950s and became seasonal in 1960. Even at the height of the summer season, the Isle of Man Railway would schedule only two or three return workings between Ramsey and St John's and Douglas. By the 1960s goods traffic centred on the cattle dock which ran along the northern edge of the station alongside the Sulby River which was still in frequent use. The complete closure of the Isle of Man Railway from November 1965 to June 1967 ensured that movement of cattle ceased at this time. The local cattle mart was the busiest on the Island and provided much traffic for the railway, giving it some of its longest dedicated goods trains.

In common with most Manx stations, it never had full sized platforms, but there were half-height ones reaching as far as the bottom running board of the coaches. On the south side of the main platform there was also a long bay platform. In common with most of the island's railway system points and signals were not fully interlocked, but controlled by individual hand levers. Therefore there was no signal box or groundframe.

After closure, the remained largely intact but the rails were lifted in 1975 for scrap and the whole site flattened in 1978 to make way for what is now Ramsey Bakery, making the site almost unrecognisable today although the road on which the bakery now stands is still known as Station Road. Such is the popularity of the station a calendar and set of postcards were issued in 2010 featuring watercolour views of the station and its environs, accompanied by a book by local artist Michael Starkey with historical information by Julian Edwards.

Services

Under the original Manx Northern Railway

Manx Northern Railway

The Manx Northern Railway was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905.- History :...

 operations, trains ran to St. John's

St. John's railway station

St. John's Railway Station was a station on the Isle of Man Railway, later merging with a neaby station of the Manx Northern Railway; it served the village of St...

, where there was a junction with 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...

's Peel to Douglas line. Some trains continued on to Douglas by agreement with the other company and by 1888 when the financial position of the northern company was struggling, the larger company took responsibility for all operational activities, ultimately taking over the whole line in 1905. Owing to the close proximity of the railway-owned Glen Wyllin Pleasure Grounds

Glen Wyllin Pleasure Grounds

Owned by the Isle of Man Railway whose line crossed the valley by means of a viaduct, this area was once the site of much activity for the holidaymaker and Sunday School tripper. The grounds at Glen Wyllin were developed in the late 19th century upon the arrival of the railway and included a...

 some services terminated at Kirk Michael

Kirk Michael railway station

Kirk Michael was a station on the Manx Northern Railway, later owned and operated by the Isle of Man Railway; it served the village of Kirk Michael in the Isle of Man and was an intermediate stopping place on a line that ran between St. John's and the northern town or Ramsey.-Buildings:The station...

 from here. After the merger through services to Douglas and stations on the south line were offered. During the wars the north line was busy with troop carrying trains which commenced from here.

Route

See also

• Isle of Man Railway stations
  Isle of Man Railway stations
  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...
  
  
• Manx Northern Railway
  Manx Northern Railway
  The Manx Northern Railway was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905.- History :...
  
  
• Ramsey Plaza Station
• Ramsey
  Ramsey, Isle of Man
  Ramsey is a town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the island after Douglas. Its population is 7,309 according to the 2006 census . It has one of the biggest harbours on the island, and has a prominent derelict pier, called the Queen's Pier. It was formerly one of...
  
  

Sources

• [Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association]