4 days ago
Why this little British island is a haven for heritage railway lovers
'It's going to be a busy day', says the ticket inspector, as I walked past nostalgic holiday posters advertising sail and rail holidays to the Isle of Man and onto Douglas Station's platform.
'The first three carriages are full. Try and hop on the back.'
I found a spare seat among cruise ship excursionists as a blast of steam sweeped through the antiquated train. It's the Isle of Man Railway's 9.50 am departure from Douglas, the Manx capital, heading 15.5 miles south to Port Erin (£17 return, included with Go Explore cards).
Many of the carriages are 150 years old, yet on this cool spring weekend, they seemed as popular as they ever were in their Victorian heyday.
Around 38 miles of historic railway lines – including the Isle of Man Railway and the Manx Electric Railway – criss-cross the island, the first having opened in 1873. Harking back to the golden age of Victorian train travel, I spent the next few days exploring this curious Crown Dependency in the most nostalgic way possible: aboard its old-fashioned steam- and electric-powered narrow-gauge railways.
I sat back and enjoyed the view as Douglas' suburbs gave way to sweeping vistas of the Irish Sea. The Isle of Man Railway, the longest narrow-gauge line in the British Isles, still operates its original engines and carriages. For rail enthusiasts, it is a bucket-list journey, and the platform at Castletown – where I alighted for a quick stop on the way to Port Erin – was crowded with enthusiastic photographers and trainspotters as we pull in through a cloud of white smoke.
'This is what the Isle of Man is all about. Its railways', I am told by Grant Taylor, Castletown's stationmaster and a director of the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association.
'Second perhaps only to the TT [annual motorcycling event], the railways are the most important thing in the Isle of Man's history. If the rails went, the island would die. How else are you going to get the tourists around?'
Grant, whom I'd found in the ticket office surrounded by train memorabilia (including engine driver hats and scale models of famous engines), has worked the railways for decades. They're not just a tourist attraction, he says. Locals regularly use the steam trains to shop at Tesco in Douglas, or even as a delightful airport transfer: ask the conductor to stop at Ronaldsway Halt near Castletown, hop over a stile, and it's just a 10-minute walk to departures.
'I can't see this line ever closing', says Grant, who believes that despite many lines shutting down in the mid-20th century, the survivors are as popular as they were when mass tourism first arrived in the Victorian era.
'There's a dedicated core of visitors returning year after year. Businesses, cafés and museums in Castletown and Port Erin all rely on railway traffic. And staff come back year-on-year to work on the railways because they love it. There's a lovely community feeling.'
I strolled into Castletown, where a weathered castle built by a Norse lord overlooks a stone harbour. Once the Manx capital, it houses The Old House of Keys – home to the Manx parliament with a history stretching back over a thousand years to the Vikings – before I caught the next service to Port Erin.
At the end of the line, the Port Erin Railway Museum (admission £2, included with the Go Explore Heritage Card) displays restored engines and carriages in historic railway sheds. Opposite, the Whistlestop Cafe serves Manx broth and jacket potatoes inside the station. Down by the blustery harbour, a few hardy swimmers brave the cold waters of the Irish Sea.
The next day, I walked to the northern end of Douglas' seafront promenade and caught the Manx Electric Railway's 11.40 am departure from Derby Castle Station. The Isle of Man's rail network has won countless longevity awards, and I found myself in Car No 1, dating back to 1893 and recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest operational tram car in the world.
The Manx Electric Railway stretches 17 miles north from Douglas to Ramsey (£17 return, included with Go Explore cards). I paused halfway at Laxey, where the Great Laxey Wheel – the world's oldest working water wheel – towers over a green glen (admission £14, included with the Go Explore Heritage Card).
In Laxey, I transferred to the Snaefell Mountain Railway, the world's only electric mountain railway, a remarkable piece of Victorian engineering opened in 1895 (£16 return, included with Go Explore cards).
'These are 130-year-old tram cars', the conductor says on the winding five-mile journey to Snaefell, the Isle of Man's highest peak.
'They're original cars. And some of the drivers are originals too', he adds with a chuckle.
Snaefell (Norse for 'Snowy Mountain') rises to 2034ft. On a clear day, you can see the 'Seven Kingdoms': the Isle of Man, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Manannan, the Manx god of the sea.
I had every intention of continuing all the way to Ramsey, but I was distracted when I heard the Groudle Glen Railway (£5 return, included with Go Explore cards) was running that afternoon. Though less than a mile long, this volunteer-run steam line is another must-ride for rail enthusiasts. The Manx Electric Railway whisked me back south to Groudle Glen (a request stop), where a seven-minute walk through a temperate rainforest–clad glen led me to Lhen Coan Station.
'This was the Alton Towers of its day,' says Bill Cubbon, an engine driver and chairman of the Steam Railway Supporters' Association. He explains how, in 1896, an enterprising local opened a zoo and built a narrow-gauge railway to transport tourists there.
'There were polar bears, sealions and fortune tellers in the glen,' Bill added. 'These are the sorts of crazy things the Victorians thought nothing of financing!'
Now in his 70s, Bill has spent a lifetime restoring the Isle of Man's railways. The Groudle Glen Railway closed in 1962, but in the 1980s, a team of volunteer rail enthusiasts scoured the British Isles for narrow-gauge tracks, engines, and carriages before rebuilding the line. The zoo is long gone, but steam engines with names like Sea Lion, Polar Bear, and Otter preserve this quirky heritage. With Bill at the helm of Brown Bear, I rode the Groudle Glen Railway 'Uphill to the Sea', discovering the Sea Lion Rocks Cafe serving 'Steam Teas' with views of the cliffs where seal lions and polar bears once roamed.
'It's a special line', says Bill, of the nostalgic popularity of the Groudle Glen Railway.
'We must get thousands of passengers a year. Everyone asks when we're getting the polar bears and sea lions back. I say never. We have enough to look after on the railway!'
Essentials
EasyJet and Loganair fly to the Isle of Man from various UK airports. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company operates year-round ferry services to Douglas from Liverpool and Heysham, and seasonal summer services from Belfast and Dublin.
The Go Explore Heritage Card includes unlimited transport on the Isle of Man's railways and buses, and entry to Manx National Heritage Sites. A five-day adult pass costs £79. The Go Explore Card includes unlimited transport on railways and buses only, and is available for one-day (£21), three-days (£42), five-days (£49) and seven-days (£59).
Groudle Glen Railway only runs on Wednesday evenings (7-9pm) and Sundays (11am-4.30pm). Adult tickets are priced at £5 return (or included with Go Explore and Go Explore Heritage cards).
Entry to Manx National Heritage sites is also included in some National Trust and English Heritage memberships.
Where to stay
Comis Hotel & Golf Resort, a ten-minute drive from Douglas, offers doubles from £99, including breakfast.
Claremont Hotel on Douglas' promenade offers doubles from £129, including breakfast.
Sefton Hotel in Douglas offers doubles from £81, room only.
