St John's Railway Station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
(
Manx: ''Stashoon Raad Yiarn Valley Keeill Eoin'') was on the
Isle of Man Railway
The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) ( gv, Raad Yiarn Vannin) is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin on the Isle of Man. The line is narrow gauge and long. It is the remainder of what was a mu ...
(IMR), later merging with the nearby station of the
Manx Northern Railway
The Manx Northern Railway (MNR) was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905.
History
When the people in the town of Ramsey realised their town was not going to ...
(MNR); it was the junction of lines to Douglas,
Peel,
Ramsey
Ramsey may refer to:
Geography British Isles
* Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England
* Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England
** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey"
* Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...
and
Foxdale
Foxdale (; glv, Forsdal ; on, Fors-dal – 'waterfall dale or valley') consisting of the districts of Upper and Lower Foxdale on the A3 Castletown to Ramsey Road with the junction of the A24 Foxdale to Braaid road and the A40 ''The Hope'' road ...
. It was close to
Tynwald Hill
Tynwald Day ( gv, Laa Tinvaal) is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually observed on 5 July (if this is a Saturday or Sunday, then on the following Monday).
On this day, the Island's legislature, Tynwald, meets at St John's, instead of ...
.
Origins
The station began life in 1873 as the penultimate stop on the Peel Line, the island's first passenger railway line; it consisted of a simple wooden waiting shelter with accommodation for the station master, and a passing loop. This layout remained until the arrival of the new line from the north in 1879 when a second station was established, later merging with the existing one.
Significance
The station was the hub of the island's railway network, where the lines to
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
* Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
,
Peel,
Ramsey
Ramsey may refer to:
Geography British Isles
* Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England
* Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England
** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey"
* Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...
and
Foxdale
Foxdale (; glv, Forsdal ; on, Fors-dal – 'waterfall dale or valley') consisting of the districts of Upper and Lower Foxdale on the A3 Castletown to Ramsey Road with the junction of the A24 Foxdale to Braaid road and the A40 ''The Hope'' road ...
met. There were three stations within the area (see below) but only the original 1873 station serving the Peel line remained in use until the closure of this part of the network, with the Foxdale line station remaining in a derelict condition until the closure of the network. The station gained the nickname "The Manx
Crewe" owing to the amount of traffic.
George Albert Crellin
Born 2 November 1897, for many years the station master was George Albert Crellin, a well-known figure on the railway who latterly bought and lived with his wife Olga Evelyn Crellin (née Leece), in the original station house for the Foxdale line, which ceased to be used after the amalgamation. He features on many later photographs of the station and was a helpful figure who used to travel to the small signal cabin, or more accurately, point box, on his bicycle. He was the last station master, retiring in the final year, 1968. In retirement he still had an active involvement with the railway until his death on 24 February 1974
Three stations
Douglas - St John's - Peel
The original station had a simple building, north of the running line, to the same design as
Crosby Crosby may refer to:
Places
;Canada
*Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario
*Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario
;England
*Crosby, Cumbria
*Crosby, Lincolnshire
*Crosby, Merseyside
** Crosby (U ...
, a passing loop, goods siding and water tower. The MNR main line ran parallel to the Peel line for some distance west of the station before turning northwest.
St John's - Ramsey
The MNR line between Ramsey and St John's opened on 23 September 1879 and was operated by the IMR for its first eleven months. With the creation of a connection between the two railways, the 1873 station building was relocated south of the running lines,. A loop was installed on the site, and a small signal box - usually referred to as 'The Point Box' - containing a ten-lever Stevens and Co. frame was erected at the east end of the station to control the operating junction between the MNR and IMR. However, with the end of the working agreement with the IMR, the MNR established a simple station to the west of the level crossing at the Peel end of the IMR station. This was replaced in 1884 with a new station on the alignment of the Foxdale Railway, which was then under construction. For the next 15 years, MNR trains terminated at the "new" station, and only through carriages and goods traffic used the link between the IMR and MNR stations. However, the advent of the coastal electric railway from Douglas to Ramsey in 1899 caused the MNR to seek better through connections with the IMR. A new platform was constructed on the site of the original MNR station, with trains calling there for local traffic as well as at the IMR station on their way to/from Douglas. The site of this early station was cleared and eventually became the turntable road (see below). The IMR station expanded further in 1905 with the erection of a carriage shed.
St John's - Foxdale
In 1886 the
Foxdale Railway arrived and operated its trains to/from the MNR's 1884 "New" station which was a short distance north of IMR station on the west side of the road. On paper at least, some MNR trains ran through from Ramsey to Foxdale, but this arrangement may have ceased quite early on, and the service between St John's and Foxdale was usually handled by the Foxdale Coach (MNR 17; later MNR 15, and eventually F39) with a second carriage being added on busy days. It also catered for Ramsey-Douglas through services: through carriages between Ramsey and Douglas were detached from the MNR train and transferred between the two stations. From the 1884 station, the Foxdale line looped around the back (north side) of the IMR station and crossed the
Peel line. The bridge that carried the Foxdale Railway over the IMR remains in place at the eastern end of the site.
After amalgamation
At one time there was a
footbridge
A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
, but photographs show passengers still crossing the running lines (the platforms were very shallow) and by 1944 the bridge had been removed. The lines to
Peel and
Ramsey
Ramsey may refer to:
Geography British Isles
* Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England
* Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England
** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey"
* Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...
ran alongside each other as they left the station and trains often "raced" out of the station, even though timetables dictated they should not do so. The MNR station lost most of its passenger traffic after the
Isle of Man Railway
The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) ( gv, Raad Yiarn Vannin) is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin on the Isle of Man. The line is narrow gauge and long. It is the remainder of what was a mu ...
took over operation of the other two lines in 1905; it was used only for Foxdale services until 1927, after which all Foxdale services passed through and then reversed into the IMR station. These services were never very profitable and ended during 1943. The station building was converted into a house for the St John's stationmaster in 1906. The former Foxdale Railway station closed completely in 1960 at the same time as the Foxdale line. Latterly, disused rolling stock was stored in the station. The station building survives as a private dwelling.
Peak use
![IOMR maitland 1967](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/IOMR_maitland_1967.jpg)
The station often had busy periods, and was the hub of the railway network, although workshop and maintenance facilities were at
Douglas Station. Services from Douglas to Ramsey and Peel often arrived as a single train, which was divided at the eastern end of the station prior to entering the station for passengers to board and alight. Two locomotives would often double head this far, the first (or "pilot" locomotive) drawing forward into the platform whilst the second drew its portion forward onto the relevant platform, and the pilot then ran back to collect its coaches. Douglas services from Peel and Ramsey were often scheduled to join at the station. Thus all three platform faces could be occupied at the same time. Prior to 1940 trains also served Foxdale, but a separate station served this line. The busiest day was
Tynwald Day
Tynwald Day ( gv, Laa Tinvaal) is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually observed on 5 July (if this is a Saturday or Sunday, then on the following Monday).
On this day, the Island's legislature, Tynwald, meets at St John's, instead of ...
, when it was common to see the majority of the railway's rolling stock in service bringing passengers to the outdoor parliament ceremony, which took place a short walk from the station. For this occasion the railway operated a special unique timetable: trains often ran from dawn until well after midnight to cope with demand, and train movements were frequent throughout the day. It was common for all carriages to be in use and not unheard of for passengers to travel in open cattle vans and wagons and withdrawn carriages. Since closure the station site has been used for car parking for the ceremony.
Features
![St Johns FR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/St_Johns_FR.jpg)
From , the station was the site of the sole
turntable
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
on the network. It was purchased from the
West Clare Railway
The West Clare Railway (WCR) originally operated in County Clare, Ireland, between 1887 and 1961. This narrow-gauge railway ran from the county town of Ennis, via numerous stopping-points along the West Clare coast to two termini, at Kilrush a ...
in Ireland, after that company had been unable to accept delivery from the manufacturers Ransomes & Rapier Ltd of
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
. It was used to turn carriages to equalise weathering and wheel wear and tear. Use for turning of locomotives was not documented, and they usually ran "bunker first" towards Douglas. In the earliest years of the railway locomotives were turned to be chimney first towards Douglas if outstationed at Peel, Port Erin or Ramsey, but this practice was abandoned in the early years of the twentieth century. The turntable was removed in 1961 and stored at Douglas with the intention of using it to turn the recently acquired diesel railcars. This scheme never came to fruition and the turntable was moved to Ballasalla Station in 1974 and scrapped shortly thereafter. When the
Marquess of Ailsa took over the line in 1967 a display of disused locomotives was created at the station. After services ceased in 1968 the carriage shed was used to store surplus rolling stock which was moved back to
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
* Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
for use on the south line as required. In 1975 there were two disastrous fires in the shed, and much historic stock was lost. After this the site was used for storing rails as the track was dismantled, and cleared by the late 1970s to become a car park. There was a
gravel siding at one time at the eastern end of the station beyond the Foxdale line overbridge, which used temporary ''Jubilee'' rail and operated on 2' 0" gauge independently of the railway, although a siding to access this was installed.
Today
A new primary school has been built on the site, opened by
Queen Elizabeth II in 2003, but the site remains accessible for a train should the services be reintroduced. The station would have to be downsized and/or relocated.
Routes
See also
*
Isle of Man Railway stations
*
St John's, Isle of Man
References
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Johns railway station
Railway stations in the Isle of Man
Railway stations opened in 1873
Railway stations closed in 1968