Groudle Glen Railway - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Groudle Glen Railway is a narrow gauge railway north of Douglas

Douglas, Isle of Man

right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...

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...

which is owned and operated by members of the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association

Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association

The Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association is a railway preservationist group dedicated to the continued operation of the Isle of Man Railway on the Isle of Man Since its inception in 1966 the group have provided volunteer workers and a watchdog role and commenced its own project in the...

and operates on summer Sundays; May to September and Wednesday evenings in July and August along with a number of annual special events.

History

1896 – 1939
Built in the late Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

in response to increasing demand for transportation down Groudle Glen

Groudle Glen

Groudle, a glen on the outskirts of Onchan on the Isle of Man, is formed in a valley leading to the sea at the small port of the same name. It was a remote hamlet boasting only a handful of small cottages until linked to the Manx Electric Railway in 1893, at which time it was developed as a...

brought on by the introduction of the Manx Electric Railway

Manx Electric Railway

The Manx Electric Railway is an electric inter-urban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Castle at the northern end of the promenade in Douglas, and with the Snaefell Mountain Railway at...

. The headland was developed, with a zoo

Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

being created and the railway being built. The gauge line ran from the upper part of the glen, Lhen Coan, to the Zoo at Sea Lion Rocks. The line opened on May 23, 1896 and started with one engine, called Sea Lion, and three coaches. The engine was built by W.G. Bagnall Ltd.

W.G. Bagnall

W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England. It was founded in 1875 by William Gordon Bagnall and ceased trading in 1962 when it was taken over by English Electric Co Ltd. The company was located at the Castle Engine Works, in Castle Town, Stafford...

of Castle Engine Works, Stafford

Stafford

Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...

. The line became so popular that a further engine, Polar Bear, and additional coach stock was purchased. The railway operated very successfully until the outbreak of the First World War when all services ceased and the associated zoo was closed. When the line re-opened the locomotives were overhauled and returned to service but by 1921 they had been replaced with battery-operated

Battery (electricity)

An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...

engines. These proved troublesome and after proving inefficient and costly, they were dropped, the original steam locomotives being overhauled and returned to service. The railway once again closed during the Second World War and the zoo closed for good, it being reported that the animals had been released! A landslide during the war years ensured that services could not return to the original terminus.

1950 – 1981
The line took some time to re-open after the war, the draw of the zoo being lost meaning the glen itself was less frequently visited. Only one locomotive returned, for the 1950 season but over the next twelve years the seasons were somewhat sporadic and no timetable was officially issued. 1962 proved the final season, with "Polar Bear" refusing to hold a head of steam. The final two seasons were known as the "fairground era" as the stock was all painted in loud colours with blue and red dominating, and fairground-style lettering and lining applied to the locomotive. By the late 1960s the engines had been removed from the glen and Polar Bear was restored as an operating exhibit at Amberley Working Museum

Amberley Working Museum

Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre is a museum at Amberley, near Arundel in West Sussex, England.The museum was founded in 1979 by the Southern Industrial History Centre Trust and has previously been known as the Amberley Working Museum, Amberley Chalk Pits Museum or plain Amberley Museum.The museum...

, West Sussex

West Sussex

West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...

and Sea Lion was taken to Loughborough

Loughborough

Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...

where it remained until 1987 when it was finally restored and returned to service on the restored line. The railway became a footpath, only to be disturbed by the occasional walker. It seemed that this unique piece of Manx heritage was lost. Much of the railway's infrastructure was lost at this time, the distinctive station canopy being demolished in 1979 and the remaining smaller buildings lost also.

1982 – 1991
In 1982, the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association

Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association

launched a plan to restore the line and work began clearing twenty years worth of undergrowth that had reclaimed the trackbed. In time for December 1983 a short section from the old lime kiln to the headland had been re-built and the railway commenced its Santa Train operation, now an established part of the island's social calendar. Little by little the line was relaid to the glen terminus of Lhen Coan and a station was created at the headland with run-round facilities. The railway was officially re-opened on 23 May 1986 by Carolyn Rawson as part of the Manx Heritage Year and a tree planted to mark the event in Lhen Coan station. The most significant event at this time was the return of the original steam locomotive "Sea Lion" in September 1987, which was much heralded in the local press. By 1991 the decision had been made to excavate the final section of the line from the headland loop to the former terminus at Sea Lion Rocks and the run-round loop was lifted at the end of the 1991 season when the major earthworks began to relay the original section to the outer terminus.

1992 – 2002
The extension, recreating the line to its original three quarter-mile length was duly opened on 23 July 1992, and this was followed in 1993 with the opening of the distinctive Swiss-style station canopy at Lhen Coan, a feature of so many postcards of the glen, as part of the Year Of Railways

Year of Railways

The Year of Railways was a series of special events held on the Isle of Man during 1993 to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the first section of the Manx Electric Railway from Douglas to Groudle in September 1893....

celebration. It was during this year that "Polar Bear" also returned to the glen for a visit. It was a time of great change for the line, with many improvements being introduced by the volunteers. Visiting locomotives were a feature in 1995 (Chaloner and Rishra) and in 1998 as part of the Steam 125

Steam 125

Steam 125 was a series of events held in 1998 to mark the 125th anniversary of the Isle of Man Railway opening its first route from Douglas to Peel the railway ran a large number of special events. Most notable was the return to service of the original steam locomotive No...

event marking the anniversary of the island's main railway. Planning permission was granted in 1999 for the volunteers to erect a replacement station building at Sea Lion Rocks and by the summer of 2000 work was well in hand. The station building opened the following year but it was in 2003 that the interior of the station was completed and since this time it has proved to be the major draw to the railway, aside from the unique steam locomotives. The station and surrounding area have since received much attention as ongoing projects and the development of the site has also revived interest in the amazing zoo that once drew in the crowds, the remains of which are still viewable from the station site.

2003 –
The addition of a replica battery electric locomotive in 2003 completed the line's historical line-up of locomotives and a return visit from Polar Bear for her own centenary in 2005 was repaid by Sea Lion making her first trip to Amberley Chalk Pits in the same year. Back on the railway, in 2007 a new purpose-built locomotive shed was erected on the site of the original, but to a larger scale, and a mess hut was installed making the station at Lhen Coan a transformed area, in keeping with the original site. In September 2007 the railway marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of restoration by unveiling a plaque at Lhen Coan station. This event also marked the official opening by Annie Craine

Annie Craine

Anne Valerie Craine JP MHK was the Minister for the Treasury for the Isle of Man between 2010 and 2011 and Member of the House of Keys for Ramsey. Before that, she was previously the Minister of Education between 2006 and 2010. She was elected at the 2003 by-election...

MHK

Member of the House of Keys

Member of the House of Keys, or MHK is the title given to a person who has been elected into the House of Keys, the lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man. There are twenty-four Members of the House of Keys. Elections are held every five years; the last election took place in...

of the railway's new purpose built locomotive shed. Plans were well in hand to rebuild the souvenir shop at Lhen Coan in a style similar to the distinctive station canopy and the close of the 2008 season saw the previous incarnation dismantled in readiness for the erection of the new, pre-fabricated version on the same site. A mock signal box was also completed to cover the side of the volunteers' mess room in this year also, and by December work was in hand to close the shop for good after the Santa Trains. The new shop opened fully for Easter 2010 and now dominates the station site. In 2010 an appeal was launched to raise the £30,000 required to extend the Sea Lion Rocks Tea Rooms to provide toilet facilities, a power supply and improved patio area, this is due to be started during the 2011 season.

Stations

Despite being under one mile long, the railway does have intermediate stations, although only one of them is still operational for passengers and the other forms the site of the current passing loop when two trains are in operation (this was extended in 2011 to allow trains with more coaches to pass each other unhindered); the outer terminus is home to the visitor centre whilst the inner station houses all the running sheds and the railway's workshops.

Lhen Coan Station, the lower terminus where all the rolling stock is housed, the only intermediate halt on the railway, the halfway point
Headland Station, now closed, one-time terminus of the line prior to 1991, outer terminus on the cliffs above the old zoo

Each of the railway's stations is now colour coded, with all station furniture, waiting shelters, etc., in a corresponding scheme. The terminus at Lhen Coan is in brown and cream (similar to Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

stations), with Lime Kiln Halt in a green scheme (similar to the Southern Railway

Southern Railway (Great Britain)

The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...

) and Sea Lion Rocks in a bright shade of red/maroon. In the past each station was decorated in a house style of deep brown and cream throughout the period 1991-2000, changing to individual station colour schemes thereafter, although individual shades used have varied since this time.

Operations

Seasonal

When it originally opened in 1896 the line ran a very intense all-day every-day service in season. A fourth coach was ordered within the first year to cope with demand, followed by a further locomotive and four coaches eight years later. Today is a different story, the railway operates to a set timetable annually with trains running every Sunday between May and September, with the first train at 11:00 am and final departure at 4:30 pm; in addition to this evening services operate between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm on Wednesdays in July and August, and Tuesdays in August only. One of the resident steam locomotives is in service wherever possible for each of the advertised operating days. When the line first re-opened services were also provided on bank holidays and public holidays but this practice has been discontinued in more recent years. As part of the involvement with the Year Of Railways

Year of Railways

in 1993 and subsequent anniversaries, the line has operated daily for periods of up to one week, the last being as part of Steam 125

Steam 125

in 1998 when visiting locomotives were in attendance. The railway's current standard timetable can be found at its website including details of special services.

Christmas

The first services ever operated on the newly-restored railway were the Santa Trains in 1983 which have since proved to the be highlight of the line's calendar; they began life as one day of operation the weekend before Christmas Day but today these extend to two weekends of trains, which are the railway's busiest period of year, culminating in the popular Mince Pie Trains which are a regular fixture each Boxing Day when many locals visit the line for a return journey and a seasonal drink and mince pie. The station at Lhen Coan is transformed into a grotto area for these services and the volunteers spend many hours preparing the site for the festive services, and one of the railway's two diesel locomotives is renamed as "Blizten" for the day, originally the traditional name of "Rudolph" was applied but this was changed in 1997 following requests.

Easter

Since the restoration of the railway began the line has always opened for the Easter weekend but the bunny trains only commenced in 1997 and were introduced following a request for them from the Isle of Man Hospice Care which has close ties with the railway, the train services being provided free of charge. However, following the success of the venture, the next year the railway embarked on its own enterprise and provided the bunny express trains for their own profit and they became an immediate success, with the full line being utilised (rather than the glen section which is used at Christmas). In addition to the two steam locomotive being in operation providing a top-and-tail train service (this ensures speedy turnaround and removes the necessity for locomotives to run round their trains at either end of the line), the Easter Bunny

Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny or Easter Rabbit is a character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs, who sometimes is depicted with clothes...

is on hand to distribute chocolate eggs at the outer terminus, second only to the Santa Trains these services which operate on Easter Sunday and Monday are the line's busiest and provide a bump start to each summer season.

Jester Express

As part of the railway's fundraising drive for a new station building at Sea Lion Rocks terminus some special event days were run at weekends in either July or August, during the school summer holidays, for three years from 2000 to 2002. The outer terminus of the line at was transformed into an Arthurian themed area for the day, with two volunteers (acting as train guards) dressed as jesters, much to the amusement of the children, and a bouncy castle presided over by Merlin

Merlin

Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...

, and King Arthur

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

in attendance to greet children; a set of stocks were the biggest draw for the children however, and these trains were very popular with local residents, with associated stalls, raffles and light refreshments being made available. A shortage of volunteer labour in subsequent years resulted in this innovative family day being dropped from the railway's calendar, but the event returned for the 2010 Season.

Other Events

As part of a new drive to attract more local visitors to the line and to recruit new volunteers to run the line, a wide programme of special events were introduced for the 2010 season. Alongside the annual Easter Bunny Trains and Santa Specials, the Jester Express Fun Day returned in July, alongside the new Diesel & Electric Day in May, the Father's Day Trains in June and the Teddy Bear's Picnic in August.
Another new initiative for 2010 was the introduction of Driver Experience sessions, bookable by the railway's website, a 2 hour session on the footplate of locomotive Annie is offered as a hands on experience. It is planned that this driver experience will be further developed in 2011 with the session becoming a 3 hour experience including the participant taking part in raising steam and preparing the locomotive, along with refreshments and an accompanying guest included in the price.

Locomotives

The original steam locomotive remains in regular traffic and is supplemented by a further replica locomotive, two diesel locomotives and a replica battery electric vehicle. In addition to this a further diesel locomotive owned by one of the volunteers is in store on the line with a view to possible restoration and entry into traffic. In the past there have been further locomotives, most notably a sister to Sea Lion, two original battery electric locomotives and several visitors.

Sea Lion
Sea Lion (locomotive)
Sea Lion is a steam locomotive built in 1896 to supply the motive power to the Groudle Glen Railway on the Isle of Man and the locomotive still provides the main traction there today. The locomotive was built by W.G. Bagnall & Co., Stafford and delivered to the line in May of that year, providing...

(1896) the line's original locomotive, restored and resident
Polar Bear
Polar Bear (locomotive)
Polar Bear is a Bagnall steam locomotive built in 1905 for the Groudle Glen Railway, to supplement the similar Sea Lion. The two Bagnalls were temporarily taken out of service in the 1920s when they were replaced by a pair of battery locomotives. These proved unsatisfactory, and Polar Bear and...

(1905) now resident at the Amberley Museum Railway
Amberley Museum Railway
The Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre Railway is a gauge railway based at the Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre, Amberley, West Sussex. It has a varied collection of engines and rolling stock ranging from gauge to gauge...

but has returned for visits
Annie
Annie (locomotive)
Annie is a steam locomotive that operates on the Groudle Glen Railway on the Isle of Man.-Design:She was built by Richard Booth to the design of a 1911 locomotive of the same name that was shipped to New Zealand to operate the Gentle Annie Tramway...

(1998) the island's newest locomotive, a replica of another locomotive
Dolphin
Dolphin (locomotive)
Dolphin is a diesel locomotive currently based on the Groudle Glen Railway. Dolphin has a sister locomotive Walrus.-Early career:...

(1952) second-hand diesel locomotive purchased in 1983 for use
Walrus
Walrus (locomotive)
Walrus is a diesel locomotive currently on the Groudle Glen Railway. Walrus has a sister locomotive called Dolphin.-Early career:...

(1952) second-hand diesel locomotive purchased in 1983 for use
Polar Bear
Polar Bear Replica
Polar Bear is a battery-electric locomotive built by Alan Keef in 2003 for the Groudle Glen Railway in the Isle of Man, where it currently resides. It was built on the frame of a 1988-built vehicle of similar design and has a newly-fabricated body replicating that of two similar locomotives that...

(2003) replica of the original locomotive, in service
Parracombe
Parracombe (locomotive)
Parracombe is the name of a steam outline Baguley diesel locomotive that currently resides on the Groudle Glen Railway in the Isle of Man in private ownership. It has not operated in service on the railway since arriving in 2007 from the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in Devon, where it had seen...

(1947) current railway resident, never used, undergoing restoration
Chaloner
Chaloner (locomotive)
0-4-0VBT Chaloner is an example of de Winton's distinctive vertical-boilered design, as used for many years in the North Wales slate quarries. It was built in 1877 at the Union Works in Caernarfon....

(1877) visited the line in 1995 and 1999 from the mainland
Jack (1925) lived on the railway between 1992 and 1996, now off-island
Rishra
Rishra (Locomotive)
0-4-0T Rishra was built in 1921 by Baguley Cars Ltd. It was repatriated from its Indian resting place at a water works in Kolkata by Michael Satow, the founder of the Indian Railways Museum in New Delhi....

(1921) visited the line in 1995 from the mainland
Jonathan
Hunslet Engine Company
The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for...

(1878) visited the line in 1998 as part of Steam 125

Since restoration a number of visiting locomotives have operated on the line; following Kerr Stuart

Kerr Stuart

Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as James Kerr & Company, and became Kerr, Stuart & Company from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a partner...

Peter Pan in 1991, there were Rishra and Chaloner from the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway

Leighton Buzzard Light Railway

The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway is a narrow gauge light railway in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, England. It operates on a gauge, and is just under long. The line was built after the First World War to serve sand quarries north of the town...

in 1995 as part of the International Railway Festival in conjunction with the centenary of the Snaefell Mountain Railway

Snaefell Mountain Railway

The Snaefell Mountain Railway is an electric mountain railway on the Isle of Man in Europe. It joins the town of Laxey with the summit of Snaefell, at above sea level the highest point on the island. It connects with the Manx Electric Railway in Laxey. The line is long, built to gauge and...

, followed by Quarry Hunslet locomotive Jonathan in 1998. Subsequent returns by Chaloner have also been made, and the line's other original locomotive, Polar Bear, has returned in 1993 as part of the Year of Railways

Year of Railways

, in 1996 for the railway's centenary and again in 2005 for her own 100th birthday. Since being sold, Jack has also made one return visit in 1999, and future visits for other locomotives are being planned.

Stock

Carriages

The railway originally had a total of eight four-wheeled coaches delivered in three batches; three were delivered in 1896 for the opening of the railway followed by one more shortly thereafter to cope with passenger demand, and a further batch of four arrived in 1905 with the second locomotive. Several parts of these vehicles were saved from the site after closure resulting in ultimate restoration of many of the coaches both on the railway and off-island. The restored railway now operates with four of these four-wheeled toastrack coaches in addition to the set of three bogie coaches

Groudle Glen Railway Fleet

This is a general list of rolling stock and locomotives currently or formerly on the Groudle Glen Railway on the Isle of Man.-Steam:*Sea Lion built by W. G. Bagnall in 1896, works no. 1484, still working...

that were built between 1985 and 1994 by the railway's volunteers based upon second hand underframes they had purchased, with a further underframe functioning as a runner in the early years of operations.

Non-passenger stock

Originally, as the railway was built entirely as a pleasure line, being manually constructed with no use of rail wagons, there were no non-passenger vehicles supplied to the railway but it is known that latterly, at least one of the original four-wheeled toastrack-type coaches had its bodywork removed and was used as a runner, supplying stock for the Headland Cafe below the line's later terminus. When the restoration began the volunteers required permanent way rolling stock to further the rebuild and so purchased a set of six "bomb" wagons from the R.A.F. base at Fauld near Uxotter, but of these only five have seen service on the line and until recently all have remained on site, out of use in poor condition. In 2010 it was decided that the two wagons in best condition would be retained and repaired for works use whilst the remaining wagons would be scrapped.

Modern Stock

The initial basis of freight stock has been supplemented in recent years by a series of flatbed runners (both four-wheelers and longer bogie stock), a large second hand four-wheeled brake van and a tipper wagon, the latter not being used in regular operation. As part of the Steam 125

Steam 125

railway celebrations that took place in 1998 the railway played host to its most unusual visitor, a hand made rail bike from Dr Karl Pischl in Austria. This unusual home-made vehicle was effectively a four-wheeled bicycle on flanged wheels.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Stations

Operations

Locomotives

Stock

See also

External links