Ballasalla railway station

Ballasalla Railway Station Stashoon Balley Sallagh
The Isle of Man Railway Co., Ltd.
The 1986 Replacement Building
Location	Railway Terrace, Station Road, Ballasalla, Isle of Man, IM9 2FR.
Coordinates	Ordnance Survey National Grid 54°05′46″N 4°37′49″W
Owned by	Isle of Man Government Department of Infrastructure
Line(s)	Port Erin (South) Line (Between Douglas & Port Erin)
Platforms	Two, Raised (Full Height, One Disused) One Goods (Disused)
Tracks	Two Running Lines Goods Siding (Disused)
Construction
Structure type	Station, Gatehouse & Water Tower
Parking	Dedicated, Adjacent
History
Opened	1 August 1874
Closed	Seasonally Since 1965
Rebuilt	1901 / 1962 / 1985
Traffic
Passenger Only since 1965, previously Goods, Livestock & Freight
Services
Patrons' Toilets, Sheltered Waiting Areas, Raised Platforms, Information Displays

Ballasalla railway station is located in the village of Ballasalla in the south of the Isle of Man, close to the airport, and is served on a seasonal basis by the Isle of Man Railway. It forms part of the sole remaining section of the once extensive network that operated across the island. Ballasalla was the usual crossing point for trains, making it popular with photographers, until the introduction of the 2015 timetable which saw all trains passing at Castletown and the effective closure of Ballasalla as a manned station, save for special events.

The original wooden railway station was built in 1874 (to the same design as that still extant at Santon, the next halt eastwards on the line). Being a market village the railway station soon acquired cattle docks and goods platforms.

The original building was demolished in 1985 and replaced by a brick building housing a small ticket office and waiting area, which was built in 1985 and was opened in 1986 by Jack Nivison, the former President of the Legislative Council of the Isle of Man and MHK for Middle. Before this, the railway station, like several intermediate stopping places on the line, did not provide passenger platforms. The new building, however, was built at platform height, and the platform was long enough for a five-coach train, later increased to seven. The railway station also has a stone-built water tower and crossing-keeper's hut; the latter was extensively modified to house the now-defunct mechanical railway station gates. A crossing-keeper's house on the other side of the road is now a private dwelling. In 2002 the opposite side of the line also received a full-length platform, which also serves the goods siding, and a modern bus shelter was also installed; the platform edging used had previously been employed for the former South Line departure roads at Douglas railway station and was retained for future use when lifted in 1979. There was also a goods shed on the site — a reused wooden building originally from the prisoner of war camp at Knockaloe near Peel, which was also served by the railway during the First World War. Although now extensively modernised and not really recognisable as the railway station that existed until 1985, it remains one of the most picturesque settings on the line and was popular with photographers who had the opportunity to take images of two trains at once. From 2001 to 2012 this railway station was the only crossing place in regular use on the line, as after timetable changes in 2001 there were no crossing trains at Castletown railway station. However, with the introduction of a more intensive high season timetable in 2012, with six trains each way instead of the usual four, some trains have once again been crossing at Castletown, and all trains from 2015.

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Wikipedia