Kirk Michael railway station
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Kirk Michael Station
Stashoon Skyll Mayl |
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The Isle of Man Railway Co., Ltd. The Manx Northern Railway Co., Ltd. |
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| Location | Station Road, Kirk Michael | |
| Coordinates | 54.284°N 4.587°W | |
| Owned by | Isle of Man Railway Co. | |
| Line(s) | North Line | |
| Platforms | Two (Ground Level) | |
| Tracks | Running Lines & Sidings | |
| Construction | ||
| Structure type | Station & Goods Shed | |
| Parking | None Provided | |
| History | ||
| Opened | 23 September 1879 | |
| Closed | 6 September 1968 | |
| Previous names | Manx Northern Railway Co. | |
| Traffic | ||
| Passengers / Livestock / Freight | ||
| Services | ||
| Booking Facilities / Waiting Room / Toilets
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Kirk Michael Railway Station was an intermediate station on the Manx Northern Railway (MNR), which ran between St. John's and Ramsey in the Isle of Man, later owned and operated by the Isle of Man Railway; it served the village of Kirk Michael.
Kirk Michael was about halfway between Ramsey and St. John's, and was planned as a passing place for trains when the line was first surveyed in 1877. Kirk Michael was the largest village between the two termini, and the MNR intended it to be a main intermediate station. The station was opened on 23 September 1879.
The station was provided with quite substantial sandstone, slate roofed buildings, consisting of station master's office and waiting room. The main station building was constructed, like other stations on this line, in local red sandstone, in a style to those elsewhere on the route; a similar one still also remains at St. Germain's.
A small goods shed was provided upon opening; it was later rebuilt. The new building remains on site today; it is stone-built by the Isle of Man Railway in 1923 in improve capacity, owing to an increase in freight traffic. It is not in the distinctive red sandstone of the station and has a more utilitarian appearance.
There was a water tank at the southern end of the station, which was used by locomotives travelling in either direction, though more the engines of southbound trains would uncouple from the train to take water here, in order to not block the level crossing. The long run from Ramsey with longer trains sometimes required a watering stop on route. The tower was a simple brick-built construction and was demolished in 1975 at the same time as the rails and sleepers through the station were lifted.
The station was near the centre of Kirk Michael, on a minor road leading to the coast. At the top of Station Road the follows spreads out; nearby were a branch of the Isle of Man Bank (closed in 2014 after over 100 years of service), the Mitre Hotel, the local primary school, village stores, local blacksmith, village butchers and the imposing Kirk Michael church with its oak-carved lychgate. The main road through the village forms part of the famous TT mountain circuit. After the railway closed, a steam centre was established not far from the station and this became home to a number of related items, most notably the locomotive Sea Lion from the Groudle Glen Railway. This facility was occasionally open to the public, but closed in 1984; much of the exhibits were relocated both on and off island. Several of them may be found today at the Jurby Transport Museum forming part of the John Walton Collection.
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Wikipedia