Port St Mary railway station
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Port St. Mary Railway Station
Stashoon Phurt Le Moirrey |
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| The Isle of Man Railway Co., Ltd. | ||
The 1898 Station Structure
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| Location | Station Road, Port St. Mary, Isle of Man, IM8 4FW. |
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| Coordinates |
Ordnance Survey National Grid 54.081°N 4.743°W |
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| Owned by |
Isle of Man Government Department of Infrastructure |
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| Line(s) |
Port Erin (South) Line Between Douglas & Port Erin |
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| Platforms |
One, Raised One Goods, Disused |
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| Tracks |
Running Line Goods Siding |
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| Construction | ||
| Structure type | Station & Goods Shed | |
| Parking | Dedicated, At Rear | |
| Disabled access | Yes | |
| History | ||
| Opened | 1 August 1874 | |
| Closed | Seasonally Since 1965 | |
| Rebuilt | 1898 / 1901 | |
| Previous names | Isle Of Man Railway Co. | |
| Traffic | ||
| Passenger Only (Since 1969, Goods Previously) | ||
| Services | ||
| Toilets, Waiting Room, Booking Facilities
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Port St. Mary Railway Station is a station in Port St Mary in the south of the Isle of Man and is served by the Isle of Man Railway, having first opened in 1874 when the line to nearby Port Erin was completed. It forms part of the sole remaining section of the railway which once covered a network of some 46 miles across the island.
When first opened the station was complemented by a wooden station structure with corrugated iron roof similar to that which still exists at Santon Santon but at around the turn of the twentieth century this was replaced by the building which remains today. The village only received a station at all following public outcry when the proposed route was announced, with a request to deviate the line also being submitted, This was not carried out however, resulting in today's station being some distance from the heart of the village it serves. A small timber goods shed was provided in 1880 being of similar style to those elsewhere on the route.
The goods shed was used as the set for Burnett Stone's workshop on Muffle Mountain for the filming of Thomas and the Magic Railroad along with several other railway locations. The engines of the Isle of Man Railway however did not appear in the film. For filming purposes the interior of the shed was dressed to become a workshop where the engine Lady resided; at this time the fabric of the building was also restored, with new external doors and improved lighting. The exterior also saw use in 2001 when it was used for a night shoot for the Channel Four production of Cinderella which also featured the locomotive Caledonia, then carrying the deep blue livery. Sequences for various other productions have used the station in more recent times, these include The Ginger Tree in 1988, The Brylcreem Boys in 1999 and various episodes of documentaries featuring the island, notably Wish You Were Here...
The impressive two-storey station building would lead the casual observer to think it to be the railway's terminus which is in fact just under a mile away at Port Erin; it was constructed by a local firm in 1898 to serve the large demand of tourists for whom the village was a popular resort. It is the only "proper" station on the line to not have a passing loop, owing to its close location to the southern terminus. The station remains under the ownership of the railway but has been largely out of use. In 1980 the station was converted by the company Campamarina for use in conjunction with their Trailblazers holiday scheme and was used as a hostel (the buildings at Castletown Station were similarly treated at the same time). At this time the railway passed over the use of the whole building, and the station staff were subsequently housed in a garden shed-type structure on the platform. When the usage change, the canopy structure that runs parallel to the platform was bricked in and remains so today, although latterly the station master is once again housed in the building itself, albeit in a smaller office using part of the original ladies' waiting room. The ground floor consists of a large reception room with open fireplace and toilet facilities; formerly there was a refreshment room here too. The upper storey is served by one staircase and has a row of bedrooms running from a corridor which runs along the railway side of the building. Today the upper storey lies empty.
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Wikipedia