Union Mills railway station

Union Mills Railway Station Stashoon Mwyllin Doo Aah
The Isle of Man Railway Co., Ltd.
Coordinates	54° 10′ 8.4″ N, 4° 31′ 12″ W
Owned by	Isle Of Man Railway Co.
Line(s)	Peel Line
Platforms	Raised, "Up" Only
Tracks	Running Lines & Sidings
Construction
Structure type	Cattle Dock
Parking	Roadside
History
Opened	1 July 1873
Closed	9 September 1968
Rebuilt	1892 (Timber Structure)
Services
Toilets, Waiting Room, Booking Facilities

Union Mills Railway Station was an intermediate stop on the Isle of Man Railway; it served the village of Union Mills in the Isle of Man and was a stopping place on a line that ran between Douglas and Peel. It was part of the island's first railway line and the first official stopping place.

The station was established as the first official stopping place for trains on the line when it opened in 1873. The village at that time was an important trading point previously served only by horse and cart from the capital of Douglas. It was the arrival of the railway that saw the small hamlet expand over several years to become a larger village.

from opening, it boasted a long winding full-height platform on the "up" side serviced trains westward bound; originally fitted with minimal passenger facilities, including a diminutive timber sentry box for the pointsman at the easterly end, it was later fitted with a long passing loop for trains and a variety of cattle pens and sidings, feeding off the westward platform, though in an easterly direction. Being a largely exposed area when established, the planting of a variety of plants (notably rhododendrons) in the earliest years of the railway meant that it was a largely shaded area. It lies beneath the main road and was accessed via a set of steps, to a wooden station building and platform area. The station closed in 1961 but was reopened in 1967 and was finally closed with the railway in 1968.

The timber station building here was the only one of its kind on the railway and was erected in 1892 at the westerly end of the station close to the entrance. It had a sloping roof with passenger shelter and basic staff facilities. It fell out of use after the second world war when the next station at Crosby was favoured for the passing of services, although remained in periodic use until the closure of the railway. It was demolished in 1974 at the same time as the rails and sleepers were lifted from the site, leaving only the platform in situ. A wooden sentry box protected the station's easterly end in the earliest years of the railway.

The station gardens were well-known locally for their beautiful displays that were tended by the station master and his staff. The station was often awarded the prize for best-kept station on the entire network and was featured in many popular picture postcards of the era.

In 1925 a Douglas-bound train failed to collect the guard/brakesman upon setting off from Union Mills resulting the train, hauled by No. 3 Pender of 1873, having insufficient braking capability upon arrival at the terminus; it crashed through the buffer stops at Douglas and the fireman was killed. This was the most notable accident in the railway's history. Long-term station master Mr. Hogg was also killed at the station when he fell between two carriages as a train pulled away from the station. In 1967 it was the site of a head-on collision between two trains, this largely being put down to the inexperience of the new operator of the railway, Lord Ailsa; locomotives No. 10 G.H. Wood and No. 5 Mona were damaged by the incident, No. 10 receiving buckled main frames.

...
Wikipedia