Having been registered as a limited company as early as 16th November 1882 it wasn't until four years later that this short line was opened.  Although a separate undertaking from the 1879 line to the northern town of Ramsey, the directors of the Manx Northern Railway also served on the board of the Foxdale Branch.  The official opening took place on 16th August 1886 although small numbers of freight trains passed over the line in the few months prior to this; the original company went into liquidation by 1891 becoming part of the northern line's responsibilities after this time.

This short line was just two and a half miles in length and ran from St. John's to the village of Foxdale.  It was built to serve the small mining community there; the village is situated in centre of the island and the line was primarily built to serve the mine workings there.  It was the shortest-lived of all lines on the network and the least used; the closure of the mines in 1911 ensured its fate but it did not close to passengers entirely until 1940.  Goods trains were recorded over the metals as late as 1967 for collection of materials, but despite the closure, the rails (which were on base plated chaired track thrroughout) were not lifted until much later.

The line was provided with its own single bogie coach, known as the Foxdale Coach or sometimes Kitto's Coach, after the mines' captain.  When the line was absorbed by the Manx Northern Railway it became M.N.R. No. 15 and upon the merger with the Isle of Man Railway Co., in 1905 it was again re-numbered to become F.39.  The line was worked primarily by Caledonia whose capabilities were ideal for the heavy lead ore trains.  Other locomotives did however venutre onto the line following the merger but today little remains of the line, save for the trackbed and station building at the outer terminus.

One intermediate halt was provided, at Waterfalls, but facilities there were basic to say the least.  The line climbed a steady 1 in 49 gradient for the majority of its length, crossing over the Douglas-Peel line at the throat of St. John's station by means of an overbridge that remains extant today.  A further viaduct crossing the St. John's-Foxdale road was also installed, but only the piers of this structure remain today, the plate metal of the bridgework having been removed as late as 1975.  The trackbed today forms a footpath and bridleway.

What follows are specific articles about each of the line's stations detailing their opening and closing dates, and other relevant information.  Other information about the line can be found in the locomotives index under Caledonia and the passenger stock menu for F.39 also gives further details of this unique coach, still in operation today as a true survivor of this charming branch line.