| Station Name: |
Foxdale |
| Manx Name: |
Forsdaal |
| Distance: |
2 Miles, 50 Chains (From St. John's) |
| Opened: |
16th August 1886 |
| Closed: |
30th September 1943 (Passengers) |
| The station building, which remains extant today, is a single storey affair and was located on a single platform. A substantial building for what remained an under-used line, the area was known as the "back of the moon" owing to the large amounts of mine spoil that were deposited around the station giving it an other-worldly appearance. When the railway arrived the thriving ore mining industry in the village was still popular, but after the mines closed in 1911 the line became something of a back water with minimal trains operating. The line was a hard slog on a consistent steep gradient worked almost exclusively by the Dubs-built 0-6-0 Caledonia. The station featured the only "diamond" crossover pointwork on the line and there was a siding that connected it to the mine workings, rails from which are still set into the macadam of the roadway to this day. The rails remained in situ well after closure only being lifted in 1974 and there were unrecorded stories of trains passing over the metals shortly before. However, the last recorded train reaching the station was in 1963 to recover stock. When the railway network was re-opened in 1967 inherited by Lord Ailsa the line was not re-opened but it is interesting to speculate whether a loco was ever sent up the line during this time. |
|
Foxdale Line (1886) 
.
