Heritage route
Isle of Man Steam Railway
Douglas → Port Erin · Isle of Man
Victorian Beyer Peacock tanks of 1874 still haul their original carriages down 25 km of 3 ft gauge to the island’s southern tip.
The Isle of Man Railway once webbed the whole island; what survives is the 1874 Port Erin line, still worked by its original Beyer Peacock tank engines and wooden carriages. From the Douglas seafront the 3 ft gauge tracks roll through glens and fuchsia hedgerows to Castletown, the island’s ancient capital, and on to the beach at Port Erin. It is government-run rather than a volunteer heritage line: simply a Victorian railway that never stopped.
Along the way
- Douglas terminus
- Port Soderick glen
- Santon farmland
- Castletown & Castle Rushen
- Port St Mary bay
- Port Erin beach
How this line was checked
- Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 148241 — the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within under 25 m of them
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 4 m from it
- Wikipedia has an article for this line
- See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it
Questions and answers
How long is the Isle of Man Steam Railway?
The Isle of Man Steam Railway runs 25 km from Douglas to Port Erin.
How long does the Isle of Man Steam Railway take?
The fastest scheduled journey is 1 h for the 25 km. That is an average of 25 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 40 km/h.
Who runs the Isle of Man Steam Railway?
Isle of Man Transport, with Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T steam.
How old is the Isle of Man Steam Railway?
The line has been in service since 1874. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.
How often does the Isle of Man Steam Railway run?
Up to 7 return trips daily (Mar–Nov).
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More train routes in Isle of Man.