M is for Isle of Man Transport (Part 7: A visit to Laxey)

Friday 23rd June 2023

To round off this week’s daily blogs featuring Isle of Man Transport and its unique and varied modal offerings I’m going slightly off topic to feature one of two other railways you can visit on the Island which don’t come under the purview of the Government but are nonetheless great tourist attractions and well worth visiting.

They’re the Great Laxey Mine Railway and the Groudle Glen Railway. Sadly my visits haven’t coincided with the latter being open so I can’t feature it other than to explain it’s a 2′ gauge three quarters of a mile railway from Lhen Coan (below Groudle close to the Manx Electric Railway) to Sea Lion Rocks, on the cliff side above the eastern coastline. Built in 1893 to connect tourists at the Groudle Glen Hotel to various attractions on the coastal headlands, it was abandoned in 1962 but was rebuilt and restored thanks to preservation minded volunteers in 1982 and still operates today. It’s open from 11:00 to 16:30 on Sundays as well as Wednesday evenings in June, July, and August.

I did have the pleasure of visiting the Great Laxey Mine Railway. Unsuprisingly it’s located in the village of Laxey and runs along the surface section of the tramway which once carried lead and zinc ores from deep inside the Great Laxey Mine.

Visitors travel in a tiny enclosed carriage hauled by a replica of one of the original steam engines through the Island’s only railway tunnel and then along the line which carried wagons loaded with the metal ores.

It’s a rather spooky travel experience through the extremely narrow tunnel in the carriage …

… but you’re soon out the other end into daylight again as the tracks continue towards where the entrance to the mine used to be.

The track then becomes double as the journey comes to an end.

I loved the way the driver kept his lunchtime baked potato nice and warm before eating it.

It’s a short walk from the end of the line to reach the wonderful Laxey Wheel, the Lady Isabella. Built in 1854 to pump floodwater from the mine, it’s the largest working waterwheel in the world and is the Island’s most visited tourist attraction.

You can climb to the top …

… and as well as watching the wheel turn …

… you get to enjoy some great panoramic views across the Island.

Before leaving Laxey during my visit in 2016 I had to frequent Brown’s Café appropriately enough at 1-2 Ham & Egg Terrace.

Sadly the café closed during the pandemic and didn’t reopen. It was a treasure trove of transport memorabilia …

… including some very familiar signage!

That concludes my Isle of Man blog special except to report there’s a special weekend at the end of next month marking both this year’s 130th anniversary of the Manx Electric Railway and the 150th anniversary of the Steam Railway.

If you can make it to the Island during this upcoming week long Manx Heritage Transport Festival between Sunday 23rd and Sunday 30th July you’ll be in for some special treats including parallel running on the tramway, double header steam train runs, a double deck horse tramway car pulled by two horses, a rare goods train appearance, a steam extravaganza, workshop tours with the week culminating in a special Manx Electric Railway intensive timetable giving an opportunity to ride on many items of rolling stock including some unusual vehicles. Full details are available online here including a calendar of events.

A visit to the Isle of Man is a must for anyone interested in transport. You can achieve a lot in a 48 hour visit as I hope I’ve been able to demonstrate.

And if you’re a motorcycle fan, don’t forget the TT fortnight. My recent visit was just as it was getting underway and there were certainly a lot of motorcycles everywhere.

As well as special grandstands built along the roadside for spectators to watch the races.

But it’s a controversial event with a frightening number of fatalities every year – the worst year being 2005 when 11 people were killed.

I think I’ll stick with public transport.

Roger French

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