- Level railway station
-
The Level
Yn Laare
Isle Of Man Railway
Station statistics Address Shore Road, Rushen, IM8 6YR. Coordinates 54°05′29″N 4°43′16″W Lines Port Erin Line Structure Crossing Keepers' Hut Platforms One (Short), Raised Tracks One Running Line Parking None (Roadside) Other information Opened 1st August 1874 Closed 1967 Only (Seasonal Since 1965) Rebuilt 1877 Owned by Isle Of Man Heritage Railways Formerly Isle Of Man Railway Company Traffic Passenger Only (since 1969, Goods previously) Services Waiting Area Only 
The Level is a request stop on the Isle of Man Railway located in the sheading of Rushen on the Isle of Man. This is the sole remaining section of the railway which once spanned over 46 miles.
Contents
Locale
This diminutive request stop serves the hamlets or individual houses of Level (Rushen), Croit-E-Caley, Kentraugh, Ballagawie and Ballakillowey. The 1 km section of line from the previous station (Colby) is straight and has a level crossing for Kentraugh Farm; to the west, towards Port St Mary, the line curves to the left on the approach to the next crossing for Ballagawne Farm and continues to Four Roads crossing.
Crossing
Automatic barriers were introduced in 2002 and the manually operated gates were removed. Since then the crossing keeper's hut has been unmanned but remains in situ housing storage facilities for the railway out of season. At that time a section of raised platform, of just one coach length, was also installed at the request of a regular passenger.
Surroundings
Until recently the road that leads to the level crossing also served the local Level Garage and until well into the 1990s trains carried motor parts from Douglas for dropping off at this point; the garage was closed in 2000 and the site has since been redeveloped into residential housing. The village that has built up around the level crossing site has been expanded considerably since the arrival of the railway making the halt frequently utilised during the summer months.
Naming
Today the painted running-in board declares the halt as The Level (bilingual since 2008 to include the Yn Laare translation into the gaelic) but in the past it has been variously called Colby Level, Level, Level (Rushen) etc., and a metal nameboard stating Colby Level - Crossing installed in 1973 is still in place but the timetable uses "The Level" in all literature. The origin of the name comes from the stretch of main road at the top of the lane that leads from the level crossing, being a straight level section when macadamed, the name being used in local parlance ever since. The halt is usually timetabled in the railway's literature but the 2011 timetable for example omits to give the stopping places; the halt however remains open as a request stop despite this. It is also called the level due to the Adit level at colby, as part of the Ballacorkish mine near Colby.
Traffic
The halt serves a very small local population.
Routes
Preceding station Isle of Man Railway Following station Port St Mary Port Erin Line Colby Also
References
- James I.C. Boyd Isle Of Man Railway, Volume 3, The Routes & Rolling Stock (1996) ISBN 0-85361-479-2
- Norman Jones Scenes From The Past: Isle Of Man Railway (1994) ISBN 0-54351-955-6
- Robert Hendry Rails In The Isle Of Man: A Colour Celebration (1993) ISBN 0-59624-884-1
- A.M Goodwyn Manx Transport Kalidescope, 2nd Edition (1995) ISBN 0-85361-479-2
External links
Sources
Categories:- Railway stations in the Isle of Man
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