- Port St Mary railway station
Infobox UK station
name = Port St. Mary
code =
caption = Platform at Port St Mary railway station
manager = Isle of Man Steam Railway
locale =Port St. Mary
borough =Rushen
usage0405 =
usage0506 =
platforms =
start = 1874Port St Mary Railway Station is a station in
Port St. Mary in the south of theIsle of Man and is served by theIsle of Man Railway , having first opened in1874 when the line to nearbyPort Erin was completed. When first opened the station was complimented by a wooden station structure with corrugated iron roof similar to the original station building at the terminus ofDouglas but at around the turn of the century this was replaced.The Building
The impressive two-storey station building would lead the casual observer to think it to be the railway's terminus which is in fact just under a mile away at
Port Erin . It is the only "proper" station on the line to not have a passing loop, owing to its close location to the southern terminus. The station remains under the ownership of the railway but has been largely out of use since the 1980s when it was used in conjunction with the "Campamarina" holiday camping company. At this time the railway passed over the use of the whole building, and the station staff were subsequently housed in a garden shed-type structure on the platform. When the usage changed in the 1970s, the canopy structure that runs parallel to the platform was bricked in and remains so today, although latterly the station master is once again housed in the building itself.tation Environs
The station, despite having no passing/run-round facilities, does boast a substantial goods shed served by a dedicated siding which was lifted in the 1970s but reinstated in
2002 . When reinstated, the siding was not connected to the imposing goods shed, however in the winter of 2007/2008 rail connections were restored. The goods shed was used as a set for the filming ofThomas and the Magic Railroad along with several other railway locations, the engines of theIsle of Man Railway however did not appear in the film. In keeping with current policy, the station received new bi-lingual nameboards in2008 in a standard maroon and cream colour scheme (the previous colouring here had been black, white and grey). On the northerly side of the level crossing there is a gatekeepers cottage which is now a private dwelling. To the rear of the station is the Railway Hotel.Recent Developments
Having been largely unoccupied for several years, the station masters' accommodation was relocated in the late 1990s to the building itself and the garden shed structure was removed. The building itself has been the subject of several restoration/conversion attempts but all of these have been fruitless to date. However in
2008 a local developer is understood to have received permission to convert the building into apartments, whilst retaining the frontage of the platform area, removing the bricked-up canopy added in the 1970s and restoring much of the charm of the railway-orientated site. Work has not commenced to date.Routes
rail line
previous=Port Erin
Terminus
next=Level
towards Douglas
route=Isle of Man Railway
Port Erin Line
col=000000
###@@@KEYEND@@@###ee also
*
Isle of Man Railway stations
*Port St. Mary
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