Isle of Man Steam Railway

The steam railway opened in 1874 on a three-foot gauge and still runs fifteen miles from Douglas through Castletown to Port Erin, using locomotives built in the 1870s and 1880s by Beyer Peacock that have worked the line for their whole lives. It is the surviving southern portion of a network that once reached Peel and Ramsey. The route runs through farmland and along the coast, with the original stations largely intact.

What you actually see

• The Victorian locomotives - engines from the 1870s and 1880s still in service.
• The three-foot gauge - the narrow track the whole system was built to.
• The original stations - the 1870s buildings surviving along the route.
• The southern route - fifteen miles through farmland and coast to Port Erin.

When to go

March to November is the operating season with the fullest service in summer. It does not run in deep winter. Special timetables apply during TT.

Honest expectations

Services are limited outside the summer months and stop entirely in winter. Journeys are slow and the carriages are Victorian in comfort as well as age. Steam is not guaranteed on every service.

Nearby

Castletown is on the route, and Port Erin is the terminus.