Port Soderick railway station

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The full height "up" platform at Port Soderick with the imposing station building on the far right, seen prior to the relaying of the station and addition of "down" platforms.

Port Soderick Railway Station is a station on the Port Erin line of the Isle of Man Railway and is located near the settlement of the same name. The B23 road provides access to the station and passes through a tunnel to cross the railway line. The station building is still extant but in private ownership, having been converted from a derelict state in the 1980s, and being the current home of Emma J King. Previous owners included Alex Lloyd (racing driver). It is an imposing large structure, more latterly replaced by two wooden shelters on each platform. The "down" platform was added in 2002 when much of the railway was re-laid as part of the IRIS scheme.

1 Origins
2 Improvements
3 Manx Nameboards
4 Incident
5 Route
6 See also

[edit] Origins

The station was built primarily to serve the popular coastal resort which is a short walk from the station via one of the Manx National Glens. Although largely derelict today, this resort was once a hugely popular destination for tourists and was served by the Douglas Head Marine Drive and Electric Tramway, ferry boats, char-a-bancs and of course the railway. So popular was the place that the station boasts the only full-height platform at an intermediate station on the south line other than Port St. Mary which, at one time, was intended as the southern terminus.

[edit] Improvements

In 2002 all stations received platforms, and the little used passing loop at this station received another (seldom used) full-height platform on the "down" side, together with waiting shelter, indicative of the management policy to provide passenger facilities at each station, seemingly regardless of how well patronised the stations were. To the south of the station is a private miniature railway which is visible from the land side of the passing train.

[edit] Manx Nameboards

For the start of the 2008 season the station was adorned with new bi-lingual station nameboards; differing from all other stations on the line insofar as one side (the "up" platform) has the name in English, and the other (the "down" plaform, which is rarely used) is in Manx, stating "Purt" as opposed to "Port"; the nameboards feature a yellowy-cream lettering with black shadowing on a maroon coloured back board, the now-standard livery of station nameboards on the line.

[edit] Incident

On 19th May 2008 there was an incident at the station involved a van and oncoming train which resulted in a collision of the two. The matter was widely reported in the media but as the train was travelling no faster than 5 miles per hour no injuries were sustained. There was however much damage to the Vauxhall van and remedial damage to the wooden buffer beam of the 1874-built locomotive that was involved. The indicdent was attended by local emergency services but train operations were continued later in the same day; a health and safety report has since been commissioned into the incident.