Kirk Michael
Station Name:
Date Opened:
Date Closed:
Lines Served:
Coordinates:
From St. John's:
Current Status:
Kirk Michael
23rd Sept. 1879
6th Sept. 1968
North Line
54.284°N 4.587°W
7 Miles, 20 Chains
Closed & Lifted
One of the busiest intermediate stopping places on the north line, the station here was erected for the opening of the Manx Northern Railway in 1879 and is of the same design as those at St. Germain’s, Ballaugh and Sulby Bridge; it was accompanied by a long passing loop, goods sidings and a stone-built goods shed which was added later.
The station was a short walk from the pleasure grounds at Glen Wyllin which were served by a dedicated fenced-off path running parallel to the line beyond the level crossing; the site was later owned by the Railway Company and much effort made to publicise its attractions, including special trains which sometimes terminated here, using the railcars in later years.
The station was fitted with a small loading platform and cattle dock which remained in situ until after closure, the station and goods shed being sold off 1979, later becoming the fire station for the village, the gable of the shed being modified to accommodate the appliance. This is a role the site still fulfils today, the trackbed being a footpath.
The last time a locomotive visited here was during a Manx Heritage Transport Festival in 2018 when M.N.Ry. No.4 Caledonia and the Foxdale Coach were brought here by road and mounted on a section of temporary track. Replica level crossing gates mark the site of the station today, a reminder of the past, with information panels on the Rail Trail.
Station Building | Passing Loop | Goods Shed | Level Crossing | Water Tower | Cattle Dock | Goods Sidings
The station during the 1966 closure captured by Michael Bishop, the Swan Vesta advertisement signs were a feature at many stations.
A train at the station in the purple lake livery showing the goods hed with its doors oepn and the neatly kept goods yard.
No.10 G.H. Wood arriving from the north with a train of two carriages in the final year of passenger operations, 1968 with village church.
Level crossing gates opposite the station, part of the Rail Trail while the station itself serves as the village's Fire Station.
Plety of detail in this study showing the loading platform with cattle dock and the goods shed and station building in the distance.
Still looking as if a train may arrive at any minute, the station in 1969 one year after the final passengers boarded a train here.
By 1977 the station was still out of use and beginning to look neglected, it was later taken over and converted into a fire station.
The station during the 1966 closure captured by Michael Bishop, looking towards Glen Wyllin with the goods yard just discernible.
A lovely early view of the station with advertisements aplenty and waiting passengers posing for the photographer.
The cattle dock and goods yard, with a prominent advert for the nearby railway-owned Glen Wyllin pleasure grounds on the dock.
On the southern side of the level crossing stood a water tower, a short distance from the railway-owned Glen Wyllin.
After closure the goods shed stood in isolation until it became part of the fire station, this view dates from 1975.