Sulby Bridge Station
Station Name:
Date Opened:
Date Closed:
Lines Served:
Coordinates:
Postal Address:
From St. John's:
Current Status:
Sulby Bridge
23rd Sept. 1879
7th Sept. 1968
North Line
54.324°N 4.472°W
Station Road
13 Miles, 0 Chains
Closed & Lifted
Above: following sale and conversion into a private dwelling, the station building as it appears today with dormer window, conservatory and garage extension which has been added in a style sympathetic to the aesthetics of the 1879 structure.
(Photo: I.o.M.S.R.S.A.)
Established as a passing place for the opening of the Manx Northern Railway in 1879 and furnished with what was a common design of station building with twin cables in red sandstone, similar to those at St. Germain’s, Kirk Michael and Ballaugh, the station at Sulby Bridge had a long passing loop and sidings with a level crossing operated by the station staff at its northern extremity. It remained largely unchanged in this format until the railway closed.
The goods yard was equipped with a loading platform and cattle dock, but no goods shed was ever provided here. A long neatly trimmed privet hedge ran alongside the platform with its running in board, and in common with all other intermediate stations on the north line the platform was at ground level and gravelled. The rails were lifted in 1975 and three years later the building was sold off by the Government Property Trustees for conversion into a private dwelling.
The station was a ten-minute journey from the terminus at Ramsey Station and just three minutes from Sulby Glen Station, the next station on the line. The travelling time from St. John’s Station was thirty-three minutes. Latterly the goods siding was lifted but the station remained manned until closure in 1968, the final train being an oil service in September that year. Since closure the building has been much modified with a conservatory added and garage extension in a similar style.
Passing Loop | Station Building | Level Crossing | Goods Siding
A classic view of the station with its neatly trimmed privet hedge and traditional hand painted running in board in red and off-white.
Looking very much like the other main stations on the north line which had identical structures and showing the long passing loop and yard.
The neat flowerbeds outside the station in more recent times showing the various additions that have been made to the premises.
After closure, in common with many other lineside structures, the station was sold off and is now a private dwelling.
The tinplate advert for Petter Oil Engines on the building was a feature at many stations, this view is looking westwards.
After closure and nature begins to reclaim the site, the level crossing set firmly against the railway for the last time with rails still in place.
The single line staff which remains in the possession of the current owner keeping links with the railway alive.
Showing the short loading platform and cattle dock from a train approaching heading towards he northern terminus.
The approach to the station from the roadside seen during the final summer of 1968 and a scene unchanged for many years.
A handful of passengers look on as the train arrives from St. John's, the milk churns very much part of this rural idyll.
A flurry of activity as passengers board and alight showing the typical way in which the railway served the rural northern communities.
Milk churns on the platform awaiting collection illustrating the vital link the railway provided to the exposed communities in the north.