Groudle Glen Railway - History

History

1896 – 1939

The line was built in the late Victorian era in response to increasing demand for transportation down Groudle Glen brought on by the introduction of the Manx Electric Railway. The headland was developed, with a zoo being created and the railway being built. The 2 ft (610 mm) gauge line ran from the upper part of the glen, Lhen Coan, to the Zoo at Sea Lion Rocks. The line opened on May 23, 1896 and started with one engine, called Sea Lion, and three coaches. The engine was built by W.G. Bagnall Ltd. of Castle Engine Works, Stafford. The line became so popular that a further engine, Polar Bear, and additional coach stock was purchased. The railway operated very successfully until the outbreak of the First World War when all services ceased and the associated zoo was closed. When the line re-opened the locomotives were overhauled and returned to service but by 1921 they had been replaced with battery-operated engines. These proved troublesome and after proving inefficient and costly, they were dropped, the original steam locomotives being overhauled and returned to service. The railway once again closed during the Second World War and the zoo closed for good, it being reported that the animals had been released! A landslide during the war years ensured that services could not return to the original terminus.

1950 – 1981

The line took some time to re-open after the war, the draw of the zoo being lost meaning the glen itself was less frequently visited. Only one locomotive returned, for the 1950 season but over the next twelve years the seasons were somewhat sporadic and no timetable was officially issued. 1962 proved the final season, with "Polar Bear" refusing to hold a head of steam. The final two seasons were known as the "fairground era" as the stock was all painted in loud colours with blue and red dominating, and fairground-style lettering and lining applied to the locomotive. By the late 1960s the engines had been removed from the glen and Polar Bear was restored as an operating exhibit at Amberley Working Museum, West Sussex and Sea Lion was taken to Loughborough where it remained until 1987 when it was finally restored and returned to service on the restored line. The railway became a footpath, only to be disturbed by the occasional walker. It seemed that this unique piece of Manx heritage was lost. Much of the railway's infrastructure was lost at this time, the distinctive station canopy being demolished in 1979 and the remaining smaller buildings lost also.

1982 – 1991

In 1982, the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association launched a plan to restore the line and work began clearing twenty years worth of undergrowth that had reclaimed the trackbed. In time for December 1983 a short section from the old lime kiln to the headland had been re-built and the railway commenced its Santa Train operation, now an established part of the island's social calendar. Little by little the line was relaid to the glen terminus of Lhen Coan and a station was created at the headland with run-round facilities. The railway was officially re-opened on 23 May 1986 by Carolyn Rawson as part of the Manx Heritage Year and a tree planted to mark the event in Lhen Coan station. The most significant event at this time was the return of the original steam locomotive "Sea Lion" in September 1987, which was much heralded in the local press. By 1991 the decision had been made to excavate the final section of the line from the headland loop to the former terminus at Sea Lion Rocks and the run-round loop was lifted at the end of the 1991 season when the major earthworks began to relay the original section to the outer terminus.

1992 – 2002

The extension, recreating the line to its original three quarter-mile length was duly opened on 23 July 1992, and this was followed in 1993 with the opening of the distinctive Swiss-style station canopy at Lhen Coan, a feature of so many postcards of the glen, as part of the Year Of Railways celebration. It was during this year that "Polar Bear" also returned to the glen for a visit. It was a time of great change for the line, with many improvements being introduced by the volunteers. Visiting locomotives were a feature in 1995 (Chaloner and Rishra) and in 1998 as part of the Steam 125 event marking the anniversary of the island's main railway. Planning permission was granted in 1999 for the volunteers to erect a replacement station building at Sea Lion Rocks and by the summer of 2000 work was well in hand. The station building opened the following year but it was in 2003 that the interior of the station was completed and since this time it has proved to be the major draw to the railway, aside from the unique steam locomotives. The station and surrounding area have since received much attention as ongoing projects and the development of the site has also revived interest in the amazing zoo that once drew in the crowds, the remains of which are still viewable from the station site.

2003 –

The addition of a replica battery electric locomotive in 2003 completed the line's historical line-up of locomotives and a return visit from Polar Bear for her own centenary in 2005 was repaid by Sea Lion making her first trip to Amberley Museum in the same year. Back on the railway, in 2007 a new purpose-built locomotive shed was erected on the site of the original, but to a larger scale, and a mess hut was installed making the station at Lhen Coan a transformed area, in keeping with the original site. In September 2007 the railway marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of restoration by unveiling a plaque at Lhen Coan station. This event also marked the official opening by Annie Craine MHK of the railway's new purpose built locomotive shed. Plans were well in hand to rebuild the souvenir shop at Lhen Coan in a style similar to the distinctive station canopy and the close of the 2008 season saw the previous incarnation dismantled in readiness for the erection of the new, pre-fabricated version on the same site. A mock signal box was also completed to cover the side of the volunteers' mess room in this year also, and by December work was in hand to close the shop for good after the Santa Trains. The new shop opened fully for Easter 2010 and now dominates the station site. In 2010 an appeal was launched to raise the £60,000 required to extend the Sea Lion Rocks Tea Rooms to provide toilet facilities, a power supply and improved patio area, this was completed in time for the Easter 2012 services, and was re-opened by Allan Bell MHK, the Island's Chief Minister, in May 2012 to mark the 30th Anniversary of the railway's restoration.