Groudle Glen Railway

GROUDLE GLEN RAILWAY: You may keep wondering about my love of the Isle of Man, the following somewhat simplistic railway system in an extremely idealistic setting should go some way to providing one of the answers. Hidden away, down an enchanting walkway, interrupted by streams, viaducts, bridges and ultimately ending at a tiny railway station is the Groudle Glen Railway which commenced operating, circa 1896. The various locomotives of the Groudle Glen have 'engine names' linked to attractions of the past at the Glen...

ENTRY AND WALKWAYS: A very relaxing and easy walk awaits the visitor to the Groudle Glen Railway Station, another Isle of Man 'Red Water Wheel' only adds to the marvellous character of the setting.


GROUDLE GLEN MAIN ENTRANCE	WALKWAY	FOOT BRIDGE


A NATURAL STREAM NOW BYPASSES THE DISUSED WATER WHEEL STATION		WHEEL AND GEAR DRIVE

LHEN COAN RAILWAY STATION: The most peaceful and beautifully located railway station I have ever had the pleasure of visiting!! Lhen Coan is Manx for 'Lonely Valley'.


THE VISITORS FIRST SIGHT OF THE RAILWAY STATION	LHEN COAN STATION PLATFORM

SEALION: The Sealion 2-4-0 Steam Locomotive, originally built in Stafford, England in 1896 and rebuilt in 1987, is the primary engine servicing the Groudle Glen line.


THE SEALION	BUILDING UP STEAM	HI THERE


POLISHING!	FIRE BOX	VALVE GEAR LINKAGE	MODERN ENGINE PLAQUES

POLAR BEAR AND WALRUS: Both of 0-4-0 configuration, the Polar Bear delivers stores to the Tea Room at Sea Lion Rocks and the Walrus no doubt assists with track maintenance duties.


POLAR BEAR AND ENGINE SHED	POLAR BEAR	WALRUS SHUNTER

SIGNAGE: One clearly historically interesting sign on the left, conversely the one on the right I found quite amusing given the presence of Steam and Diesel Engines, no doubt the intent is for the attention of cigarette smoking patrons, maybe?

CIRCA 1900 ATTRACTIONS: The Groudle Glen Railway of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century transported Victorian Era holiday makers to view performing Sea Lions and Polar Bears. The scanned image on the left below depicts patrons on a bridge and gallery viewing a 'Keeper' feeding a Sea Lion whilst two other Sea Lions are performing in the adjacent pool.

The white structure in centre of the scanned image was the Polar Bear enclosure. Two Polar Bears, (Nellie and Jumbo), originally from the Belle Vue Zoo, Manchester, England, were housed there in 1893 and apparently were very popular. They remained there until the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914, apparently the enclosure was reused in 1920 to house penguins when the Zoo and railway reopened to the public. Whilst these were no doubt popular attractions in the era I felt the whole concept was let's say less than appealing....