The snaefell Mountain Railway reveals the period when many tourists came to the Isle of Man. It is also the means to get to the seven magical kingdoms of old fables. It was entering a steep, secluded valley, and it seemed cut off from all the world as the train crawled upwards. On our right the course of that Laxey River ran down the steep side of the mountain, and turning at the left went again into the Irish Sea. Sheep grazed here and there in the sheep pasture, and in our carriage the pleasant smell of gorse was blowing. The trees had disappeared, and as we shook, shook, we shot up and up, and round and round, on the bare top of a mountain the train went. For more research you can also visit wikipedia.
Our entrance into the top station was met with a howling wind and I gazed out to a sea which had transformed to churning waves. The scene was more extended. Depending on who you ask, which does not mean the folklorists, the peak is where you can have a glimpse of seven kingdoms, among which not those recognized by any map. I could view England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland and Isle of Man, yet up here you can also view that of Manann mac Lir son of the sea and king of the otherworld of Gaelic mythology and the kingdom of heaven. To the believers, it is a mental pilgrimage.
Snaefell or Snow Mountain is not just another peak and Snaefell Mountain Railway is not just another rail. I was on the Isle of Man, and standing on the summit of the mountain, which is the highest point of the Island, and I had ridden a single electric mountain railway in the British Isles. The custom about riding to the top is a deep rooted one, nor is education about the train less significant, in the way of forming an impressionistic picture of the Isle of Man. The history of the railway is all a matter of unemployment and migration, of feats of cutting-edge engineering and the beginning of Victorian age tourism and to this day it looms large in the myth of the island, exposing that streak of independence that is the root of Manx life.
I began my day at the national museum (Manx Museum) in Douglas, Isle of Man. This defunct hospital is naturally nostalgic having galleries displaying Viking silver hoards, Celtic crosses and Tynwald which is the oldest continuous parliament carried on in the world. These are exhibitions which summarize the 10000-year history of this island into small, chewable chunks. What I was most interested in, though, was the timeline of the railway and this is what eventually took me to the social history galleries and introduced me to Katie King, the curator of art and social history in the museum.
She told us, as we walked back in time, that in the mid-19 th Century the Isle of Man was in a tight spot. The population was growing slowly, the number of jobs was minimal and people were streamin out of the island. To add on this, the coal business was undergoing collapse. It all rather alarmed the Manx government.
At that time, it was a widespread conflict in most communities in the British Isles. The island by 1863 to 1882 was one of the potential spa tourism destinations because Loch. During the reign of Queen Victoria, seaside holidays were extremely fashionable and as the Isle of Man boasts of sandy beaches, clean waters, it is no wonder that it was able to capitalise on the demand created.
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To some degree, the capital of the island, Douglas, was turned into tourism. In 1870s a slick advertisement went under the London Underground with idealized sail boats and beautiful women in swimsuits. The move transformed this blue collar town of a port into a glitzy resort. The voyage, too, even to the ports of Blackpool, Whitehaven, Silloth, Ardrossan and Greenock, via the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company [the oldest passenger shipping company in the world] was shown as some exotic sea journey to a magical island.
Its rate of growth was astounding. And at its best 11 steamer vessels arrived every day at Liverpool, and by 1880 almost 350,000 visitors came each summer. A phenomenal 1,500 hotels were built and a seafront promenade, a pier and a ballroom (the largest in Europe) were built within ten years, making what was once Douglas unrecognizable. The gay island was in spite of the moral protest of the powerful Methodist following thronged with roving single men and ladies. It used to be called by King, one of the most debauched places in Britain, having liberal drinking laws.
The governor did not quite stop with that, however, King added. The rest of the people who visited Douglas were just there because they had no alternative of going to the rest of the island. That being the case the next thing to do was to construct a train.”
At the northern end of Loch Promenade you can ride the Manx Electric Railway. It is the oldest electric tram line in the world still operating the original rolling stock that first opened in 1893 to the coastal town of Groudle. Then only in 1885, two years after that, came the Snaefell Mountain Railway as an additional impetus on tourism. Amazingly, both connecting lines continue to run on much of the Victorian-era structures, so they literally can be described as museums in motion.
Although it is interesting to listen to these stories, the fact that it is possible to ride the cable cars to Snaefell by using the world oldest tram cars, which are electric powered is even more interesting. To them, comfort is secondary; the true pleasure of this three-hour ride back to the mountaintop is flying down these Victorians-era Tram cars and doing what they were made to do.
First, the Manx Electric Railway rattles, stammers and swings along the seven mile-long track between Derby Castle Station and Laxey. Then it is a change to the Snaefell Mountain Railway which climbs another five miles to 621m. Internally, carriages have shallow arches, are made of polished ash and pitch pine and have glazed vestibules, mirrored sides and windows that slide. In my case, it went to trigger the distinct mood of an Orient Express, but with admittedly dedicated model train fans at the helm. The Manx people know about the legends about this train, as well as about the reality of this train, deep inside their souls.
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During the opening of the railway, it was as though the realisation of science fiction, Andrew Scarffe, technical support officer of Manx Heritage railways told me at the depot. People flocked in their numbers into the ferry just to view its electric technology and innovation. What people don not discuss is that we were 130 years ahead of the world in terms of green travel. Back in the 1890s we began generating our own power to operate the railroad and these electric tram cars are still doing exactly what they were designed to do. Electric-train slow-travel? That is where it all began.”
Scarffe records that at the peak of its operations the railway experienced one million passenger journeys each year with trains leaving Derby Castle Station to go to Laxey every three minutes. The traditional holidays in the Isle of Man have been replaced, but even so, the train keeps transporting some 200,000 passengers annually, between April and October.
It is ridden along scenic route through glens and fields, just like me, where the train slows gradually ascending past fierce green trees of beech before the hillside shifts to rock. Other people want to drive the tram themselves, themselves and one-day tutorials are provided. And to the more spiritual it is an opportunity to enjoy the illustrious seven kingdoms.
The Ascent of the Top of Snaefell
It is just before the sun went down that I thought about all this. and in a very short time I reached the very head of Snaefell, above the railroad. The Ireland was facing me. behind me, eastwards, lay wales, Scotland, and England.
According to people of the Isle of Man, the otherworld exists above the mountain. This was an old legend which was not easy to forget as there are still some old building, belonging to the Victorian era, at the top.
There was nothing but the sea round me, that is of Manannan mac Lir. In fact, (fun fact) people believe he is buried under a small grassy hill behind the walls of peel castle on the west side of the island.
This was blend of the real and the imaginary. However, when I considered this island to be covered by stories, I experienced the things that my brief ride on the Snaefell Mountain Railway has brought me further than I could ever dream. It appears to be a regular train, however the rails of this small electric mountain railway are still preserving the fantasies, as well as richness of Manx history and culture.
FAQ’s
What is the history of Snowdon Mountain Railway?
Snowdon Mountain Railway The Snowdon Mountain Railway was constructed by the Snowdon Mountain Tramroad and Hotels Company Ltd. between December 1894 and February 1896. Engineers Sir Douglas Fox and Andrew Fox designed it and employed Swiss Abt rack-and-pinion system. The opening of the railway officially was in April 1896.
Is Snowdon Electric Railway?
Snowdon Mountain Railway has a combination of locomotives. Whereas it has always operated using its steam and diesel engines, it has also launched the hybrid battery-diesel locomotives that utilize electric motors fueled by the batteries and diesel generator.
How old is snowdon Mountain railway?
The Snowdon mountain rail was inaugurated on April 6, 1896. In July 2025 it will be 129-old.
Are dogs allowed on Snowdon railway?
No, assistance dogs are usually not permitted to travel by the Snowdon Mountain Railway as there is not very much space in the carriages, and as it is supposed to be comfortable and safe to all passengers.
Oltest electric mountain railway?
In 1883 the Volk opened the Electric Railway in Brighton, England, which is usually regarded as the oldest operating active electric railway worldwide. It ascends the coastline, rather than a major mountain, and is thus a very early example of an electric railway in a hilly (although not actually mountainous) environment. In a real mountain railway involving a substantial amount of ascent, perhaps the best claimant to the first electric mountain railway is the Snaefell Mountain Railway on the Isle of Man, which opened in 1895 the whole line is electrically driven.
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