Ballabeg railway station
Encyclopedia
Ballabeg Station is a diminutive request stop near the village of Ballabeg
in the south of the Isle of Man
. It forms part of the sole remaining section of the former network which covered 46 miles across the island. A further station of this name also appears on the Manx Electric Railway
to the north, see Ballabeg Tram Station
for further details.
hut and remains locked, but a small lean-to canopy was added in 1982. The station is served seasonlly by the Isle of Man Railway
, connecting with Castletown
to the southeast and Colby
to the west.
only.
Ballabeg
There are several small villages and hamlets with the name Ballabeg in the Isle of Man.The name Ballabeg derives from the Manx which means small homestead; although the spelling is different, it is pronounced the same as the English name....
in the south of the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. It forms part of the sole remaining section of the former network which covered 46 miles across the island. A further station of this name also appears on the Manx Electric Railway
Manx Electric Railway
The Manx Electric Railway is an electric inter-urban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Castle at the northern end of the promenade in Douglas, and with the Snaefell Mountain Railway at...
to the north, see Ballabeg Tram Station
Ballabeg (ME) railway station
Ballabeg Station is a rural intermediate request stop on the coastal route of the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man.-Location:The station can be found between Onchan and Laxey on the island's eastern coast...
for further details.
Origins
The station consists of only a small wooden hut which acts as a shelter for waiting passengers. This was originally a track works' permanent wayPermanent way
The permanent way is the elements of railway lines: generally the pairs of rails typically laid on the sleepers embedded in ballast, intended to carry the ordinary trains of a railway...
hut and remains locked, but a small lean-to canopy was added in 1982. The station is served seasonlly by the Isle of Man Railway
Isle of Man Railway
The Isle of Man Railway is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The line is built to gauge and is long...
, connecting with Castletown
Castletown railway station
Castletown Railway Station is an intermediate station on the Isle of Man Railway on the Isle of Man forming part of sole remaining section of the once extensive network that operated across the island. The station is the busiest of the railway's intermediate stations, being the closest to a number...
to the southeast and Colby
Colby railway station
Colby Station is a small station on the southern edge of the village of Colby in the south of the Isle of Man served by the Isle of Man Railway; it forms part of the sole remaining section of the network which once covered over 46 miles island-wide.-Origins:...
to the west.
Location
It is quite some distance from the village itself and for that reason the manned aspect was discontinued many years ago, the station remaining timetabled but only as a request stop for a great number of years.Buildings
The original station building here was a more complex affair, and the station was for some time manned in the early years of the line despite its location some distance from the village it serves. The extant station building is a platelayers hut which has never been opened to provide passenger shelter. In the winter of 1987 a verandah was added to the front of the station and a concrete platform area created and the station became one of the most popular for lineside photographers. The site was further improved in 2001 when a pumping station for the all-island sewer network was installed to the rear of the station and a platform to fit three coaches was added. This takes the form of a wall of sleepers which has been back-filled to provide a half-height platform for alighting and boarding passengers.Surroundings
The station is approached on the northern side opn a curve leading to the outskirts of Castletown, and to the south passes underneath an bridge which carries the road to the village itself. This road also forms part of the Billown Racing Circuit where the Southern 100 races take place annually.Upkeep
In more recent times, the station was tended to by local supporters who added flower baskets, old-fashioned advertising signs and the like, making it one of the most pictureque yet tranquil stations on the line. A blackboard was put in place and cheerful notes regularly updated on it, for the passing traveller to observe but this practice has latterly stopped.Container
There remains in situ however an "Isle of Man Ferry Express" container which was cosmetically restored by local enthusiasts. This was used on the railway in the 1960s as part of an unsuccessful attempt to introduce freight traffic to the line.Redevelopment
Considerable changes were made at this site in 2002 when a pumping station for a local sewerage network was installed. At this time a short low level platform was installed and vehicular access improved, in conjunction with the access required for the nearby pumping station.Bi-Lingual Signs
The station carries bi-lingual station nameboards in keeping with policy, and these were installed in 2008; it remains as a request stopRequest stop
In public transport, a request stop or flag stop describes a stopping point at which trains or buses stop only on an as-need or request basis; that is, only if there are passengers to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, infrequently used stopping points can be served efficiently.Trains save...
only.