Snaefell Mountain Railway

Route length:

8 kilometers

Gauge :

1067 mm ( cape track )

Power system :

550 V =

Maximum slope :

120 ‰

Dual track :

Yes

Legend

	0.0	Laxey
		from the Laxey depot
		bungalow
	8th	Snaefell

The Snaefell Mountain Railway is an electric mountain railway and runs from Laxey to the summit of Snaefell on the Isle of Man .

history

The Snaefell Mountain Railway is the only electric mountain railway in the British Isles and one of the last remaining railways with a gauge of 1067 mm ( Cape gauge ) in Europe. The five mile long line is adventurous, with gradients of 1% up to 12%. The railway is electrified with 550 volts direct current . A special feature is the middle rail used as a brake rail based on the skin system . In Laxey there is a connection to the Manx Electric Railway .

The railroad was founded in 1895 and is now operated by Isle of Man Transport , an operation of the Isle of Man Government. Since the track width differs from the other railways on the Isle of Man, the rolling stock cannot be exchanged with them.

Immediately after the exit in Laxey, the train offers a beautiful view of the Great Laxey Wheel . The Snaefell Mountain Course , on which the races for the Isle of Man TT and the Manx Grand Prix are held, crosses the railway line at the bungalow intermediate station . In the immediate vicinity there is a memorial for the 26-time TT winner Joey Dunlop . There used to be a motorcycle museum there. After asbestos was found in the building a few years ago , it had to be closed. The owner, Peter Murray, has opened a new museum in Santon.

Railcar at the mountain station
Skin middle rails as brake rails
Snaefell

literature

Mike Goodwyn: Manx Electric . Platform 5 Publishing Ltd., 1993. ISBN 1-872524-52-4 .
R. Hendry: Rails in the Isle of Man: A Color Celebration . Midland Publishing Ltd., 1993. ISBN 1-85780-009-5 .
NN: Diverse rail operations on the Isle of Man . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 4/2014, pp. 202–204.

Web links

Commons : Snaefell Mountain Railway - collection of images, videos and audio files

Isle of Man Transport (English)
Manx Electric Railway Society (English)
History of electrical traces on the Isle of Man in the Manx Electric Railway Society 2002 (English)
Information in the Isle of Man Guide (English)