About The Great Laxey Mine Railway Heritage Railway - The railway which used to service the Great Laxey Mine comes back to life with steam engines Ant and Bee and Wasp our electric locomotive. The former Great Laxey Mine Railway - a mineral railway rebuilt as a tourist line for the 21st Century. The restored railway was re-opened in 2004. The train goes through a quite long tunnel and arrives at one of the original mine accesses. half a mile from the village of Laxey and shadowed by the great wheel, the mine lies in a steep sided glen astride the River Mooar in an almost intact condition. Liveried in engineering black and yellow wasp stripes. The Links tab also offers you a path to our facebook page with current photographs of work and events being carried out by the volunteers. Laxey Woollen Mills. The Great Laxey Mine Railway is owned by the Laxey and Lonan Heritage Trust, a registered Manx Charity, which was formed in 1997 to promote the rich industrial and natural histories of Laxey Village and Lonan Parish. In particular we would like to thank Ace Hire in Douglas who have helped with the equipment we have used for the winter season work. The Great Laxey Mine Railway was originally constructed to serve the Isle of Man's Great Laxey Mine, a lead mine located in Laxey. Update on the Laxey Mine Railway battery and steam locomotive fleet. While in Laxey it is well worth a short trip on the the Great Laxey Mine Railway. The Great Laxey Mine Railway was originally constructed to serve the Isle of Man's Great Laxey Mine, a lead mine located in Laxey. 4-wheel tipping wagon, convertible to flatbed format, unofficially named, 4-wheel light maintenance trolley, unofficially named. This was similar to the Lewins design, but more conventional. Official page of the Great Laxey Mine Railway. By 2005 the line had been relaid into the old mine yard. The Great Laxey Mine Railway: Cute little railway - See 50 traveller reviews, 62 candid photos, and great deals for Laxey, UK, at Tripadvisor. At the Mines Yard terminus of the railway, a series of information boards explain the surviving mining features. Home Category 'The Great Laxey Mine Railway' 'The Great Laxey Mine Railway' No Content Available. Six replica ore wagons, built at the Laxey Blacksmith in 2000, in regular service on the restored railway. The Great Laxey Mine Railway, Laxey: See 50 reviews, articles, and 62 photos of The Great Laxey Mine Railway, ranked No.4 on Tripadvisor among 12 attractions in Laxey. Within this adit level a railway was provided from 1823, to allow transportation of mined ores from the mine shafts out to the external washing floors and mine yards. 28 talking about this. Passengers can now ride in a tiny carriage along the line where loaded wagons of ore were once hauled from the mine. Great Laxey Mine Railway, Registered Office: Information Centre and Gift Shop, Mines Road, Laxey IM4 7NH. This restored railway runs on a surface section of tramway which once carried ores from the mine and passes through the Island's only railway tunnel. Directors: Mr A Scarffe, Mr J Sykes, Mrs E Quaggin, Ms J Ball, Mr R Henthorn, Mr T Kenyon, Mr N Dobson. Replicas of both locomotives were constructed for the re-opening of the line as a tourist attraction. walk along the Electric Railway lines in the direction of the wheel. Additionally, some rail vehicles are available for use by volunteer permanent way engineers on the railway, for construction and maintenance duties. 4-wheel tipping ore truck (not serviceable), static exhibit at Valley Gardens station. The photographs is this gallery are in descending order with the most recent images shown first. By 2006 a majority of the above-ground section of the original railway had been restored, including a running line extending to 1⁄4 mi (0.4 km) in length. The wagons were returned to ground level and restored. The power cylinders were however mounted inside the frames and the Bagnall-Price valvgear and slide valves mounted outside. Ant and Bee were 0-4-0 tank locomotives made unusually narrow, in order to fit within the adit. The railway's terminus is located at the Valley Gardens which was once the site of the Great Laxey Mine's Washing Floors. Re-boilered 2011. [4], Around 1905, a replacement locomotive was considered and W G Bagnall were asked for a design. Infrastructure. The Great Laxey Mine Railway was originally constructed to serve the Isle of Man's Great Laxey Mine, a lead mine located in Laxey. Official page of the Great Laxey Mine Railway. As you journey through the valley you can enjoy the Snaefell mountain and Great Laxey Mine Railways, Lady Isabella and Lady Evelyn water wheels (Laxey Wheel to its friends) along with the Victorian pleasure garden and hand weaving woollen mill there is much to entertain and learn within the beautiful landscape. Let us know what news and updates you want to hear about and we’ll send them straight to your inbox. Although the line runs past the mine entrance, the spur into the underground section has not been restored.[3]. In the late 1990s momentum began to grow for the restoration of the railway's above-ground section, and in 2000 restoration work commenced. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}54°14′02″N 4°24′17″W / 54.233795°N 4.404858°W / 54.233795; -4.404858. Search, Background & Tips: Download Page. We look forward to welcoming friends old and new. Owing to the narrow gauge and low clearances the bogie carriages are long and narrow, with passengers sitting on longitudinal transverse benches, and effectively travelling sideways when the train is in motion. The mine closed in 1929. A saddle tank was used and conventional cylinders with connecting rods to the axle. [4] They were 4 ft 9in high and only 3 ft wide. In service. Official page of the Great Laxey Mine Railway. [4] This new locomotive was never constructed, although Bagnalls did instead build two new boilers for the existing locomotives. £2.2m investment as Conwy Valley Line set to reopen. There is one spur, on the washing floors site, leading to the engine and carriage sheds. The arrangement of the water tanks was particularly unusual, being a front tank ahead of the smokebox, in order to reduce width. The railway was originally hand-operated, with miners pushing small wagons. The Laxey Wheel, the Lady Isabella, is just a short walk away from the terminus. In 1827 a pit pony was purchased to haul the wagons, and the number of ponies grew as the mines expanded. Trevor McCullough and Helen Julie The railway is operated and maintained entirely by volunteers from the Laxey and Lonan Heritage Trust. Congratulations, you’re now registered! Hotels near Snaefell Mountain Railway; Hotels near Lonan Old Church; Hotels near Dhoon Glen; Near Airports. A regular shuttle service runs on operating days. Replica engine. The railway operates two passenger carriages. 18th March 2018 'News' The Great Laxey Mine Railway – Volunteers Week ‘The Big Event’ 2018. 23 talking about this. The railway remained in place for the following six years, but in 1935 all parts of the railway above ground, including the locomotives and rolling stock, were scrapped.[2]. Battery electric industrial tunnel engine moved to GLMR in 2009. Trains on the restored line originally departed from the engine sheds, but in 2006 the original station site at the Valley Gardens was cleared, and the two-platform station was restored, with the track relaid on the original formation, including one of the tightest radius bends on a working heritage railway line in the British Isles. Our thoughts are with his wife Jackie at this sad time. Six original ore wagons, now preserved in museum locations on the island. Directors: Mr A Scarffe, Mr J Sykes, Mrs E Quaggin, Ms J Ball, Mr R Henthorn, Mr T Kenyon, Mr N Dobson. At the Mines Yard terminus of the railway, a series of information boards explain the surviving mining features. Passengers travel from Valley Gardens station to Mines Yard station, near the entrance to the mines. The Great Laxey Mine Railway is owned by the Laxey and Lonan Heritage Trust, a registered Manx Charity, which was formed in 1997 to promote the rich industrial and natural histories of Laxey Village and Lonan Parish. Built in 1854 to pump floodwater from the mine, it is the largest working waterwheel in the world and is the Island's most visited tourist attraction. The 19 in (483 mm) gauge railway runs from the old mine entrance to the washing floors along a right of way that passes through the Isle of Man's only remaining railway tunnel (another at Dhoon West Quarry is disused) under the 3 ft (914 mm) gauge Victorian Manx Electric Railway and the main A2 Douglas to Ramsey coast road. The uppermost level of mine workings, known as the adit, was a series of tunnels extending to a mile and a half, which entered the hillside at ground level, and connected the heads of all the working mine shafts. Editorial Team Page: Recent Updates. A full train of these wagons was discovered underground in the mid-1970s. In service. The railway is operated and maintained entirely by volunteers from the Laxey and Lonan Heritage Trust. Clearance of blockages and damages in the tunnel enabled the original route to be relaid to a point close to the mine entrance in time for the 2004 re-opening. The railway, a quarter of a mile in length, runs up the valley from the former Washing Floors, now the Valley Gardens, to the main adit entrance where there is a picnic site, footpath and information boards explaining the mining features. Also to Energy FM and Manx Radio for their support with letting the public know of our events. The Great Laxey Mine was an extensive system of mine shafts and tunnels, which descended to a depth of 2,200 feet underground. Carriage 2, built by Alan Keef Ltd in 2007. Their two 4×6in inside cylinders had Bagnall-Price valve gear and a geared drive to the rear axle, but coupling rods between the axles. Official page of the Great Laxey Mine Railway. Single-wheel rail barrow - a single flanged wheel allows the barrow to be hand-operated along one rail of the running line. Maintenance Project 2016 Laxey Gardens The Laxey Woollen Mills were founded in 1881 by Egbert Rydings, supported by John Ruskin, and were originally water powered. The Isle of Man contains a large variety of minerals. The Great Laxey Mine Railway is owned by the Laxey and Lonan Heritage Trust, a registered Manx Charity, which was formed in 1997 to promote the rich industrial and natural histories of Laxey Village and Lonan Parish. Passengers travel in a tiny carriage, hauled by a replica of one of the original steam engines, through the Island's only railway tunnel and along the line which once carried wagons loaded with the metal ores. Laxey and Lonan Heritage Trust. There are no intermediate stations or loops. No other railway can boast of a waterwheel at each end! By the 1870s there was a clear need for more modern motive power, and the two steam locomotives Ant and Bee were delivered in 1877. Thanks to Andrew Scarffe, Sue Jones, Peter Geddes, Joseph Rock, Ian Smith, Liam Miller,  Niamh Murdoch, Paul Marshall and Russell Wear for the use of photographs on the website. The railway, a quarter of a mile in length, runs up the valley from the former Washing Floors, now the Valley Gardens, to the main site entrance where there is a picnic site, footpath and information boards explaining the mining features. The locomotive was also re-gauged to 19 inch at this time, this being the gauge of the Great Laxey Mine Steam Railway, believed to be the only 19 inch gauge line in the UK. Registered Office: Information Centre and Gift Shop, Mines Road, Laxey IM4 7NH. 367A The railway is operated and maintained entirely by volunteers from the Laxey and Lonan Heritage Trust. The railway's terminus is located at the Valley Gardens which was once the site of the Great Laxey Mine's Washing Floors. Latest News. The volunteers originally restored the railway's works and locomotive shed (rebuilding the shed on the exact footprint of the original). The Great Laxey Mine Railway. 25 talking about this. It was discovered that parts of the underground section of the railway were still intact, and in one tunnel an entire train (consisting of six open ore wagons) was found, abandoned underground when work in the mine had finished. We are delighted that the Railway is now running again every Saturday through to the end of September. Following the periods of hand operation and then pony haulage, a pair of steam locomotives were delivered from Stephen Lewin of Poole in 1877. This page was last edited on 31 October 2020, at 15:28. You hop on the tram at the Valley Garden Terminus where there is also a small souvenir shop. The Great Laxey Mine Railway - 2021. The Great Laxey Mine Railway re-opened with two small steam engines in September 2004 to carry passengers along the restored route. UK Preserved Railway Stock List Search Page . He was a regular volunteer often seen guarding trains until he retired from the railway just over a year ago. The railway's freight wagons were originally constructed locally, and took the form of high-sided four-wheeled open ore wagons. Tribute to the men of Laxey who fell during the Great War. 21st February 2018. The railway is a 19 Inch (483mm) gauge railway which runs from the old mine entrance to the former washing floors, passing through the only remaining railway runnel on the Isle of Man. The steam locomotive is an original and the little train takes one close to the Laxey Wheel so it is worth the small fee if you want to avoid a longer walk. This tiny mine railway is worth a visit. Both stations have two platforms, permitting the operation of more than one train at busy times. Hotels near (IOM) Ronaldsway Airport; All things to do in Isle of Man; Things to do near The Great Laxey Mine Railway. 20 talking about this. At The Great Laxey Mine Railway passengers can now ride in a tiny carriage along the line where loaded wagons of ore were once hauled from the mine. You May Like. 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