Queen's Pier, Ramsey is 2,241 feet (683 metres) long[2] and was built for the Isle of Man Harbour Board for the sum of £40,752 (about £4.3 million in today's terms) by Head Wrightson of Stockton-on-Tees, England.

Construction work began in 1882 and the pier was officially opened on 22 July 1886 by Rowley Hill, Bishop of Sodor and Man, though it had already been in use for about one year whilst being finished.

The pier was originally intended as a landing stage to allow Steam Packet ships to pick up or discharge passengers when the tide was low.

In the 1950s they added a Wickham railcar powered by a Ford 52 hp (39 kW) engine, which could reach speeds of 20 mph (32 km/h), but they were never allowed to open the throttle up as the brakes were inadequate.

Upon closing in June 1990 due to concerns about its safety,[2][3] the rolling stock was removed to a small museum, apart from the long-disused luggage cart that remained on site.

The harbour director had confirmed that a three-year lease was being drawn up to offer the pier at a peppercorn rent to the trust, who were beginning to raise funds to restore the first 50 m section.

An initial three-year licence would enable a formally constituted trust to complete repairs to the first three bays, which would provide a better understanding of what the whole project would entail.