Santon railway station

Santon Railway Station (Manx: Stashoon Raad Yiarn Skylley Stondane) is a request stop near Newtown in the parish of Santon, Isle of Man; it forms part of the sole remaining line of the Isle of Man Railway which once encompassed over 46 miles of network and retains its original station building.

To the north of the railway station the line passes over a road bridge and travels along an embankment; immediately after leaving the railway station environs the line passes under the main Douglas to Ballasalla road and thereafter onto another much larger embankment across the Santon Burn to the occupational crossings of Ballalona and Ballastrang farms.

Upon completion of the project a large sign board denoting the improvements was erected over the porters' room window, but this was later removed when the group became defunct.

In more recent years this practice was discontinued and a much shorter run was introduced with Father Christmas passing among the passengers to distribute presents and trains only travelling as far as various points on the first section of the line prior to Port Soderick railway station.

Such was the unsavoury nature of this undertaking that a large advertisement hoarding was erected the length of the siding to shield passing passengers from the sight.

When the track renewal programme was completed it was revered to being a quiet rural halt, though the improved facilities were to remain beneficial for the annual Santa Trains which terminated here until 2009.

What now forms a flower bed on the railway station platform was once the foundation for wooden store, constructed from the bodywork of an old brake van; it was common to find new uses for vehicles in this way.

In connection with the railway station's temporary role as the line's terminus in 2002 a water tank on metal legs was installed and this remains extant although largely unused.

Within walking distance of the railway station is the Mann Cat Sanctuary and Murray's Motorcycle Museum both of which open at key dates in the summer months.

No. 4 Loch at the station during the popular annual Santa Special services in December 2012; the station has been used for many years for these trains
Train entering, the main road bridge in the distance.
No.12 Hutchinson enters the station when it was the temporary terminus during all-island sewage works beneath the trackbed elsewhere.
A northbound train crosses the Santon Burn to the immediate southwest of the railway station.
The original structure remains, the macadam platform was added in 1999