Welcome

Here you will find information about The Laxey Station Cafe, Laxey and the Isle of Man.

The station was built in 1899 and little has changed; it's set back from the main road and nestled amongst the beautiful old Beech trees.  Step back in time and enjoy the serene and relaxed atmosphere with the sounds of the birds and the passing trams.

There has been a cafe within the Laxey Tram Station for a number of years, however it has been in the present building since approximately 2001.

I took over the cafe in the spring of 2007, but I also operated it for the summer of 2005 for the previous owners. 

History

There is plenty written about the history of Laxey, the trams and the station so I will not go into it in detail, but briefly..

The start

In 1893 it was decided to build an Electric Railway line to Groudle.  The first rails were laid in May of that year and the line was officially opened on 7 September 1893.  The trams operated for just nineteen days that year and carried approximately twenty thousand passengers during that time.

The extension to Laxey

The following year the line was extended to Laxey with the official opening on 28 July 1894.  The first station in Laxey was located adjacent to where the car sheds are at present.

Snaefell Mountain Railway

Construction of the line to Snaefell commenced in January 1895; the work was completed and the line officially opened on 20 August that same year.  All six tramcars operated for the remainder of the first season and carried approximately 900 passenger per day. 

At this time the station was located next to the Snaefell car sheds, but it was deemed too great a distance between where the coastal line terminated and the Snaefell line began so in 1897 the Snaefell terminus was moved to position located close to where the main road now crosses the line.

Extension to Ramsey

Work began on the construction of the Laxey to Ramsey line in November, 1897 and the official opening was held on 2 August 1898.

At Laxey, a new station to connect the existing line from Douglas with the new line to Ramsey and the Snaefell Mountain Railway was constructed on the garden of the Laxey Mine Captain's House, adjacent to Christ Church. 

The Laxey station was constructed in 1898 is still standing today and in use as the cafe and ticket office. 

Refreshment Room

In 1899 a large refreshment room was built in the station grounds, but sadly this was destroyed by fire on the evening of 24 September 1917 and never rebuilt.

The oldest working electric tramcars

Tram cars 1 and 2 are the oldest electric tramcars in the world today which are still working on their original line.  Have a look in our photo gallery for a rare picture of both of these trams side by side on their way to Laxey.