The Great Laxey Mine Railway

Mining for lead and zinc began at Laxey in about 1780. By the mid 1870s the Great Laxey Mine was one of the richest and most successful metal mines in Britain. Shafts had been sunk to depths of over 2000 feet deep and nearly 1000 men, and a few women and young lads, worked at the mine. The main level of the mine was known as the Adit Level. It entered the hillside beneath the Laxey Wheel, connecting with each of the shafts deep underground and having a maximum length of nearly 1½ miles.

A tramway ran along the entire length of the adit level and was used to carry the mined ore out of the mine to the Washing Floors where the ore was prepared for sale. The tramway wagons were originally hauled by ponies but in 1877 they were replaced by two 19 inch gauge steam locomotives built by Stephen Lewin of Poole, Dorset. Named Ant and Bee they remained in use until the mine closed in 1929 and were broken up for scrap a few years later.

In 1999, the Laxey and Lonan Heritage Trust began the restoration of the surface section of the former tramway. A bequest from the estate of the late Lt Col R S Glenn funded the building of two fully working replicas of the original Ant and Bee. The restored Great Laxey Mine Railway was officially opened on 25th September, 2004. Passengers can now ride in a tiny carriage along the line where loaded wagons of ore were once hauled from the mine. 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. The Laxey Wheel is only a short five minute walk away. The line runs beneath the main Laxey to Ramsey road and the Manx Electric Railway through the longest railway tunnel on the Island!

Steam trains run between 11.00am and 4.30pm on Saturdays and Bank Holidays, from Easter until the end of September. The return fare is only £1. Contact 861706 for further details.