The Cattle Dock
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As part of the goods yard there was an exterior loading platform, the majority of which remains today served by one of two sidings; this was shortened during renovations in 1993 to provide further car parking. Upon this platform stood the cattle dock, a timber palisade pen for holding livestock prior to onward shipment by rail. The Friends Of... have scale drawings of this and are hopeful to install a replica at some point in the future.
The siding which served the dock was also shortened in 1994, having originally extended to approximately the site of the rear door to the booking office; it was shortened in 1980 as far as the goods shed and was used until 1991 to display the railway's breakdown crane prior to its removal from the site and moving to Union Mills. The siding was lifted for drainage work in 2020 and has yet to be reinstated, it is presently stored in panels in the yard. A replica dock was installed in March 2026.
The loading platform and grassed area which once was fitted with the dock at the station, served by the rear siding, the cattle dock was located in the centre of this platform which is still served by the siding.
Santon Station also had a substantial cattle dock; today the siding and part of the platform remain, the dock has disappeared. This view shows the standard design of the cattle pens using palliside fencing.
The dock at the south-western end of the yard at Port St. Mary Station, the small stone platform for which remains today. A common feature of many stations, reinstating one in our yard is the ultimate aim.
Being the main terminus, the goods yard at Douglas Station was much larger, as was the cattle dock as seen here with No.1 Sutherland and a rake of goods stock beside it including one of the cattle vans to the left.
The remains of the cattle dock at Ballasalla Station which survived in poor condition until the site was redeveloped from 1985; the station here had a large goods yard to serve weekly mart traffic for many years.
Van G.2 beside the cattle dock which is just discernible to the right in this archive view, one of very few showing the position of the dock which is the proposed site of the replica by the Friends Of...
A rake of drop-side wagons stand in the rear siding beside the site of the cattle dock which stood to the right in this view, illustrating how wagons were loaded by parking them beside the platform to the right.
The platform and dock at Kirk Michael Station on the north line illustrates the palisade design of all these similar docks. Several of these had substantail raised stone bases to accommodate them as seen here.
On the Peel Line there was a similar dock at Crosby Station which also had an advertisement hoarding similar to ours. Pallisade fencing featured with a number of access gates on each of their sides.
Another example existed at Colby Station served by its own dedicated siding, the base for which remains today although the tracks have long since been removed; note the small set of access steps.
One of very few images showing the dock at Castletown Station, beside the open wagon on the far right with the railway breakdown crane which was stowed here between uses for several years.
A variety of goods stock in the yard was a common feature, serving to illustrate how busy the station was until even the latter days of operation, the two sidings both remain in situ today, though one is shortened.
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