The Friends of Castletown Railway Station will be holding two events on Friday to mark the 150th anniversary of its opening.

Friday will be a century and a half since the official opening of the station on August 2, 1874.

Starting at 3.30pm, there will be a community fundraising event with entertainment, old photos, displays of railway stock and memorabilia.

Refreshments will also be available at the station and at the Sidings and the Viking Hotel public houses which are adjacent to the station, while admission to the event is free.

Entertainment will be provided throughout the event by Manx dancers Perree Bane and the Castletown Metropolitan Silver Band.

At 6.45pm, a special ceremony will be held with the unveiling of a blue plaque at Castletown Railway Station to mark the 150th anniversary.

There will be invited guests, while Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer and Lady Lorimer will be in attendance at the unveiling ceremony.

The special commemorative plaque, which has been kindly donated by local charity Castletown Heritage, is to be unveiled by the president of the Friends of Castletown Station, Tony Brown OBE, who was the town’s former MHK and a former Chief Minister of the island.

A spokesperson for the Friends of Castletown Station added: ‘The public are invited to come along to Castletown to enjoy the two events which are celebrating the momentous occasion in 1874 when the station opened.

‘It dramatically changed the lives of the residents, who were now able to travel to Douglas in 30 minutes and to Port Erin in 20 minutes, being substantially quicker than any previous forms of travel.

‘The impact of the opening of the southern railway line and Castletown Station had a dramatic impact that we cannot imagine today.’