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

They will both take place on Friday, August 2, a century and a half after 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. Admission to the event is free.

Entertainment is provided 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, and Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer and Lady Lorimer will be in attendance at the unveiling ceremony.

The ceremony is open to the public.

The blue plaque has kindly been provided by charity Castletown Heritage.

The special commemorative plaque 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.

Mr Brown has been invited to undertake this task in recognition of his active support for Isle of Man Railways during his period as MHK for Castletown, and for the direct actions he took during his time as Minister for Transport to secure the long-term future of Castletown Station and the Southern line of the railway.

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 life 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, and opening up travel all across the island to the residents of Castletown.

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