Isle Of Man Steam Railway

Cheers (yet again) Ray. TBH I'd forgotten aboit the difference in wheelbase between the ex-"small" rebuilds and the "mediums". I wonder when - if ever - boiler provision for the working fleet was as good as now? .... even moreso should the remaining 'Chathams' turn out to be worth another pass through the shops.

Still, the potential to eventually have Nos. 5 & 9 available for public display would be a significant step forwards.

 

The IMR, as part of the national transport system, is not a preserved railway in the accepted sense so doesn't, AFAIK, really have any facility to accept donations. It is funded from its own income with a six figure annual subsidy from the Treasury. If Mannin's restoration proves to be practicable - and recent indications are positive it will be overhauled for use on the heavier trains such as the diner set and be funded by the Dept. of Transport. In view of how much work will be involved I'm guessing that it will be contracted out. The Heritage Railway Volunteers and the Supporters Association assist in what might be described as WIBN roles/projects which the railway doesn't have the staff or funds for. There are, however, several ways one can help financially. One way is by purchasing tickets (even if you don't use them) or models/souvenirs from the railway shop online or in person. Another way is to donate to one of the IOMSRSA projects - the current one is the contract rebuilding of van G1 of 1873 which is the only surviving goods vehicle from the opening of the IMR.
Why not come over and see us? The more passengers we carry the better the chances of getting extra Gov't funding as we recently did for the 5 new boilers.
Cheers,
Ray.

 

We hope to later in the year, though for family reasons the timimg is uncertain. I wondered about September, if we wanted to avoid school holidays and (I hope you'll be busy) the peak crowds, is there a time that's best to get a decent midweeek timetable?

Thanks

Patrick

 

Hi Patrick, In September the Steam Railway will be back to timetable R which is Douglas to Port Erin at 9.50, 11.50. 13.50 & 15.50 and Port Erin to Douglas at 10.00, 12.00, 14.00 & 16.00 seven days a week which requires 2 locos in steam. The full timetable is available here https://www.gov.im/media/1364009/2020_iom_railways_dl_timetable.pdf There is often a dining train on Thursday evenings and also at other times but I don't have the t/t to hand. Details at www.rail.im On the 4th Sept there is the monthly commuter train on which one can have breakfast in the morning and drinks on the evening return. If you are spending a few days travelling on the railways the Go Explore cards represent a big saving. Hope this helps.
Ray.

 

Exciting stuff! Will there be anything going on in Manx practice week (other than rain and midges)?

 

Timetable S with 6 return trips daily requiring 3 locos in steam and an intensive service on the MER. 'Hoping for better weather this year!
Cheers,
Ray.

 

So supposing, just supposing, some rich enthusiast with a penchant for the isle of man came along and offered to fund say, the overhauls of 5&9 to working condition, would the railway as a government body be able to accept such an offer? Just wondering.

 

The short answer is "I don't know". However there have been precedents for certain projects. Many years ago the IOMSRSA 'leased' out of traffic No4, paid to have it retubed then returned it to the railway - apologies if I don't have the details of the arrangement exactly correct. At the moment the IMR's van G1 is being totally rebuilt by outside contractors and the IOMSRSA are picking up the bill AFAIK. If you go to their website you can follow the progress. In my previous post I was really referring to people wanting to make individual small donations.
Cheers,
Ray.

 

It’s a very exciting time for the railway, I‘d guess it must be the biggest investment since Lord Ailsa got involved. Thanks for all the information Ray.

Do we know what kind of state 5 and 9 were in when they were withdrawn?

I remember Sutherland running in the 90’s with the boiler borrowed from Fenella. If the boiler was the only thing borrowed, would everything but the boiler now be in working order?

My understanding is that Mona and Douglas are locked away in their bubble because they have asbestos boiler lagging, but if Mannin has that too, do we know why she was considered safe enough to be in the museum?

 

Hms Belfast is riddled with asbestos, but as its mostly contained or stabalised with resin (steam pipes in boiler and engine room) it's safe to look around. On the locos I'm guessing the asbestos was hidden away under the metal boiler sheets and so unless you take them off there's little to no danger.

 

Thanks for your interest Rob. Although the extra funding for the new boilers was a sizeable, and welcome, sum the IoM Gov. has made a number of other large investments since nationalisation including a total relay of the South line.
No9 was the 3rd of the Beyers to be withdrawn (in 1953) and still carries its 1912 boiler complete with Salter valves. It has been suggested that Douglas' early withdrawal was more to do with a lack of work for the small boilered locos rather than its condition but after the best part of 70 yrs in storage..... No5 worked right through to 1968 but was in a generally run-down condition despite having a relatively new (1946) boiler at withdrawal. Some parts including a crosshead are missing from the loco. Although No1 was restored with the borrowed boiler from No8 the rest of the loco was pretty tired.
As pointed out above the asbestos boiler lagging is safe as long as it is sealed in and not disturbed so Nos 6 & 16 could be safely displayed in P.E. Museum - after all most of the locos displayed in NRM and Glasgow Transport Museum are still lagged with asbestos. As I understand it the difference with Nos 5 & 9 is that the cladding was less secure so they were tented and monitored. The decision employ a U.K. based decontamination contractor now was to allow a thorough examination and assessment of No16.
Cheers,
Ray.

 

Thanks for another very informative reply Ray. Am I right in thinking that Nos. 5 and 9 are now back in government ownership? IIRC they were owned by the Isle of Man Railway & Tramway Preservation Society at one time?

 

Yes, ownership was transferred to the railway some years ago and No8 returned to traffic the same day. ISTR the loco was actually en-route to P.E. on its first trip when the transfer was finalised! The contaminated Nos 5 & 9 were seen as a liability, No 8 as an asset so it sort of balanced out in the Gov's view - the IoMR&TPS (ex IoM Rly Soc later 3'g Soc'y) didn't see it in quite the same way but an agreement was reached which was in the best log term interest of the locos - IMHO of course!
Ray.

 

Thanks Ray that’s brilliant. The “Trains of the Isle of Man” books have a lot of photos of Mona in service (I think at Peel), so I would have a particular interest in seeing her out and about again at some point (even if not in service). I have seen her and Douglas in the bubble but it isn’t the same. Would be good to see her on display at Peel or Ramsey if that were ever possible.

 

If and when the asbestos is removed it, at least, gives the option of a cosmetic makeover at some time in the future I'm lucky enough to have ridden behind, and photographed, No5 in 1967/8 so here's one of her at Castletown on 24/8/67 getting oiled up after running round her train. During the 1967 season Castletown was the terminus of the South line as a new gas main was being laid alongside the track from Castletown gasworks to Port St.Mary gasworks.
Cheers,
Ray.

 

A couple of No. 5 Mona at Douglas in June 1968. No. 11 also shown on the Ramsey service on the far platform

 

Some good news......and some bad news. IMR No13 Kissack was out on a test train yesterday following repairs to its motion and axleboxes. It is currently using No11's rods - one of the many advantages of having a standardised fleet.

Unfortunately when No15 Caledonia returned to Douglas on the 16.00 ex Port Erin today all services were suspended until further notice.
Although, fortunately, we still have no confirmed cases of Covid 19 the Island was 'locked down' a couple of days ago. No-one should leave unless their journey is absolutely necessary and anyone coming onto the Island, whether showing symptoms or not, have to go into self-imposed isolation for 14 days. Failure to comply is punishable by a thousand quid fine or 3 months in the 'Jurby Hilton' - the IoM Gov. isn't messing about for once. Sorry to give the bad news - hopefully we'll all be able to enjoy the IMR again when this is all over. Updates will be posted on the Heritage Railways Volunteers Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hrviom/
Stay safe,
Ray.

 

This is the official word from Isle of Man Railways:
Date: 19/03/20

HERITAGE RAILWAY UPDATE

To help support efforts to prevent the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) on the Island, Isle of Man Railways have been following advice from Public Health Isle of Man, the National Health Service, the World Health Organisation and other transport industry bodies.

In consideration of the guidance provided by these bodies we have made some important decisions to ensure the continued safety of the public and our staff.

1. All Isle of Man Heritage Railways will suspend operations from this evening 19 March 2020. The situation will be regularly reviewed in the light of ongoing developments.
2. Our famous dining car events on the steam railway and the Snaefell Summit dinners will also cease operating from today. Our teams will contact all customers who have booked for these events to make suitable alternative arrangements.
3. Port Erin Railway Museum will be closed from today and the Rush Hour on the Railways event will also be cancelled. We plan to move some of the events to our Transport Festival which is scheduled from 29th July 2020, but will be reviewed.
4. We will commence discussions with our commercial tenants and off–island travel partners to support them and mitigate the impact of the situation.
5. Any annual passes for the railways will be extended into next season to take into account the period of closure.

Isle of Man Transport, bus vannin services will continue to run to the planned timetables and people can continue to use this service safely.

Isle of Man Railways would like to thank all our customers for their support, patience and understanding during this difficult time, and we will have our unique Railways back up and running as soon as possible.
Ray.

 

Well, we're still coming over for the manx (unless that gets cancelled), fingers crossed for all you three-legged types in the meantime.

Please keep your collective chins up and keep the pics of the refurbs coming

 

The SVR newsletter https://www.svrlive.com/blapr20 ('The new normal at Bridgnorth MPD') has an update of progress as at Sunday with the IoM boilers.

Patrick