Isle Of Man Steam Railway

Magnificent.

 

On the subject of Carriages.....'Pairs' carriage F62 restored by Stanegate Restorations returned to the Island this week. F62 carries the bodies of original 1873 4 wheel carriages A1 and B1 placed on a steel bogie underframe in 1926. Long stored 'Pairs' F63 left the island on the same low-loader. Several photos can be viewed on https://www.facebook.com/hrviom/
Cheers,
Ray.

 

Many thanks. It was there when I visited, but couldn't recall it's identity, though it was safely under cover, minus doors and showing evidence of recent attention. Unfortunately, I had no camera* - no smartphones back then - as it was a spur of the moment visit. I saw a road direction sign, driving back to Dublin one weekday evening and popped in on a very rewarding offchance.

The number of IMR carriages currently showing as 'under restoration' is seriously encouraging and the possibilities following the stored loco's asbestos removals (is there any of that muck on 19/20?) are exciting. I do hope the sight of humongous 'cruise ship specials' becomes a regular feature of operations, once this confounded lurgi is under control. It's too east to forget just how many passengers the line is capable of handling .... given the opportunity.

Does anyone mind me giving me giving the C&L centre at Domod a quick gratuitous plug? It's very well worth a visit .... just send any disinterested co-travellers on a Shannon River trip from nearby Rooskey and you can enjoy at your leisure.

*and I'm a crap photographer anyway

 

That loading ramp looks a bit steep on to the low loader.

 

SVR News reports the 3rd and 4th new boilers are progressing at Bridgnorth boiler shop. They have been joined by that of 16 Mannin, which has been partly dismantled and for which interior assessment is complete. Instructions are awaited from the IOMR's engineer.

Patrick

 

Isle of Man Transport has, today, announced the re-opening of the Steam Railway, Manx Electric, and Snaefell Mountain Railway for the 2021 season following the lifting of Covid restrictions on the Island yesterday. Unfortunately border restrictions remain in force so only Island residents will be able to travel for now.

"We have some exciting news to share with you all!

We are very pleased to release the start date and initial running dates for The Manx Electric Railway, Snaefell Mountain Railway and Isle of Man Steam Railway this season. 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣1️⃣

~ The Manx Electric Railway commences Saturday 22nd May

~ The Isle of Man Steam Railway commences Thursday 27th May

~ The Snaefell Mountain Railway commences Saturday 29th May

The railway teams look forward to welcoming you all back on board for some exciting adventures on your railways this summer.

Dates and times beyond Sunday 18th July will be announced in due course."

Website: https://www.iombusandrail.im/heritage/


Ray.

 

Good to see they are back running about.

Do I presume that Ramsey proper isn't re-opening this year?
Can one of the Island correspondents just check the Trafalgar is still serving nice beer?

 

There should be a further announcement about the dining train service shortly

 

Privately owned and restored Cleminson 6-wheeler N45 was out in the sunshine at Douglas this morning having had its drawgear re-fitted. Photo by Thurstan Denne courtesy Heritage Railway Volunteers https://www.facebook.com/hrviom/
Enjoy!
Ray,

 

Now announced, see attached images. At the moment the IoM Gov. hopes to be able to further relax the border restrictions from the end of June and allow non-essential travel to the Island. Here's hoping....
Ray.

 

With just 2 weeks to go before the IMR re-opens recently rebuilt loco No4 Loch (1874) is in the paint shop getting lined out and having the final bits of paintwork completed. No11 Maitland's re-assembly continues off-Island. On the coaching stock front the rebuild and repaint of 'Big brake' F49 (1926) was completed a few weeks ago. Saloon F30 (1905) has been re-panelled and will require, at least, a partial repaint before re-entering service on the dining train which starts on Thursday 27th with a 'Pie and Mash'. The good or bad news (whichever way you look at it) on No21 aka 'The Cabbage' is that it's rebuilt bogies arrived back on Island last week. At least with Loch back in service we have a "Thunderbird" loco......... The photo of No4 is courtesy of the IoMSRSA Facebook page.
Ray.

 

IMR locos 13 Kissack and 15 Caledonia were in steam at Douglas station this afternoon. Photos and video on https://www.facebook.com/hrviom/
Ray.

 

In preparation for re-commencing services on Thursday MNR No4 Caledonia was in steam this morning to collect recently refurbished brake compo F46 and big brake F49 from the workshops and assemble a 5 coach train which it later took down to Port Erin. All the carriages in the rake had received various degrees of attention to the running gear. F49 has received an extensive rebuild of both body and chassis for which the former was removed from the latter - possibly the most extensive rebuild so far. Rebuilt 'pairs' carriage F62 is still under wraps having returned from Stanegate earlier this year and F63 departed on the same wagon IIRC. Two further long stored carriages have been identified as possible candidates for restoration. Loco wise IMR No4 Loch just requires a few odd bits finishing before it can re-enter service. The attached photos show Caley in steam outside Douglas shed, collecting F46 and 49 and then departing for Port Erin.
BTW the Manx Electric restarted on Saturday with MER car 1 (1893) in service but, I suppose, that deserves its own thread. Cheers,
Ray.

 

Recently completed IMR No4 Loch of 1874 was steamed this morning along with No13 Kissack in preparation for services to re-start on Thursday. The photo below is courtesy of IoMSRSA and further photos including yesterday's test train passing under the new Ballasalla by-pass bridge can be found at https://www.facebook.com/IOMSRSA/
Ray.

 

Looking good to go. Loving the Supporters Association Facebook banner. The cosmetic restoration of No.1 is truly superb. Well done that team!

Enquiry: Does anyone know the current state of play with loco No.11's restoration, please?

 

I've only seen a couple of photos showing small areas of the loco - on the IoMSRSA facebook page IIRC. It can't be far off completion though. Perhaps IoM Rlys want to keep it under wraps for a big unveiling? Maybe someone who has been to Statfold lately can comment.
As regards No1 a lot of the restoration was done by just one teenager.....who says that today's youth are only interested in their i-phones and x-boxes?
Ray.

 

Hells bells, that's a pleasant surprise. In that case Ray, perhaps you should consider pointing three of 'em at Mona, stand back and see what comes out the other end (if only, eh?).

 

The final paint job was done professionally but that doesn't detract from the many hours the lad put in. Recently he has been tidying up No6 after asbestos removal and getting it ready to go back in the museum today or tomorrow. In his day job he is an engineering apprentice working on the assessment of No16 and in his spare time is busy relaying part of the Orchid Line so he can run his live steam loco. I want to know where they put the Energizer batteries! I'm sure attention will return to Nos 5 & 9 in due course.
Ray.

 

The paint jobs on the IMR in recent years have been nothing short of stunning (especially notable, IMO, is "The Foxdale Coach"). In amongst all the (perfectly understandable) chatter about locos, it's easy to overlook the colossal amount being done to rehabilitate the carriage fleet, whether from service or store.

The fate of one of the carriages listed on Wikipedia intrigues me. All third, F12 is listed 'scrapped', but with a note reading 'to Derby Castle'. Is this vehicle still in existence or not?

The impressive rate at which carriages are being returned to good order suggests that the supply stored OOS for yonks is looking rather more finite than at any point since the infamous "bonfires". If visits by cruise ships can be successfully developed, sights such as the magnificent double headed 12 coach special, a while back, might indicate a need for rather more carriages in good condition, which would be a nice problem for the IMR management to grapple with!

 

Booked a visit for April 2022. Seems a long while in the future but it will soon come round.