Isle Of Man Steam Railway

Unlike on the 'adjacent island' Isle of Man Railways are running normally.........
One of our popular 'Ultimate Driving Experiences' was preparing to leave Douglas earlier this morning with the stock for the 9.50 further down the platform. Photo courtesy of Heritage Railway Volunteers https://www.facebook.com/hrviom/

In the workshops MNR No.4 Caledonia is now back on its wheels after the completion of axlebox and other associated work. A return to service is expected later in the season.

Ray.

 

Big train on the 15:50 x Douglas today (Saturday) 10 carriages double headed by numbers 13 and 11. There is a special private hire dining service from Port Erin tonight, so the six car dining set is being sent south as part of the normal timetabled run.
Brings back memories of the old “Boat trains” that ran until 1965. I doubt they will be detaching the lead loco in motion though on the approach to Port St. Mary, health and safety would take a dim view of that. Great to see, and thanks to Thurstan for the photo. More on @hrviom fb page

 

Deleted - Mike beat me to it!

 

Presumably the steam railway services are running as normal at the moment?
Just started planning my moves for my upcoming trip and have spotted that Bus Vannin have an Emergency Timetable in force due to staff shortages which has axed several routes and reduced frequencies on others. There appear to have been a few daily cancellations on the Manx Electric as well so hoping my plans don't get too messed up for the 5 days I've got a Go Explore card.........

 

Yes, Johann, the IMR is running normally. MNR No.4 Caledonia was seen in light steam last week so, hopefully, it will be available for the Summer Heritage Transport Festival at the end of next month. Plenty of the 'old favourites' like the workshop tours and 'drive a tram' but also a few new events .... Full details below:

 

Many thanks for that. I'll actually be there the end of next week as I remember that it was very quiet on the island when I last visited back in 1995, falling between the end of the TT period and the Summer School holidays, so that's why I picked this time to visit.
Am now concentrating on the rail side of things, particularly the MER, as some of the bus routes I intended to use to get about seem to have been withdrawn in the "Emergency Timetable"!
At least the Loganair flights seem to be operating OK - Glad I didn't book an Easyjet flight......

 

After a few months in the works, x Manx Northern No4 Caledonia was in steam today outside the Douglas loco shed. It is planned to return this engine to active service in a while subject to further testing etc.
Thanks Thurstan Denne for the picture

 

I’m hoping that some details of our 150th anniversary events will be available to share from tomorrow (Friday).
July 1st 1873 was the opening date for the Isle of Man Railway, so the 149th anniversary seems like a good time to give advance notice.

 

Here we go, one year way, the 150th anniversary of the Steam Railway, 130th anniversary of the Electric Railway and an extended Transport Festival in between
https://www.facebook.com/1000645845...APFFDj9o3wb4LCj3kPqCeUaXtVkkUugDGGEjDNTl/?d=n

 

Mike's link, above, doesn't seem to work if you're not a Farcebook member so I've cut & pasted it from the IoM Transport's FB page below:
Isle of Man Transport is at Douglas railway station.
13 mins · Douglas, Isle Of Man ·
A proud day for the Isle of Man as the Isle of Man Steam Railway celebrates its 149th anniversary today and we thought this was the perfect opportunity to give you a sneak preview of what's to come next year as we celebrate its 150th anniversary
On Saturday 1st July 2023 the Isle of Man Steam Railway will celebrate 150 years since the opening of the Douglas to Peel line on Tuesday 1st July 1873. To mark the occasion the Steam Railway will operate a special timetable for the day with some very special guests joining us! At Port Erin the station will host a vintage fayre with a special exhibition in the Museum for the occasion.
Between Sunday 23rd July and Sunday 30th July we will host our annual Summer Transport Festival. Extended by three days to mark the occasion of The Isle of Man Steam Railways 150th anniversary and The Manx Electric Railways 130th anniversary. The eight day festival will be packed with special events. A full itinerary will be released in due course, but we are delighted to offer a preview below. Please note that the dates shown on the Save the Date card for July are now extended by one extra day with the festival now commencing Sunday 23rd July.
Caledonia on Tour
Isle of Man Steam Railway Cavalcade
Manx Electric Railway Cavalcade
Steam on The Manx Electric Railway
Family Fayre Days
Workshop Tours
Motorman Taster Sessions
Photography Specials
Special events on the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway
Many other surprises to come!
On Sunday 10th September we will mark the 130th anniversary of The Manx Electric Railway that will celebrate its official anniversary on Thursday 7th September. We want as many of you as possible to be able to join us this day so we decided Sunday was a better option.
We look forward to releasing the full itinerary for our anniversary year in the coming weeks and we hope you will be able to join us to celebrate our remarkable railways combined 280 years of history!
#isleofman #isleofmanrailways #history #heritagerailways #manxelectricrailwayonline #isleofmanheritagerailwaysvolunteers #isleofmansteamrailwaysupportersassociation #manxelectricrailwaysociety #isleofmanrailway150
Cheers,
Ray.

 

Curses!
Strangely enough our holiday at the end of august misses all those dates...
We'll still try to get on the tram and steam railway and try for one of the ones we've not done yet (wildlife park and crogga I think are the last ones)

 

Cheers Ray.

 

Sorry you won't be able to make the 'big event' but there'll still be plenty to see at the end of August. The Orchid Line at the Wildlife Park will be running on Sundays, Bank Holidays (12 - 4.30) & Thursdays (12 - 4) subject to MGP road closures. P.M. me nearer the time if you like.
Cheers,
Ray.

 

Thanks!
It's all up in the air with the new compressed mgp timetable, but we definitely want to do trainthings

 

A 2nd visit to the IOM next year with all that going on seems likely.

 

MNR No.4 worked a special test train before the normal services last Thursday morning and I saw it come in whilst the farce with the regular 09.50 departure from Douglas was being sorted out.....



This MNR coach was also out in the test train.....



The regular scene at Castletown.....

 

The 'Caledonia on Tour' segment interests me. I assume she'll be visiting the MER during the event? I've not been to either railway in living memory so I'll definitely add this to the diary. When was steam last run on the MER?

 

No. 1 in 1998.

 

Didn't No.4 go to see the neighbours too?

 

Certainly did in 1993.