Isle Of Man Steam Railway

I don't think any excuse is needed for the Southwold loco to visit Mann--there's no shortage of NG enthusiasts who'd love to see that (myself included!). The main obstacle, I expect, is money.

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Correct, money is the main obstacle, but the host railway would need to agree, as well.

[and from previous tests, getting anything steam onto the MER these days is a non-starter]

 

Oh yes, loads of people would love to see it, but would the "(almost) recreate the first trains" be sufficient reason to lever some cash out of the coffers to make it happen?

I would think (looking in from the outside) now is a good time to ask the owners, as they don't have much track to run it on, so getting it out and about might generate some steaming fees/publicity/operating experience, which might help drive the project back at base.

 

Moving it is one obstacle. The other is all the staff time required to get a loco that only does 20 yards up to a standard where it can do 15 miles. It also appears to be quite small when compared to an Isle of Man engine so what sort of load can it handle? There's all sorts of other things to consider like wheel profiles, coupling heights, fuel and water capacity, brakes etc. Putting it on a lorry quicky becomes the least of your worries.

 

Would love to see a K-36 there myself.

 

Quite so -
not to mention any operating / firing foibles ...

Evening running, to keep out of the way of the normal train service ?

 

Nice fantasy - but impractical. Sadly, SS "Blyth" is not in working order (and is not fitted with continuous brakes either). SRT are working hard on the loco, but for reasons I cannot go into here, it continues to be a challenging project....
Seems to me that a visit by Slieve Callan could be more do-able: certificated (well - it was!) for passenger use, and not operating at the moment anyway..... James

 

It wouldn't necessarily have to do the full 15 miles. Perhaps a short shuttle from Do uglas to Port Soderick? Or perhaps at the other end of the line, from Port Erin to Port St Mary, where the gradients are easier. You are quite right though, that there are a many factors to consider when exchanging locomotives between betwen

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Yes it would be fun, but I guess that a few bridges might have something to say about that

 

I think that 3ft gauge railways could do with finding themselves a fairy godfather with a pot of cash to burn, I would have liked to see the Cavan and Leitrim railway extend, but I have been told that is no longer possible

 

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Fair Maid of Foyers would make a lovely station pilot for a gala......

 

Slieve Callan was returned to steam in 08/09 so would be out of ticket by now, unless it had had a boiler overhaul which I don’t believe has happened.
It’s been stuck in its shed since around Covid times and the WCR appears to be moribund now, so who knows what the future will be, but I don’t think it would be allowed to leave Ireland on a permanent basis.

 

I’m sure many railways wish for that, it doesn’t seem to be a gauge-specific request!

(Though I suspect being reliant on a single dominant funder is not without its own risks).

Tom

 

Very pretty little loco, yes. It seems a great pity that all that work was done on Fair Maid - including the fitting of air brakes - by a dedicated and motivated team - only to have it sit out its boiler ticket on a wagon. Entirely up to the owners what happens to it, of course - but if I had been part of that team I would have been miffed......
I have a database of all the three-footers in this country (including Eire for practicality rather than politics!) - not that many, as I am sure can be understood. They do seem to be quite unlucky (as far as steaming is concerned) as a group - Fair Maid as above, Kettering Furnaces, Scaldwell, Blyth, Handyman, the possible Tynwald, the O&K in Cornwall, locos at Tralee and Moyasta, etc. - although some of them have steamed but do so no longer, or have been restored cosmetically (some have not) that seems to be about it. Locally, we rue the odd gauge on the Southwold (while of course also celebrating it...) - a two-foot SR would have been a lot easier to restore....
James

 

So, from WIBN to reality..... The annual Heritage Transport Festival starts next Tuesday and runs until Sunday 27th. Some of the highlights include the unveiling of the recently restored 'Royal' saloon F36 and cosmetically restored loco No.9 Douglas.
Full details here: https://www.iombusandrail.im/media/3268/manx-heritage-transport-festival-2025-170725.pdf
Cheers,
Ray.