The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway

Last night Douglas Corporation announced that the horse tram service would be abandoned with immediate effect. The reason given was the annual operating loss of 260,000 pounds. They propose to offer the rolling stock to "museums" and sell off the stables and tram sheds "for development". This is particularly poor timing as this unique tramway was to have celebrated its 140th anniversary this year. Another example of 'penny-wise pound foolish' thinking - IMHO of course.
Ray.

 

That is tragic! One of my earliest memories is being taken by my Dad on a day trip to the IOM from Heysham in the mid-50's.. Riding on a horse tram is part of that memory. I've returned several times since and always took time for a horse tram ride.

I'm assuming the decision has been made without any consultation?

 

Despicable, pointless vandalism.

 

So sad. Given the number of very wealthy people who live on the Island one would have thought they could have raised the relatively small amount needed to cover the loss.

 

yeah, that loss is a drop in the ocean on a tax haven island. I suspect it's the selling the property for development that is driving this...someone going to get richer at the expense of Heritage.

 

To me it seems more like a negotiating move between Douglas Corporation and the Isle of Man Government.

 

This is a total shame. 19 tram cars listed in the fleet thats a lot to find homes for. The IOM has lost a central part of its character. Also sorry for all those who work there.

 

In happier times................

 

In answer to the points made above:
AFAIK there was no consultation with the Gov't or Manx National Heritage. A spokesperson for MNH stated that the first they heard of it was in the media.
Very few, if any, of the supposed "high net worth individuals" appear to have any interest in Manx heritage and are, IMHO, only here to avoid paying taxes elsewhere.
For the last several years there has been a lot of Gov't 'belt tightenening' caused by the U.K. Gov't's unilateral re-assessment of the VAT sharing agreement. This has resulted in a loss of 200+ million quid which spread over 85,000 people (of which <1/2 will be tax-payers) is a big shortfall to make up. Already the Dept of Infrastructure (responsible for IoM Railways) finds it hard to justify the annual million pound + losses on the IMR, MER & SMR so it is unlikely that they will be eager to take over another loss-making tramway particularly if Douglas Corpy sell off the stables and tram depot for a quick 'cash grab'.
Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to justify this appallingly short sighted action. Whilst the horse tramway makes a loss to the Corporation it is a unique operation which brings visitors and their money to the Island and IoM PLC ultimately gains. I hope I am wrong but I fear that this closure might cause some visitors to re-consider whether it is worthwhile making the, not inexpensive, trip and reflects very badly on an island which is supposed to value its heritage.
Ray.

 

I'd agree with pretty much everything stated above and if you pardon my Anglo Saxon, I think I detect more bullsh*t in Douglas Councils statements than you will find horse sh*t in Douglas stables......

Usual approach of such organisations, justify your decision by sticking the scariest big numbers you can into the public domain with no clarity on what they do or don't include.
Does that figure of £2.9 million for relocating the stables for example reflect the commercial value that will then be realised when they sell the original site? I'd be very surprised if it does.
Just brings to mind the adage of "lies, damned lies and Government Statistics".

As others have said, the "real" value of such attractions if you look at the whole picture is far greater than immediate revenue but you trying telling an accountant that.....and unfortunately it is they that rule our government organisations nowadays.

A tragic loss to our heritage yet again.

Chris

 

Very Sad

 

Whilst it is sad to see it close and so suddenly, this thread seems to be an attempt to resurrect all the usual cliches in one place.

 

Absolutely so. An almost insoluble problem is that the motive power consumes fuel and requuires maintenance 52 weeks per year, whether earning money or not. Even the most deluded scheme put forward by the "wouldn't it be nice" crowd does not have such a disadvantage.

PH

 

It's a difficult dilemma. On the one hand, the horse tramway is a unique and historically important survivor, worthy of being saved. However, we cannot blind ourselves to the financial realities of the situation. It is easy for rail enthusiasts on the mainland to say that Douglas Corporation should cough up; however, for the Douglas ratepayer, who knows that the alternative may be cuts to services like schools or hospitals, the decision may not be so clear-cut.

This serves to reinforce my belief that in future, heritage organisations of all kinds - railways, museums, historic houses, you name it - will have to strive to be self-financing.

Rather than just wailing at the world I want to try to be constructive and identify potential solutions. So, here are some ideas:

1. Is there any possibility of a supporters' association (perhaps the MERS) playing a more active role in raising funds and providing volunteer labour, or perhaps even taking over the tramway completely?
2. Alternatively, is there any possibility that bringing the horse tramway into the IoM railways "family" could help to bring about greater efficiency and economies?
3. Clearly, the fortunes of all the IoM's railways are inextricably linked to the Manx tourist trade as a whole. Is there any potential for better co-ordination between all the islands tourist attractions to create interlinked "programmes" of events that will give people an incentive to keep coming back to the island, year after year? The success of the Year Of Railways, Steam 125 etc. shows that this principle can be made to work; but could its appeal be widened by finding ways to embrace non-railway attractions as well?
4. Could any ways be found to give local people more incentive to use the tramway? Could the route be extended in ways that might make it more useful as a public transport service, e.g. to the ferry terminal or the steam railway station? If, say, a congestion charge to be introduced, would that help to encourage modal shift from car to tram?

No doubt those with more knowledge of the local situation will pick holes in all these ideas, but at least they are a starting point for discussion!

 

Hopefully none of us would want to "pick holes" in your post but rather try to make constructive comments.
Unlike the U.K. the IoM's hospitals, schools, emergency services etc are all paid from 'central' Gov't tax revenues not from the rates although you do have a valid point of course. I don't see the MERS, as an organization, taking much of a part but the fairly recently formed Heritage Railway Volunteers (who have already taken on several projects such as the MER museum) might wish to assist.
The IoM railways come under the umbrella of the Dept. of Infrastructure and, as I pointed out earlier, already hugely subsidize them. The cynic in me suspects that the DoI will not object to the tramway closure too strongly as it was intended that they would have to pay to relocate the tram tracks to the promenade walkway as part of the forthcoming redevelopment scheme.
Over the years there have been various suggestions of extending the tramway along the partially pedestrianized North Quay to the IMR station. Nothing ever came of them, sadly. Unfortunately the tramway could never offer a year-round park'n ride due to its slow speed (not that much above walking pace) and forced winter closure when the sea is throwing cricket ball size rocks across the prom.
I would like to think something can be worked out under a joint Manx National Heritage/IoM Railways umbrella and supported by Heritage Railway Volunteers but it must be remembered that cash is currently in short supply and most of the active local enthusiasts are already committed.
Hopefully common sense will prevail.
Ray.

 

Wot about the horses????

 

At the risk of appearing "cliched", I think what disappoints most is the secretive and somewhat underhand manner in which Douglas Council have acted.

From statements made by both, neither the IOM Gov't or Manx National Heritage were made aware in advance of their proposed actions, it was a closed meeting so there was no opportunity for any form of public consultation with regard to what is effectively a publically owned asset, and as recently as late December the Council had provided the "Friends" organisation which promoted and supported the tramway with the operating dates for 2016. They and others had published these in good faith and were actively developing plans to celebrate the 140th anniversary.
After the effort they have put in to support the tramway in the past, I hope that if nothing else, they will be given the opportunity to run a "last tram" in its 140th year.
Mind you I wouldn't put it past Douglas Council to start lifting the track next week just to earn a few quid in scrap.....
It is clear too that their employees were blissfully unaware that they were about to be made redundant. There was no indication either that they might be offered other positions in the councils operations.

It all smacks of "closure by stealth" to me, the only alternative being sheer incompetence.
Why, with a known annual loss in revenue versus running costs and the knowledge that you needed to tighten your financial belt would anybody in their right mind even consider undertaking a £2.9million pound scheme to merge the stables with the tram depot, unless you were deliberately trying to make the system appear massively uneconomic? (or already had a developer wanting those sites knocking at your door holding a big bag of cash) From their own statements, it is actually the increase in loan costs to support that proposal which is generating the massive increase in potential annual losses that they are then using as their justification for closure. Staggers belief really.
They also probably paid the equivalent of a seasons losses to the Consultants who developed that scheme for them. Wonder how their ratepayers will now feel about funding that abortive cost?

Yes there are clearly economic issues that need addressing, and it would be naïve to ignore those, but there are ways and means by which, with a bit of effort and lateral thinking, they could at least have been explored during the 2016 season. With the right promotion wouldn't the 140th anniversary have been just the year to generate some extra "bums on seats" needed to reduce losses?

By their actions, Douglas Council have now effectively deprived anybody of the opportunity to do that.

Chris

 

"Common sense" is a deeply dodgy expression. Merely dresses up the subjective opinion of the person uttering it. Finding the money required, not just for one year, will be deeply difficult and will need far far more than wishful thinking. Best of luck.

PH

 

Very sad. My wife and I had a lovely holiday in IoM in 2014, staying in Douglas and the horse trams were part of Douglas' character. There is still enough to justify returning, but the horse tram was a major tourist attraction and its loss may put some potential visitors off. I'd have thought that £260K was not a vast amount in the great scheme of things.

 

What hasn't been mentioned is that there a plans afoot to redesign the whole prom and traffic flows which would mean that the tramway would have to be relaid anyway, so perhap this closure announcement was a a way of no longer needing to include the tramway in the development.
When I was at the TT this year, the landlady at our B&B commented that the plans she had seen for the prom were not very traffic friendly which is not good as during road closures for the TT and MGP the prom is a main rout for Onchan, Laxey and Ramsey traffic.