Isle of Man - weekend break
Isle of Man - weekend break |
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Getting to the Isle of Man has never been easier. For our little group (my wife and my parents) our journey started via the Docklands City Airport. Just over the hour after take off we touched down at Ronaldsway Airport on the southern end of the Isle of Man
| Famous for its TT races, manx
cats, Tynwald and most importantlyfor me its railways. I
was aware the railway had had line closures but what I
didn’t realise was there were other railways that
have long since gone. I will go in to these next month
but for this issue concentrate on the operating Trams Our first railway trip was to take the Manx Electric Railway (Tram) from Douglas to Laxey. The line starts at Derby Castle which is located at the north end of the Douglas bay . Once next to the tram stop was the Derby Castle itself complete with a glorious ballroom. Replaced in the sixties by an ugle concrete monstrosity, which itself is due for replacement at the end of this year, called Aquadrome and the infamous Summerland (1973 fire) I had read a little about the Manx Electric Railway
but nothing prepared me for what can only be described as
apiece of living history. It has a regular timetable and
a sizeable fleet of vintage trams and trailers. |
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It is a strange feeling to
ride on an open sided tram, bouncing around in open
countryside. Far from being a suburban or city people
mover this line was built for the views and holiday
makers. I use the term bounced as some of the track was a
bit lively to say the least. Time wise Laxey is around
halfway between Douglas and Ramsey and for us it was time
to change trams. Here you disembark the Manx trams to
board the Snaefell Railway. Oddly this line was built to
a larger scale of 3’6” as against the island
wide 3’ (Manx Electric Railways and Steam railway).
The extra 6” being required for its unique centre
“fell rail” which is used for breaking. |
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| Above: Tram and trailer at Derby Castle. | ||
| When the railway was being built the builders was unsure whether traditional adhesion was adequate to climb the 1 in 12 gradient and so the use of a gripping system on the double edged rail was planned. Although this system was not required the rail was retained to allow for a calliper brake system. |  |
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Above Right: A Manx tram
passing two Snaefell trams Left: Close up of the brakes on the Snaefell Tram Right: looking up the line from Laxey. Clearly showing the fell rail. Also Highlights the condition of the track. Being laid on its side, the fell rail collects water and in numerous places it had rusted through. |
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