FROM MANX STEAM RAILWAY NEWS

ISSUE No. 140 - SUMMER / AUTUMN 2005

Locomotives

Since we last went to press No. 4 Loch has had it’s boiler returned from Chatham Steam and has been reunited with the frames; she now awaits a repaint as the paint applied by Chatham was somewhat thin! The engine may be ready and used on the Santa Trains. The boiler has had the foundation ring re-riveted and additional wash-out plugs added.

No.8 Fenella has been used sporadically throughout the season most notably during the enthusiasts’ period in July, piloting No.10 G.H. Wood on the evening special and for the annual Inside Track visit to the railway. She was the Douglas-based service loco for the last month of the season. No. 13 Kissack has been in service during the latter part of the season on the Douglas service and is proving to be reliable. Most of the faults encountered when she first arrived back on I.M.R. metals have now been remedied. She has returned to service with a copper-capped chimney and brass numerals. Nos. 12 and 13 now both carry deep whistles, as they would have done when delivered in 1908 and 1910 respectively.

Centenarians Nos. 10 & 11 have, along with No. 12 Hutchinson of 1908, seen extensive service in the summer months. At the time of writing No. 11 has just passed its boiler service, which is now on the final year of its 10-year ticket. Its after next season as a service locomotive is uncertain. During the enthusiasts’ period in July 10 and 11 double-headed the ex-Douglas service train all day and opportunity was taken to pose the locos together at the end of the platform at Douglas. Well-known regular Steam Packet traveller, railway enthusiast and ex-owner of the Silverdale Glen complex Cecil Mitchell took the opportunity to pose with G.H. Wood and Maitland as seen elsewhere in these pages - as he too was celebrating his one-hundredth year! Consider when you see the photograph that between the two locos and Mr. Mitchell there is a total of 300 years! Mr. Mitchell also had the honour of unveiling the nameplate of the railway’s newest locomotive…

“Ailsa”

For the enthusiasts’ period the Hunslet locomotive acquired some time ago from A.W.G. was named after Lord Ailsa as a tribute to saviour of the railways in the 1960s. She has also been serviced and is ready for permanent way use, having acquired the fleet number 18. It is expected to be repainted from it’s current all-over white livery in the spring, the new livery is unknown.

“Friends Of Thomas” Weekend

This now-annual event took place at Douglas during August and featured the usual array of “attractions”. No.15 Caledonia masquerading as one of Thomas’ friends was at hand offering children a look at the footplate (and a blow of the whistle) until she summoned to take over the rides in the troublesome trucks when Dirty Diesel was called to run a fire train; the heavy loadings (six coaches) on both days led to several lineside fires. The fat controller must have been very busy indeed! This weekend was No.15’s only stint in service this season, but she was in steam for the enthusiasts’ period, albeit stationary in the yard at Douglas for photographic purposes. The next time she will be used will be for the Santa Trains which presumably will consist of the usual top-and-tail service with the Bar Set to Keristal with Father Christmas distributing presents while the train is in motion.

Permanent Way & Lineside

The area above the Douglas side of the Blackboards Bridge has been cleared back to improve visibility for road users, the work being carried out by the Department Of Transport. This has made the area look considerably different. Ironically enough, less than a week after the last issue was published, the slotted post signal south of Castletown was considered too dangerous to leave in situ and was removed by railway staff and brought into Douglas where is remains in the yard at this time. It is understood that it will be stored at Homefield Garage pending a decision upon its future. The original ironwork is under no threat and will be kept under cover until a decision has been reached. This unique part of the line’s history will no doubt reappear somewhere in the future. Elsewhere, the home signal at Port Erin has had its mechanism fitted and is fully operational; the Stevens & Co., lever, donated by the Supporters’ Association is now in situ north of the Droghadfayle Road gates to operate this signal. The signal arms have been attached to the signals at the foot of Douglas platform but as yet there is no operating mechanism in place.

Workshop Visits

To visit the workshops at Douglas, once a commonplace occurrence, you now have to receive expressed written permission from Director of Public Transport, David Howard. This is due to the ongoing stringent health and safety requirements.

Coaches & Rolling Stock

The Port Erin-based set this season has consisted of Fs. 9, 10, 18, 26 and 45; this set has been consistent all season, F.26 having been the standby coach in the carriage shed. All the coaches have been used extensively this summer with the exception of F.49 due to its lack of passenger capacity; it is currently in the paintshop receiving attention. It is good to note that on several occasions throughout the summer, for the first time in many years, unassisted seven-coach trains have been a necessity due to the heavy passenger loadings; the last few weeks of the season saw two and three coach trains. The fire train was assembled for the dry spell and M.70 once again was used to carry the water tank. This set saw so much use over the summer that the M wagon has since had its bearings replaced.

Station Buildings

At the time of going to press, no work has been carried out on any of the station buildings. Perhaps some work will be done on them during the winter months if the funding becomes available?

“They’ve Gone Warning Sign Mad”

Following from the article in the October edition of Heritage Railway magazine (see editorial) the Manx Independent produced a feature in its 30^th September issue, with the above title.  Mr. David Howard was interviewed by the local press and said in reaction to Curtis Devereau’s comments, “Safety is our number on priority and we need to ensure that the railway operates safety. It is a sad fact of life that, if we had the unfortunate situation where we had an injury accident with a trespasser, we would be severely criticised”.

Elsewhere…

The Manx Electric Railway season ceased on Sunday 2^nd October for the foreseeable future as the demolition of the Summerland Complex is allegedly imminent. They went out with a bang, however with an intense service being operated on the final day, with several additional cars laid on. It is not known when the service will recommence but during the closure period there is to be a substantial investment in the permanent way, somewhere in the region of £1.5million.