ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED - ISSUE No. 65, WINTER ISSUE 1983

When I went to the first and as it turned out only, Annual General Meeting of the erstwhile Manx Steam Railway Society in May 1967, I had entertained vague ideas of getting a summer job on the railway, but having read that a number of former staff had been re-employed, I imagined that most of the posts would have been filled. Upon making enquiries, however, I was told that so far, the railway only had one guard for a weekday diagram requiring three and thus I made arrangements to return to the island on 2^nd June to start work as a guard. My initial worry concerned the uniform. I had been told that guards would wear battledress and the prospect of working for three months in such ignominious garb caused me to seriously reconsider taking the job. However, a visit to my local station (West Kirby, Wirral Electric Line) with fifty pence, provided me with an admirable B.R. jacket in good condition which had been rendered obsolete by the more recent grey uniforms. Upon arriving at Douglas Station on the Friday before opening day, I was at pains to find a peaked cap, as none of those available was my size, but I eventually obtained one from Isle of Man Road Services (who remained strangely benevolent despite being theoretically in competition with the railway).

The opening day found me travelling as a brakesman in the leading coach of train “A” the photographers’ special, the guard crisis having been eased for the day by a number of former employees borrowed from the Road Services. I covered a total of three return trips to Peel on the Saturday familiarising myself with brake and flag procedures, etc., and on the following day I had to go out on my own, first of all on the Braddan train and, in the afternoon, to Peel.

At this point, it might be useful to describe the functions of the guard on this particular railway. The first activity in the morning was to brush out the trains which had been running the previous day. Initially, this usually consisted of eight vehicles, two for Ramsey, and two threes for Peel. With the advent of the July timetable, there could be as many as nineteen or twenty on a normal summer day, with three coaches for Ramsey and three sets of four running on the south and Peel lines. If the corridors had been running on an excursion the previous evening, these would also require attention.

These and other sundry jobs having been completed, it would now be time for trains to start running. Having ascertained which train one was taking out, it was advisable to walk around it to ensure that all the door knobs were horizontal and tthat couplings and vacuum pipes all connected. In order to try and keep time one could go right through the train before departure, asking passengers’ destinations, so as to establish where it was necessary to stop. Having passed this information to the driver, the station master’s starting whistle was awaited and when this was given up, up went the green flag giving the driver right of way. When he has taken up residence in the guards’ van, the guard gives a second green flag which is acknowledged with a whistle.

A certain amount of the time between stations is taken up with filling in the journal, a large unwieldy piece of paper at the top of which are inserted the names of the driver and guard, the date and the composition of the train. Below these appear the names of the stations against which are “arrive”, “depart” and “late” columns a space for remarks about an contretemps causing late running, etc. The other important duty not mentioned is operating the handbrake. Although the vacuum pipes are connected together, the only braking (except of the diesels), is the fireman’s handbrake and the guard’s. The latter is an assisting brake, used to retard rather than stop the train, and is used on the approach to certain stations and down certain banks. At intermediate stations, on the south and Peel lines, the guard has to collect passengers’ tickets and in some cases, it is even necessary to book passengers on such obscure journeys as Port Soderick to Castletown.

The initial shortage of guards was short-lived, the extra guards needed for T.T. week being volunteers, from the Society. The July timetable required five guards, although there were in fact six, to cover any extra requirements. For most of the summer I was generally employed on duty two which consisted of the 10.00am to Ramsey and back and the 2.00pm to Ramsey, due back in Douglas at 5.32pm. this I found preferable to the shorter trips to Castletown and Peel, although the length of the run (77 minutes) rendered it very vulnerable to late running delays.

The composition of the regular Ramsey rake varied little during the summer and initially consisted of the ex-M.N.R. brake composite F.37 and second class coach F.47 (in that order when leaving Douglas). Later F.48 appeared and F.37 was in the middle, which meant that the guards did not to change ends at the termini. In August, the set acquired one of the large brake vans and lost F.48, thus becoming F.37, F.47, F.40; for a week at the height of the season four coaches (F.48, F.37, F.47, F.40) were used but F.48 was soon removed again. Eventually, the brakes on F.37 ran into trouble and at the beginning of September the set became F.46, F47, F.40 until the end of the summer timetable. There were also periodic goods traffic to Ramsey and the four goods vehicles in use F.27 and F.28 (Empress Vans) and G.17 and G.19 were often attached at the rear, either singly or in various combinations of two.

Ramsey trains were scheduled to run non-stop to St. John’s so this section was normally accomplished without losing time,. Taking water at St. John’s usually cost a few minutes and a late departure was to be expected for Kirk Michael. The climb to St. Germain’s usually took ten minutes and this was followed by further climbing to Gob-Y-Diegan and up the Donkey Bank to Ballaquine. The guards’ brake then became necessary down over Glen Mooar viaduct to West Berk and over Glen Wyllin into Kirk Michael where the train stopped short of the station to take more water.

During the crisis towards the end of the summer, it was a day-to-day decision whether the 11.20am diesel to Ramsey would run and consequently it was necessary to drop notes to all the numerous gate keepers on the line every day, the first of these after ‘Michael being Orrisdale No. 1 followed almost immediately by Orrisdale No. 2. Ballaugh Station could often be passed without stopping, although braking was necessary approaching from the south. The brake is next required soon after Ballaugh, for the descent through Ballacrye to the Wild Life Park, where there were nearly always alighting passengers. Several minutes were usually lost on this section, because although three minutes were allowed from Ballaugh, a suitable cautious descent usually took six. The next station was Sulby Glen where a stop was usually necessary, followed by Sulby Bridge, which was not so well patronised. The next section, through Ellenbane to Lezayre, usually permits two or three lost minutes to be made up and provided nobody wants Lezayre, the run is non-stop to Ramsey. Arrival here was usually about a quarter-of-an-hour late, although on one occasion I recorded 73 minutes after a 57 minute late departure from Douglas! This was a result of the August coal crisis.

Ramsey Station was unmanned and, at first glance appeared disused. The station was locked and unlocked for us by the Peel Motor Body Repair Co., who did us many good turns, including a repair to engine No. 5 on one occasion. The former carriage shed was leased by that firm. Bookings north of Kirk Michael were done on the train using an ex-Road Services bell-punch machine.

On Wednesday in August and September, the normal Ramsey train was replaced by corridor coaches, their number according to demand, this being known as the “Mooragh Special” with lunch at Mooragh Café, included in the 50p fare. The corridor coaches were also used on most of the excursion trains, including the ill-fated 9.00pm to Ramsey on August 24^th which came to a halt at Union Mills when a stone was placed in the points. Fortunately, the passengers (including a party of forty children) were most sympathetic about our misfortune although they must have been disappointed at having to complete the journey by bus.

The Union Mills collision on the previous Monday had already thrown the workings into disorder and from then until the end of the season much late running took place. Although we were able to keep comparatively reasonable time on the St. John’s to Ramsey line, the Ramsey train was usually delayed between St. John’s and Douglas by various Peel trains running well over an hour late in some cases, the cause being usually the temperamental progress of Caledonia. Nevertheless, it proved possible on the last four days of the summer timetable to get the 4.14pm train from Ramsey to Douglas not more than three minutes late.

There is much variation in the brakes fitted to the coaches and I found it advisable to find the number of turns necessary before using the brake. All the large brake vans in use (F.40, F.42, F.43, F.44) had somewhat lethargic brakes, while the brakes fitted in compartments were generally more satisfactory, F.18 being considered the most efficient. The braking capacity of the locomotives was also variable, by far the most memorable being No. 5 whose handbrake required 17½ turns! With this engine at the head it was quite often necessary for the guard’s brake to bring the train to a halt, whereas in most cases the guard’s brake would be fully released by the time the train came to a halt.

The service deteriorated during the last three weeks up to September 20^th, due to multiple causes, the first of which was the collision. This put Nos. 10 and 12 off the road temporarily, and on several days subsequently at least one engine was not running, due to various maladies which also effected Nos. 5 and 11. Although many people deplored it, it must be conceded that the agile diesel proved itself invaluable throughout the summer, through its ability to keep the service going by turning round at termini in one minute when necessary. On several days, it worked two return trips to Peel, a Peel to St. John’s return trip, a return trip to Castletown and finally a last return trip to Peel. Like the steam engines, the diesel was also afflicted with trouble latterly. In the middle of August, the dynamo at the west end (No. 20) ceased functioning, and to get it going, it was necessary for the guard to sit in the leading cab with the clutch down and third gear engaged, while the driver, in the rear cab, engaged reverse, until the train was going at sufficient speed for the guard to release the clutch and coax the Gardiner engine into life. Needless to say, it was inadvisable to do this with passengers on board!

Robert Tunnicliffe

THE FOLLOWING IS THE TEXT OF AN ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE 1967 SEASON THAT ACCOMPANIED THE ARTICLE WHEN FIRST PUBLISHED

The Isle of Man Railway

(The Unique Victorian Steam Railway)

has pleasure in announcing that on

Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays

A Special Excursion Train

will be departing from Douglas at 10.20 a.m. bound for

The The

Wildlife Mooragh

Park Park

Fare 10s. 0d. Fare 12s. 6d.

& Royal Ramsey

Fare 10s. 0d.

(Limited 1^st Class Accommodation Available)