During the formative years of the Supporters' Association when the railway was operated initially by Lord Ailsa, it was free to effectively assist in any way possible. Many who knew the railway at this turbulent time will recall the display of "dead" locomotives that were placed outside the carriage shed at St. John's in the summer of 1968 and these locomotives were repainted by the members of this organisation. The views on this page were taken by Peter Kenyon and show the line up at St. John's during that summer, our thanks go to him for allowing their reproduction on this site.

The initial line-up consisted of No. 1 Sutherland, No. 6 Peveril, No. 14 Thornhill and No. 16 Mannin although these were joined by the black sheep of the fleet Caledonia after she had hauled a number of special trains in her new M.N.R. livery (this explains why she was at the front of the line-up on photographs). The locomotives were all painted in the spring green of the fleet with the exception of No. 14 which, being a Manx Northern Railway locomotive originally was painted red. Members of the association were also responsible for ensuring that the brass and paintwork on these locomotives was kept in good condition.

When the railway closed at the end of that season, the engines were moved back into Douglas where they were again placed on display, most notably during the 1973 Centenary Year. By this time they were joined by No. 3 Pender in red livery and No. 9 Douglas which carried spring green. Of course, all of these locomotives survive today and two of them have even returned to service! Who knows, maybe one day we may even see No. 16 Mannin steam again...