The last locomotive to be supplied to the railway and built in 1926, No. 16 was by far the most powerful locomotive on the line.  She was purchased to haul the heavy Port Erin boat train, a job which had previously taken two locomotives either double-headed or banked.  Upon arrival on the railway she was posed with a complete rake of saloon carraiges at Douglas Station and the railway's management posed around their new acquisition.  These well-known views appear in literature about the railway frequently, attesting the company's pride in their latest locomotive, some sixteen years after the purchase of the previous engine, No. 13 Kissack in 1910.

Much larger than her older sisters, she was ideally suited to the task of hauling heavier trains, and was capable of taking an eleven-coach train unassisted.  Her capabilities were legendary and her much larger size when compared with the older members of the fleet made her a favourite for the boat trains, and of course the highlight of the railway's calendar, the national day of Tynwald Day on 5th July when each year every item of stock that could move, did!  Her differences to her shed-mates however ensured that little major work was carried out.

Literature, and lack of photographic evidence sugests that the locomotive appears to have never travelled on the Ramsey Line although the company's records do show that she made at least one trip as far as Kirk Michael thereby travelling over the Glen Wyllin viaduct; this in itself scotches another rumour that she was deemed to heavy to pass over this structure, but no records show any jaunts further north, certainly not as far as the terminus.  If indeed her trip as far as Kirk Michael was a one-off, the chances of there being photographic evidence appear to be slim.  Latterly she saw use as one of the Peel-based engines and remained in service in largely original condition until the 1963 season, but served as pilot engine at Douglas Station the following year before being shunted into the carriage shed for storage.

When the railway re-opened under Lora Ailsa's regime she was re-painted into the spring green and placed on static display at St. John's and later Douglas until being selected for entry into the newly-established railway museum at Port Erin in 1975 together with No. 15 Caledonia and No. 1 Sutherland.  At this time she was painted back into the indian red livery though no lining out was applied.   The cost of repainting the locomotive was funded by one of the members of the Supporters' Association.  Never considered to be a candidate for restoration, she has only ventured out of the museum once (when it was being re-built in 1998) and at this time she was treated to a repaint including the lining out of the paintwork; it was at this time that is was discovered that the rear back cab sheet was in fact made of plywood!

There were in fact two locomotives bearing this name, the other was a mock-up used in the annual Douglas Carnival parade but the fate of this loco appears to be lost in the mists of time.  It appeared in parades over a number of years and was constructed from plywood but also featured several spare actual locomotive parts such as the distinctive brass dome cover; the carnival engine was painted in the spring green livery with plain yellow lining and was towed along the promenade by one of the railways road vehicles, often beddecked with flowers.

Considered by many to the “holy grail” of restoration on the I.M.R. it is certainly the last big job to possibly be tackled, given that the museum’s two other long-term inhabitants have been given further leases of life.  The biggest argument against this idea is that the locomotive remains largely as delivered, with original boiler, etc., and would require a massive amount of work to be undertaken for what is a non-standard engine on a fairly standardised railway; and so the future for No. 16 looks set to remain within the four walls of the museum.