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Sunday 29th August saw the railway host its first Teddy Bears' Picnic with events centred at Ballasalla where a shuttle bus service was provided between the station and nearby Rushen Abbey; the family attractions were based at this Manx National Heritage site and included children's' face painting, jungle obstacle slide, rodeo bull simulator and a coconut shy.
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Road Services P.D.2 bus provided a courtesy shuttle to the abbey and Brendan Bear was on hand to greet children, who travelled free of charge if carrying a teddy bear. Family parties of two adults and up to six children travelling with teddy bears also gained free admission to the abbey were picnic food was available from the recently opened restaurant.
The event was extremely popular with six and seven coach trains in service during the day, hauled by No. 4 Loch based from Douglas Station, while No. 12 Hutchinson operated from south, replaced by No. 10 G.H. Wood for the 3.50pm service which was banked as far as Ballasalla Station by No. 12, which returned to Douglas banking the north-bound service.
The day marked the end of the peak season timetable (the 5.20pm departures will now cease and the standard four-train service will operate throughout September) and this extra service has been well patronised throughout the month. The evening trains to Castletown Station each Thursday in August have also proved popular.
This is not the last special event of the season, with next weekend, 4th and 5th September seeing Douglas Station playing host to the Friends Of Thomas event where the troublesome trucks will be in attendance, with bouncy castle, story-telling from the Fat Controller and live music will feature in addition to a vintage bus and steam roller in the station forecourt.
After 12th September trains will no longer operate on Mondays as the season winds down, and the two-train service will commence on 29th of the month. Please consult the timetables link on this site for the details.
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