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The afternoon of Wednesday 2rd November saw the now annual Shoebox Special on the railway; hauled by No. 12 Hutchinson in charge of F.29, F.29 and F.31 the special service departed Port Erin at 1.00pm having travelled light to the southern terminus earlier in the day. En route back to Douglas Station the train stopped at each intermediate station collecting shoeboxes from local schoolchildren who had filled them with parcels of sweets and supplies in connection with the Samaritans' Operation Christmas Child appeal for children in third world countries. Travelling on the train was not only Santa Claus himself but also the minister for the department, David Cretney M.H.K. who distributed "I Gave A Shoebox" stickers to the schoolchildren along the way.
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The special crossed the 1.50pm ex-Douglas service train at Santon Station, this being hauled by No. 10 G.H. Wood in charge of F.46 and F.49. It is encouraging to note that this service was the first two-coach train of the "off-peak" season (the first departure had included a further two coaches being marshalled to the southern terminus for winter storage), and reasonable numbers are travelling. This time of year is usually out of season for the railway but services will continue on timetable "P" until Sunday 7th November, with the Bonfire Night Train on 5th November still to come, it has been a busy season for the railway, seemingly the busiest in many years,
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