The contents of the former bus depot at Homefield Garage remains under debate at present but already some of the smaller ancillary items relating to the I.M.R. have been returned.  These include point levers and associated rodding which is now in the yard at Douglas Station, but the larger items of stock as detailed in Issue No. 147 of Manx Steam Railway News earlier this month, remain incarcerated in the bus garage.However, it is understood that some items of interest may very well be returning to home metals at some point in the near future.

The current lease on the bus garage expires shortly and it is not known how quickly such moves would take place, with logistics and organisation taking some considerable time, with road closure orders (taking four weeks to process) now being involved.  We understand that the three stored "pairs" coaches (pictured) could be returned and stored in the siding at Port St. Mary Station, whilst the "G" type van looks destined to return, as well as the frames of No. 7 "Tynwald" which would most likely return to the goods platform at Castletown Station for public display.

Their return to the railway in itself would be a step in the right direction.  Happiest of the moves is the proposed relocation of the six-wheeled coach body off N.41, the 1879 vintage ex-Manx Northern Railway carriage; if proposals go ahead this would be returned to the yard at Douglas Station where it was resident for many years as the staff mess hut replacing an earlier incarnation in 1963 which was deemed to be beyond repair at the time.  Other items in the former bus garage include a wide variety of M.E.R. open toastrack motorcars and trailers, three Douglas Corporation horse cars (one of which is the last of its kind in existence, various buses and other itmes of historical importance.  As vital pieces of the island's rich transport heritage it is to be hoped that these items are retained at all costs, although housing them appears to the main issue at the present time.