The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway

Hi Andrew, The new tram sheds have been in use for a few months now.... and very nice they are too! The relay was held up for a short time by some defective welds which necessitated digging up the new concrete and some 'complications' caused by previously unrecorded services under the roadway at the Broadway intersection. A section of track and cable from the Upper Douglas Cable Tramway (like San Francisco's) closed in the 20's also resurfaced. I believe that the new track is currently at the spot where it takes a jiggle across the road. There's probably more info at https://www.facebook.com/dbhtonline I recently purchased Barry Edwards' recent book 'One Horse Power - The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway from 1876' which includes a plan of the new track layout and I can thoroughly recommend it.
Cheers,
Ray.

 

Thanks Ray.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

Indeed. Whilst I regret the loss of the old depot from a historic point of view, it must be conceded that the new building is very nice! Forgive my ignorance, but what was the reason for demolishing the old building?

 

The exterior of the new building is, actually, a fairly close copy of the ground floor of the original (1895) building. In 1935 a first floor was added to the building to provide office accommodation and that is the one with which we became familiar. Unfortunately the original structure wasn't really up to the extra load and by 2016 the building was deemed to be life expired. Whilst we, as enthusiasts, may not like some of the recent changes to the track layout etc. I think IoM Rlys have got it 'right' with this building and shows that the long term future of the tramway is assured. After all it is only 4 years since Douglas Corp. announced that they wished to get rid of the entire tramway - which caused me to create this thread in the first place. Thanks for your interest.
Ray.

 

Not at all - thank you for keeping us up to date and patiently answering all our questions! I only regret that it has been so long since I actually had the opportunity to visit the island. I am eager to see all the recent developments for myself.

 

Video of the Horse Tramway over the Heritage Transport Festival, including the tram cavalcade on the Friday.

 

Judging by where you filmed the Cavalcade from, am I right in thinking you were near the red phonebox at the bottom of Summer Hill Road?

 

Yes, pretty much right on the junction of the Summer Hill/Summer Hill Road.

 

Nice one. I was the slightly mad photographer sitting on top of the phone box!

 

Greetings all. I'm resurrecting this thread to let you know that Tynwald is today deciding whether to approve up to £3 million of funding for the extension of the Horse Tramway back to its full length. It's item 7 on the agenda. For background see this BBC report. The sitting starts at 10.00am.

The motion is:
"The Minister for Infrastructure to move –
That Tynwald approves an amount up to £2,500,000 for the Douglas Bay Horse Tram Reinstatement to be funded from a transfer from General Reserves to the Capital Financing Reserve with £500,000 to be held by Treasury in Capital Contingency."

Fingers crossed...

 

What happens to the motive power in high temperatures?

 

On a coastal strip in the middle of the Irish Sea, I suspect a cheeky carrot ice-cream was all that was needed

 

It's not been that hot here - max 26deg. IIRC and now mainly high teens to 2o with a breeze. It was a perfect day for the Lord Of Mann's visit last Tuesday when he took a short ride on double deck horsetram No.18. Hopefully all the good publicity around the event will help persuade any 'Doubting Thomases' in Tynwald to vote in favour of funding the full reinstatement.
Ray.

 

I do remember one year there was concern at the TT over the tarmac melting due to the "extreme heat" of 26C...
Apart from the bikes, the transport infrastructure, the people and the pubs, amongst the reasons I like to holiday on the Island is the weather.

 

No royal headboard on the tram? Surely room for a quick dig at the Train and the tram...?

 

To be fair, you can't really drill a horse to fit a headlamp bracket...

 

And an early report, from Isle of Man Today, says that the funding has been approved. Great news!

The report includes this:
"Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall said the investment was needed to restore a ‘living piece of Manx heritage’ and return the tramway to its former status.
He told Tynwald the project was ‘not a vanity project’ but an opportunity to support tourism and the wider economy."

 

That's Good News ---

I do hope that * they * now get on with it !

Fingers, toes & eyes crossed.

[There are several other projects which need funds allocating on the other Heritage Railways, so perhaps this is a good omen for them, as well]

 

Reduced number of trips, then back to the stable for a cool down [which may, later, include a wash].
Usually, the sea breeze keeps up a cooling affect.

 

Excellent news!