Isle of Man Santa Trains

I was fortunate to spend the day on the Isle of Man on Saturday 6th December to photograph and ride on the santa trains. It was a superb day for photography and the staff on the railway really went the extra mile to ensure that every passenger enjoyed the day. It seems a great shame to me that this superb railway does not receive the plaudits it undoubtably deserves - in my eyes it has very few equals in the world of preserved railways -what do people think of the Isle of Man and its superb railway systems - i would be very interested in their thoughts.

 

Its a great place with wonderful railways - but not too convenient for a day trip or even a cheap weekend break.

Richard

 

I would have to disagree with Caledonia as in my opinion whilst there is much to comend the steam railway in terms of the rolling stock operationally it apperas to be run more for the benefit of staff than potential users.

Ignoring signage and the state of some buildings as a user I find it appears to be geared more to suit the staff than the average user, especially a tourist, who buys a ticket. At Douglas for example you can not buy a ticket until I think 15 mins before the train is due to depart and equally are not allowed on the platform. If you want a picture of the engine on arriving back then basically forget it unless you jump quickly off the train as the engine scoots back to the shed ASAP and often sits there until close to departure time.

The time table is not user friendly, even ignoring the fact they do not run any sort of service over February half term, Christmas etc as it is identcal whether is is a mid week in April or high summer when the kids are off or for TT. The only real difference is they run longer trains! A service which is one train every two hours is fine if all you want to do is have a return trip and spend a set time of x hours at a certin place. With kids and family in tow when you might want to get off and on and do things on a fairly flexible basis it is fairly useless as two hours between trains is a fair wait.

 

I went to the island twice in the 70s on family holidays and have wonderful memories of going to Port Erin Station every day (we were staying in a hotel on the front there) and watching the last train of the day come in and the loco going on shed. As the week went on the crew got to know me and I was able to help put the loco to bed. Fantastic!

Went there again five years ago at the end of October, half term week, and as we approached Douglas on the ferry I had a wonderful view of, what turned out to be, the last train of the season! And this at the start of the half term holiday! Even the Manx couldn't understand why it had closed just as people wanted something to do with their kids! And it seemed that the whole island closed at the same time! At least the trams were running from Douglas to Ramsey, even if it was just one tram running the service! Had a wild ride from Laxey to Ramsey, not surprised they had to shut to do a lot of trackwork recently! I think the whole rail system, in common with the rest of the island, suffers from a lack of investment partly due to their tax laws and the fact that the rich people there contribute very little to the economy! A wonderful island none the less, and not just for the railways. I would urge everyone to go at least once!

 

As a local, I am somewhat biased about my opinions on the IOM Railway in that I'm very fond of it, despite all the ups and downs it has over the years. I also ought to point out that I don't work for the railway - I'm just a Manx taxpayer.... However, I will try and answer some of the points above:

1) The half term thing 5 years ago was a bit of a mistake and there was quite a bit of a fuss about it on the Island. However, the railway now runs until the last the last weekend of the Manx half term (usually the weekend after the clocks go back), giving a great opportunity to ride on the last train in the dark, lit coaches, headlamps blazing etc. (!)

2) Again, only being able to buy a ticket 15 mins before departure isn't very good (we can buy residents tickets which cost about £35 for the whole season - a bargain - so we don't need to buy one). That said, the staff are very friendly (generally...) and if you ask if you can go down the platform when it's closed at the station master's office, I don't think many people are refused. Similarly, if you contact the railway in advance, it can be possible to visit the sheds etc. (most UK railways I've been to don't allow access to the sheds/ works either). You can also walk about freely at all the other stations.

3) Both railways have had massive investment in their track over the last few years, particularly the steam railway which is now laid to an extremely high standard (good enough for 40/ 50mph commuter trains we are told!). The IOM Govt has also invested in 3 new loco boilers over the last few years (plus the supporters assoc bought one for number 4). That said, there is always scope for more (as there always is with heritage railways) and some of the the buildings do look very shabby - something the IOMSRSA has pointed out.

4) The ridiculous signage (re. trespassing etc.) was at the behest of the previous director of Railways who is no-longer in position who took the view (IMHO) that the railway was mainly a public transport system run with heritage rolling stock. It was also under him that the timetable was reduced to always a two train operation even in peak season (we used to have 3 trains out in July/ August) and who was not keen on enthusiast events, running extra trains etc etc. That said, he did leave things in good financial shape I believe (although MER fans are not so keen....), brought big investment in from the Govt (even if it was partly through the new sewage pipe being laid under the track!) and brought something of th old IMR back with a 'corparate identity' (I quite like the locos all in Indian Red ad all the coaches in red and cream but each to their own - no.10 looks great in Ailsa Green...)

Most of the staff (many of whom I know well) are very proud of the railway (you only have to look at the state of the brass on the locos and amount of polishing that goes on in the morning...) and are very happy to talk about it. What you also have to remember is that all the staff are paid employees - not volunteers - and if you want to run an extra train, you have to pay drivers, firemen, guards, someone to do the 2 remaining non-automated level crossings out of hours etc etc.

Finally, I think it is fair to say that from conversations I have had with staff, the railway is on it's way back to being far more enthusiast friendly as witnessed in the installation of semaphore signals at Douglas, last weekend's Santa trains running back to Santon (they have only gone up the bank to White Hoe/ Port Soderick over the last few years and Santa has been on the train - proper trip to 'Santa's halt' this year as instigated by the staff - great pics at http://www.island-images2.co.uk/Rail/20 ... 0Rail.html) and the enthusiasts weekend last year - not as big as in the 90s but on their way back.....

 

That's great stuff to hear GH Wood, and thanks for clearing up some of the points. As I said it was 5 years ago and the steam line was in the throws of the relaying programme, the section from Castletown to Port St Mary was being worked on. As we didn't get to ride the steam line I couldn't comment about it! Will be back though!

 

I'm from Bolton but I work in the Groudle Glen Railway whenever I can get over, and I am a member of the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporter's Association.
I love the railways of the Isle of Man. They are a completely uniqur charming Victorian network with so much history to them. The steam railway is espeically fascinating.
It's also so nice to be able to see original engines and original rollick stock on the original lines.
I only wish I has seen it when the Peel and Ramsey lines were still operational and Douglas station still had its canopies!

 

I was fortunate to visit the Isle of Man for the 1st time at the age of 4 in 1959, even at that young age the railway left a great impression on me, and i visited the island every year until 1968. I travelled on the Peel and Ramsey lines - the Ramsey line was superb ( especially the section from St.Germains to Kirk Michael) It was a great tragedy that these lines were lost in September 1968 - how wonderful would have been today if they had survived. Douglas station in those days was wonderful - all the lines intact, canopies and signals - fortunatley i have many photos taken from 1974 onwards ( sadly i did not have a camera in the years before - but i still have the memories plus numerous books and videos of the railway before it closed in 1965).
I even travelled on the Groudle Railway during in last spell in use -1962 if memory serves me. I am too a member of the supporters association, if it had not been for the efforts of Tony Beard, Mike Goodwin and others in the mid 70's then i very much doubt that we would have had a steam railway and the MER north of Laxey. The Island today has a wonderful railway system that thankfully the Manx Govt have now come to appreciate - its well worth a visit and if people are thinking of visiting then a trip in July when an enthusiasts event is being planned would be worthwhile and no doubt very enjoyable

 

Caledonia - are any of your pics on line anywhere? I for one would love to see them, particularly any from the 1970s which was how I first met the railway as a youngster - bright green locos and red and cream coaches - fantastic!

 

Likewise!
I have a large collection of IMR photos I have collected over the past few years but I'm always keen to see more.

 

Sadly no

The photos i have are mainly slides - i keep thinking that i need to transfer these to the P.C. before they start to lose their colours etc, i do get them out from time to time and look back and remember the glory of Douglas staion before it was ripped apart -perhaps this will make me preserve these and put them on-line so others can hopefully enjoy them.
Personally i never liked the apple green livery used on the locos from '67 onwards - i always prefered the madder brown on the locos ,and the "blood and custard" on the coaches that is how i remember them as a child - the present colour scheme in use on the railway is superb ( apart from No10!) - i remember standing at Port Soderick a few years ago watching No4 pass No1 - it was really like a time warp and took me back to Union Mills in the 60's which was my favorite station on the IMR - SUPERB!

 

I think how you remember the IMR (or any railway I suppose) as a child has a lot to do with your preferences! My first memories of the railway are from about 1974 and being pulled by Loch to Port Erin before having my picture taken standing on the footplate of No.5 which was on display at Port Erin. Happy days! That said, I do think the locos do look smart in the pre-67 red too!

Funny you should mention slides. My late father's pics are all on slide so I'm looking at getting a scanner to transfer them - seem to start at about £60 on amazon.

 

As the thread of the discussion has moved on from just the Santa trains, may I be permitted my two penn`orth. This is my first ever contribution to N-P forum, so here goes.........
I have been going regularly to the Isle of Man since 1977 - when Douglas station was still complete with canopies etc and you could get there by a `classic` steamship (Manxman, Mona`s Isle and Snaefell - in her last season).
As a previous correspondant rightly states, there has been very considerable investment - by the Manx government take note - in the railway system in recent years, and this is on-going. I`m not going to enter the debate about liveries (good) or `elf `n safety signs (bad), but simply say that the steam and electric railways in the Island remain the best reason for going there. This thinking is shared by many others, and is recognised by the Manx government. I understand that fare revenue contributes only about 30% to running costs, but despite that significant shortfall in revenue v costs, if the railways were not there, the Manx economy would suffer. The reason is that it has been calculated that, even though many Island residents do indeed take advantage of the heavily discounted season tickets, the bulk of travel is by `comeovers`. And every visitor to the island is spending on air fares, hotel accomodation, Manx beer, meals etc, as well as getting about, so this is all benefitting the Manx economy. And a significant proportion of those vistors - like me - are there principally (though not exclusively) because of the vintage transport system. Therefore, the rail system is now viewed, thankfully, as a unique and valued part of the fabric of the Island, and if it were closed down, many people would simply `vote with their feet`.
Nonetheless, there is a downside. Whilst all the railway staff I`ve known over the years have been committed, it has been apparent that along with government ownership comes government interference (haven`t we seen that before)?! Instead of letting the railway management manage the railway, there are - or have been - others in high places who think they know best. The biggest disappointment - mentioned in this thread already - is that the timetable is very much designed to fit in with `office hours` for the staff rather than trying to maximise journey opportunities. Yes I know a paid workforce means payroll costs have to be justified, but just four trains a day in each direction - even in peak season - between roughly 10 a.m. and and 5 p.m. is hopelessly unambitious, and it`s little better on the Manx Electric Railway, where services after about 5 p.m. are but a distant memory.
It was said to me quite recently that the view `at high level` was that - outside these hours - "you can still travel by bus". Big deal. That`s hardly the point ; myself and most other visitors hardly wish to travel all the way across the Irish Sea just to sit on a bus, which we could do by keeping our money in our pockets and staying at home!
With all the investment in locomotives and track renewals these past few years - the latter on the M.E.R. too - it seems a shame not to expoit this, and attempt a more attractive timetable, rather than a complacent one akin to the Paignton & Dartmouth. Why do enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike flock to galas? It`s not just because there may be a couple of `star` locos in action, but because there`s an intensive timetable in operation. I would hope that some `speculate to accumulate` thinking might be applied sometime. Myself and other friends used to go over to the Island 2 or 3 (or more) times per year; now it`s only once. The restricted Steam Railway and M.E.R. timetable is the reason.