Douglas Bay Horse Tramway

Company Crest

Douglas Bay Horse Tramway Dhoolish Baie Cabbyl Raad Yiarn
Closed Toastrack No. 35, Loch Promenade
Locale	Douglas, Isle of Man
Terminus	Derby Castle
Commercial operations
Name	Douglas Bay Horse Tramway
Original gauge	3 ft  (914 mm)
Preserved operations
Owned by	Douglas Town Council
Operated by	Douglas Corporation Transport
Stations	Various (Hail & Ride)
Length	1.6 miles (2.6 km)
Commercial history
Opened	1 May 1876
Preservation history

The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway is a horse-drawn tramway in Douglas on the Isle of Man. The route runs along the seafront promenade for approximately 1.6 miles (2.6 km), from a southern terminus at the Victoria Pier, adjacent to the Sea Terminal to a northern terminus at Derby Castle, the southern terminus of the Manx Electric Railway, where the workshops and sheds are also located.

History

The tramway was built and initially operated by Thomas Lightfoot, a retired civil engineer from the English city of Sheffield. His service was introduced in 1876 and the line has run every year since, except for a period during the Second World War.^[1]

In 1882, Lightfoot sold the line to Isle of Man Tramways Ltd, which came later to be known as Isle of Man Tramways & Electric Power Co. Ltd. (IoMT&EP) and also owned the Manx Electric Railway. The IoMT&EP went into liquidation in 1900 as a consequence of a banking collapse. The horse tramway was sold by the liquidator to Douglas Corporation, which took over the services in 1902.

Since 1927 the service has run in summer only and it remains in place as one of the most distinctive features of the island's tourist market. The tramway is now owned and operated by the Douglas Borough Council, as successor to Douglas Corporation.^[1]

Other transport services now long since closed around the island's capital include the Falcon Cliff Lift, Cunningham's Camp Escalator, Douglas Head Funicular Railway and the Upper Douglas Cable Tramway.

Description

The route consists of 3 ft  (914 mm) gauge track, is double-tracked throughout, and is not segregated from other road traffic, with both tracks running down the middle of the road. Service is provided by 23 tramcars and some 45 horses provide the motive power.

There have been several types of tramcars in operation over the years, and happily at least one of each type has been retained over the years as an example. The majority of the services are maintained by the "closed toastracks" but the winter saloons and open toastracks are also in semi-regular service. In the summer months trams are stored outdoors overnight adjacent to the nearby Terminus Tavern public house, but there is also a purpose-built tramshed where they are stored in the winter months.

Service Fleet

Horse tram arriving at Strathallan Crescent, Derby Castle, Douglas on a wet day in 2002

The tramway operates a regular number of cars from each type of class depending on the weather, with the roofed toastracks most often being used; the winter saloons are retained for inclement weather and the fully open toastracks for high summer. A selection of these can usually be seen outside the tramcar depot where they are stored in the summer months.

• No. 1 - winter saloon, second car to be given this fleet number
• No. 18 - rebuilt winter saloon, now double deck car appearing in peak season
• No. 21 - "long" (extended) open toastrack with advertisement boards
• No. 27 - enclosed winter saloon
• No. 28 - enclosed winter saloon
• No. 29 - enclosed winter saloon
• No. 36 - roofed toastrack, in regular operation carries Black Horse Finance adverts
• No. 37 - roofed toastrack, in regular operation carries Atholl Car Hire adverts
• No. 40 - "long" (extended) open toastrack carries Hilton Hotel & Casino adverts
• No. 43 - roofed toastrack, in regular operation carries Going For Gold: Britain In Bloom adverts
• No. 44 - the royal tram, in red white and blue paint scheme, in traffic summer 2011
• No. 45- roofed toastrack, in regular operation carries Atholl Car Hire adverts

Stored Fleet

In addition to the regularly used trams, there are a number of cars that see little use but are kept in the sheds adjacent to the station; these cars are in a number of styles and are maintained to a high standard by the staff but see very rare outings along the promenade, being out of favour compared to the fleet which carry advertising boards along their lengths.

• No. 12 - open toastrack with lamp standards on ends and large fleet numbers
• No. 33 - roofed toastrack, in regular operation but carrying no advertisements
• No. 34 - roofed toastrack, in regular operation but carrying no advertisements
• No. 39 - "long" (extended) open toastrack, currently carries no advertising panels
• No. 42 - "long" (extended) open toastrack, complete with ornate hanging lamps on bulkheads, no adverts

Jurby Tramcars

Several cars were stored off-site for a number of years having been moved to a transport museum in the north of the island for display purposes in 2009; of these, one car now serves as a souvenir shop in much the same way as is did when located at the tramway terminus for a number of years. The remaining cars are stored at the museum but as they are privately owned no further work has been carried out to them.

• No. 11 - an open toastrack, in private ownership and not used for many years
• No. 22 - "umbrella" car, converted to shop in the 1970s, now function as such at the museum
• No. 47 - roofed toastrack, remains in 1970s condition and privately owned

Other Tramcars

• No. 14 - sole surviving original double-decker, on loan to Manx National Heritage
• No. 35 - roofed toastrack, carries Manx National Heritage adverts, on display at horses' home
• No. 46 - restored to original condition and displayed on the mainland until scrapping in 2001
• No. 49 - sole surviving convertible car, privately owned and in store off site (Baldrine)

References

General

• Robert Hendry, (1993), Rails in the Isle of Man: A Colour Celebration, Midland Publishing Limited, ISBN 1-85780-009-5
• Keith Pearson, (1999), Douglas Horse Tramway - A Millennium Year History, 1st Edition, Adam Gordon, ISBN 978-1-874422-25-9

Specific

1. ^ ^{a b} "Isle of Man Guide - Transportation, Horse Drawn Trams". Maxima Systems. http://www.iomguide.com/horsetram.php. Retrieved 2008-02-08. 

See also

• Transport on the Isle of Man
• Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram, a horse-drawn tramway in Australia
• List of light-rail/tram systems
• List of town tramway systems in Europe

External links

• Douglas Borough Council - tramway page
• Isle of Man Horse Drawn Trams