Following on from last week’s news about the permanent closure of the Douglas Horse Tramway (although there may be a more positive outlook now – see news story above) there could only be one tramway we featured in Picture in Time today. This time round we show the newest tram on the tramway during an unusual promotional tour.
No. 1 was built by G C Milnes, Voss & Co Ltd in 1913 and was the second tram to carry this number (the original no. 1 was also built as a single decker but looks as if it was scrapped at some point around the turn of the 20th century). It was constructed as a replacement for an ex-South Shields car and as it featured a enclosed saloon became a popular tram during inclement weather. But these photos are more up-to-date than the early years for no. 1 as we are in 1986 at a time when the tram carried an advertising livery for Sealink.
The tram had been repainted in this livery in 1982 and it was loaned to Sealink for promotional purposes which saw it tour the UK. In this photo we see no. 1 during this promotional period with Miss Great Britain, Rose McGory, helping to promote Sealink’s services to the Isle of Man. There can be little doubt that society has moved on somewhat in the past 30 years as you can’t exactly imagine a beauty queen being used to positively publicise transport nowadays! This is probably the first – and more than likely only – time that a Miss Great Britain has featured on these pages.
Both Photographs by Martin Miller