Manx Electric Railway gets ready for Rush Hour on the Railways

The first special event of 2016 on the Isle of Man will see the Manx Electric Railway heavily involved in the Rush Hour on the Railways which will also see intensive services on the Isle of Man Steam Railway.

Events are due to take place throughout the Easter weekend between Friday 25th and Monday 28th March on the MER. The weekend starts on Friday 25th March with motors 20 and 16 running in parallel between Derby Castle and Groudle. The pair will depart at 0900 and will stop for photos at various points on the way returning to the terminus by 0935.

The first day will also see the original trams 1 and 2 working timetabled services starting from Derby Castle and there will be tours of the sheds at Derby Castle, for an extra cost of £5 per person. These tours will include the opportunity to see the latest progress on the restoration of Ratchet Car 14.

Saturday 26th March will see the main concentration of the event on the Steam Railway but that doesn’t mean the MER is going to be left out as it is planned to allocate many members of the diverse fleet into service with the promise of many colour clashes.

On Sunday 27th March there is to be a special enhanced service between Derby Castle and Laxey with 9 car sets in use running every 15 minutes. Services will also continue through to Ramsey. As is often the case during events on the MER there will a special postal service running from Derby Castle to Ramsey with railway letter covers available. They will be carried on board one of the MER’s restored Mail Vans (4 or 16) on 0940 from Douglas. The Mail Van will then return to Laxey where it will be from 1055.

The evening will see an extra special photography evening between 1900 and 2100. There will be trams posed at Derby Castle Car Sheds with the MER museum open for visits and cars displayed in front of the depot. In addition there will be parallel runs to Groudle using 1 and 9 at 1915 and 2015.

The weekend ends on Monday 28th March with Motorman Taster Sessions available using one of the Tunnel cars on the line between Laxey and Garwick Glen. Only 10 places are available and it is recommended you book in advance. Meanwhile trailer 60 will be on display at Laxey all day for photos, with the vehicle celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2016.

Full details of the weekend, including events on the Steam Railway and how to book your place at any of the above events, see the Rush Hour on the Railway leaflet at https://www.gov.im/media/1350421/iomrail_2016_rushhour_web-v2.pdf.

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