Going, going, gone! Six horse trams sold – but what now?

The much-discussed auction on Saturday 27th August on the Isle of Man, resulted in the sale of six long-withdrawn Douglas horse tramcars. The six raised a combined total of £9,200 – some would say a rather measly sum considering the historic merits of these vehicles, but one that is perhaps understandable bearing in mind the fairly short notice given for the auction. This sum also compares favourably with the selling price of various Blackpool cars offered for sale a few years ago.

The Manx Electric Railway Society did its best to derail the plans to sell off these trams, but once it became clear that the auction would go ahead, the organisation determined to try and purchase two of the trams themselves for preservation. It was duly successful in acquiring Toastrack 39 for the sum of £1800, but an attempt to buy Winter Saloon 28 was thwarted when the Society were outbid, this tram ultimately being sold for £2800 – the highest amount of any of the six. 

The MERS had previously set aside a modest budget for advertising on the horse trams, which had oddly been rejected by the tramway’s new operators. Therefore this money was made available to try to buy two trams, and as a result car 39 is now the property of this organisation. It is hoped that the tram may receive some level of restoration work although it must be considered highly unlikely that it will be able to run again in Douglas, at least for the foreseeable future.

Of the other four trams, Toastrack 40 was sold for its starting price of £1000 whilst the three Bulkhead Crossbench cars went for varying amounts: 33 sold for £1200, 34 fetched £1300 and 37 went for just £1100. The starting price for these trams was well under £1000, with car 33 starting at a mere £750! Of these trams, it is believed that car 37 has been privately preserved by an individual who intends to keep it on the island. No firm plans have yet been revealed for the others, and it is not currently known whether or not the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway, who had previously shown interest in acquiring one of the horse trams, did indeed manage to obtain one.

It has been stated that the sold trams must all be removed from Strathallan depot during September. With the tramway stables being put up for sale recently, it is assumed that the horses will be relocated to Strathallan and as this will presumably involve significant work on the site which is unlikely to be fit for its new combined purpose housing both vehicles and animals, there is a need to clear out space as soon as possible. It is unclear what will happen if any of the new owners fail to remove their acquisitions by the stated deadline, but it is hoped that this will not create any issues as arose in Blackpool when some of the groups attempting to purchase trams seemed reluctant to remove them from Rigby Road.

There remains an outside chance that Manx National Heritage could block any attempts to remove trams from the island due to their unique historic value, although with the trams currently stored in a derelict shed with an uncertain future, it is questionable whether or not this would actually be in the best interests of the trams affected.

Thanks to Manx Electric Railway Society secretary Julian Nutter for providing a statement which has been used to assist with the preparation of this article.