The preparations for the 125th Anniversary of the Manx Electric Railway events – which start on Saturday 1st September and continue through until Saturday 8th September – are continuing on the Isle of Man with another key piece of the jigsaw now in place with Douglas Bay Horse Tramway 1 now ensconced at Laxey ahead of its starring role on Sunday 2nd September.
One of the centrepieces of the big birthday party at Laxey Station on Sunday 2nd September is to be the three no. 1s in situ. With Manx Electric Railway 1 and Snaefell Mountain Railway 1 regular visitors to Laxey there isn’t much effort for those two to attend but for the horse tram it has to be transported from Derby Castle in preparation. Douglas Bay Horse Tramway 1 may be of the same gauge as the MER but the easiest and simplest way to move the car to Laxey was to take it by road. Once unloaded at Laxey it was then moved to Laxey Car Sheds where it will remain until the event on Sunday. It will then be displayed in Laxey Station – along with horse! – with unique photo opportunities on offer. The birthday party will take place between 1000 and 1600 on Sunday 2nd September.
Recent preparations have seen Tower Wagon 1 moved to Laxey from Derby Castle. Tunnel Car 5 did the honours with the Tower Wagon coupled when it was operating a timetabled service. It is planned that the Tower Wagon will be included in the Cavalcade of trams through Laxey Station on Friday 7th September which should include all operational vehicles on the MER.
With Ratchet Car 14 continuing its test runs and Trailer 59’s stunning repaint reaching a conclusion all parts are almost in place for what is shaping up to be seven exciting days of tram action!
* A full preview of the events is available here and we will update each evening on what is scheduled to take place the next day. Photographic coverage will then start on the evening of Tuesday 4th September (with a very limited number of updates on the first day) before continuing each evening for the remainder of the week.