With the first horse tram services for 2019 due to run next month a major milestone has been reached in the Prom redevelopment work – the laying of the first new tracks. The first rails have been put down in the section between Summer Hill Stables and the Strathallan terminus providing the first visible signs that trams will indeed be running once again in the near future.
As has been reported many times over the past few years Douglas Promenade is now undergoing a major redevelopment and after much discussion it was finally agreed that on the section from Broadway to Strathallan double tracks would be relaid. Over the last few months the old tracks were removed and a new surface was put in place before the last week of March saw the milestone of the new rail being laid. To mark the occasion a special ceremony was held with some MHKs in attendance.
It is still unclear just what sort of service will run in 2019 but it is highly likely it will only a foreshortened route available but the good sign is that they have started laying tracks at the depot end of the route.
* All the latest photos from the Prom reconstruction project – including those very first rails now in place – can be found on the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway Online Facebook page.