Provided that Isle of Man Transport don’t see the need to run a special bus strike service on the Snaefell Mountain Railway before then the 2013 season is due to commence on Wednesday 27th March – during the Easter holidays. A 30 minute frequency will operate to the summit on this first day and fully rebuilt mountain car no. 1 will make its debut passenger journeys in the stunning original blue and cream livery.
Services will run daily between Laxey and the summit on the half hour frequency (first journey up at 1015, last journey back 1640) until Sunday 7th April and then for the remainder of April an hourly service will operate between Wednesdays and Sundays (first journey up at 1015, last journey back at 1645). A daily service will then operate from the start of May until the end of September (with the exception of Mondays 13th and 20th May) and there will be evening services on selected dates throughout the summer for the Summit Dining events at the Summit restaurant. In October a service will continue to operate (first and last weeks will be daily but for the remainder of the month services will only run on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays) before the final journeys run up the mountain on Thursday 31st October.
The highlight of 2013 for the Snaefell Mountain Railway will undoubtedly be the return to traffic of 1895 built car no. 1 which was withdrawn at the end of the 2011 season for a well-earned overhaul. The wooden body has been completely rebuilt by the local Village Workshop in Laxey and the mechanical parts including brake equipment, bow collectors and bogies have all been refurbished by The Works Ramsey. The car has been completely rewired and the electric equipment – including the DC traction motors – has been refurbished.
Some new or replacement equipment has been fitted – including saloon lighting – and auto announcer and public address equipment has been fitted so that automated on board commentary will be available later this year. The GPS triggered commentary will advise of points of interest to be viewed from the tram on its journey providing a service for visiting families and coach parties. In another first no. 1 has been fitted with a windscreen wiper!
Internally the old seats have been refurbished and retained but the most striking change is on the exterior. The vehicle has reverted to the original blue and cream livery used when the railway opened using the original Snaefell Mountain Tramway lettering.
* Timetable details for the 2013 season on the Snaefell Mountain Railway can be found at http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/publictransport/Timetables/rail/smrtimetable.pdf.
No. 1 is seen in all its glory on the Mountain. It will make its debut in passenger service from 27th March. (Photo courtesy of Isle of Man Transport)
The tram in its blue and cream livery looks very nice!