We stay with the Snaefell Mountain Railway for this week’s non-Blackpool traditional tram archive photo as we head back to a time when the Mountain cars went onto the MER for maintenance.
We are looking inside Derby Castle Sheds here and on the right we see Snaefell Mountain Railway 3 undergoing its regular maintenance. This was the way things happened right up until the new Snaefell Car Sheds were opened in 1995 with all the SMR cars receiving temporary trucks for their move to Derby Castle with the dual track at Laxey Station seeing the transfer each time it was necessary. In this view 3 is under attention with the temporary wheels clearly under the tram. On the left-hand side we can see Manx Electric Railway trailer 57, lifted on blocks.
Currently 3 is very much unavailable for service on the SMR as it was the tram which ran away from the Summit before leaving the tracks close to Bungalow, fortunately without anyone on board. The remains of the tram, underframe and wheels, are stored at Laxey, and it is expected that it will be rebuilt in the future as the new no. 3.
Photograph by Bob Price
* Further archive photos from Bob Price can be found on Flickr.