The Manx Heritage Transport Festival will be back for 2024 between Tuesday 30th July and Sunday 4th August and whilst its reduced from its eight day spectacular last year (which helped to celebrate 150 years of the Steam Railway and 130 years of the MER) there will still be plenty to see and do on all the island’s heritage railways and tramways.
As you’ve come to expect from Transport Festival’s on the Isle of Man in recent years, the Manx Electric Railway will feature heavily in the events. Amongst the general highlights are parallel runs, motorman taster lessons, photo special tours, behind the scenes tours at both Derby Castle and Laxey Sheds and of course an intensive timetable in operation on the final day of the Festival.
Other more specific highlights will see Freight Trailer 26 out on a special tour (following its surprise return at last year’s Festival), Engineering Car 34 out hauling a trailer on journeys between Laxey and Dhoon Quarry, a special Victorian Evening at Laxey featuring a special timetable and former British Trams Online Tram of the Year Ratchet Car 14 on a special crossover tour.
The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway will be involved again with the use of some of the more unsual trams in service – including Toastrack 42, double decker 18 and enclosed saloon 1.
But perhaps the most intriguing item in the programme is under the title “Yard Stars Events” with the unique chance to ride behind some of the more unusual items of rolling stock on the Steam Railway, MER and Snaefell Mountain Railway. We’ve already mentioned that MER 34 will be out but on the Mountain Railway, NATS 3 will also be in operation for some very rare passenger journeys – and it was so unusual that they had all sold out within a few hours of being announced!
Full details of the planned programme of events is available in the leaflet which can be found online at https://www.iombusandrail.im/media/2996/2024-manx-heritage-transport-festival.pdf (including ticketing details, dates of each event and special timetables).
- Further information of the planned events will be added to our Events Diary shortly.
I was gutted!
Tried to book just three hours after the tickets went on sale – all gone.
Hopefully they will repeat again in future.