We have been contacted by an individual who is trying to research some of more obscure aspects of railway history on the Isle of Wight – and this includes the mystery of a former horse drawn tramcar from Portsmouth. Can anyone help shed any light on this?
It is believed that in 1992 a former horse drawn horse tram which was in the possession of Portsmouth Museums (having survived as a greenhouse in a Portsmouth garden) was passed to Philiip Legge, owner of Brickfields Horse Country Centre on the Isle of Wight.
Mr Legge apparently had plans to restore the tram and operate it using horses at his centre which was on the outskirts of Binstead/Ryde. Sadly he passed away at the age of 57 in 2009 after battling cancer and the centre closed in 2013.
Its not known what happened to the tramcar and whether any work was actually completed on restoring it. Is there anyone out there who can help? If you can please leave a comment below or alternatively email us at gareth@britishtramsonline.co.uk.