The first day of this year’s Manx Heritage Transport Festival saw an extra event added, although it would be fair to say that it wasn’t planned and Isle of Man Railways could probably have done without it! Throughout the Festival the Snaefell Mountain Railway really takes a bit of a back seat with most major events taking place either on the Steam Railway or the Manx Electric Railway but this year the SMR was determined to play a major role with first a minor fire on board 3 and then when it was rescued to be returned to depot a derailment involving its rescuer.
At approximately 1400 just as 3 was departing Laxey a minor fire broke out on the roof of the vehicle which caused it to be brought to a halt just the summit side of the road crossing of the main road through Laxey. The Fire Service were quickly on site and extinguished the fire with the passengers being led to safety.
The next tram from the summit – which was no. 4 – was coupled to no. 3 to tow it back to depot but rather than a smooth operation this proved to be the source of further problems. As no. 4 attempted to move the tram to depot the rear pair of wheels on 4 split the points, derailing which also lifted the leading wheelset of 3 off the rails. The coupling bar between the two cars had become jammed and when this was released the wheelset of 3 became fully derailed. No. 5 was then summoned to assist and eventually all three cars were able to be returned to depot.
That is obviously what happens when a railway feels left out of the events!
Thanks to Ken Walker for the information contained in this article.
Hi,
I was on tram 3 when it caught fire. It was heading towards Laxey when the fire broke out approx 5 minutes after leaving Bungalow.
Tram 4 was on the depot and was sent from there to “rescue” 3.
Tram 5 was in the station set up to work the 14:15 departure. This must have been cancelled to provide the 2nd rescue attempt.
After getting off tram 3 I did MER 7 to Ramsey and back. On returning was surprised to see tram 4 [which was buffering up when I left] derailed.
Until at least Sunday the whole service has been run with 1,5 & 6. I was told that an attempt to use 2 came to nothing when it failed.
John
Did no.3 proceed to Laxey under its own power after the fire John, or did no. 4 go up to Bungalow to cross over, as it was coupled to the ‘mountain’ end of no. 3 and not the Laxey end. The Fire Service were already in attendance when I arrived at the scene on my way to the station, and I had heard the fire station siren (air raid warning siren!) go off about 15 mins before that. If both cars were already coupled it is strange that a wheelset in the middle became derailed, of course the derailment might have been nothing to do with the points although the trams were standing on them. What I told Gareth was what I was told by people who were there, but of course there is always the risk of people ‘filling in’ the bits they don’t know.
On Sunday I was on toastrack 33 when it came to grief at Baldrine. I was in the middle of the car, and I heard people telling the driver that there were flames coming up one side and arcing on the other. A former work colleague of mine, who happened to be in the front seat of the trailer and sa the whole thing, told me there was smoke but no fire!
I believe 5, which was at Laxey, dragged 3 into the station. I don’t think that 4 had the time to go to Bungalow and back.
3 had stopped over the spring points which sprung back when 4 started moving 3.
I can say that there were definitely flames coming from 3, I have a photograph taken soon after arrival.
Of course I was forgetting the right hand running on the SMR, if 4 had gone uphill off the depot it would have gone onto the front of no. 3. No. 5 was indeed in Laxey, it arrived just as MER 6 & 40 were proceeding into the station to form the 1355 to Douglas after running round.
The derailment clearly happened when the trams were proceeding to the depot, as the photos I have show that the wheels of no. 4 (apart from the derailed pair) are all on the left hand road and the leading bogie of no. 3 has gone onto the right hand road, as you look up the mountain.
I don’t in any way dispute that there were flames on no. 3; the contradictory comments I referred to related to the incident with toastrack 33.