We brought you the news a few months ago that the sole Portuguese tram on the Isle of Man was about to be made homeless as it stood in the way of the Ballasall bypass \u2013 well, now the story has a happy ending as it has been removed from its home of six years and headed across to Ireland where it is set to become the second tram caf\u00e9 of its new owner!<\/p>\n
360<\/strong> was purchased by Isle of Man Transport in 1996 with the idea that it may be suitable for use on the Manx Electric Railway. However, after arrival it was decided it wasn\u2019t suitable after all and following use as a shelter it was sold on to Grant Taylor who moved it into his garden in 2013. Mr Taylor converted it into a bar and it has remained in his garden even since. With his house in the way of a new bypass due to be built and his new property not big enough to move it there, he made it available to anyone interested which is where Dave Fitzpatrick came in.<\/p>\n Mr Fitzpatrick, a Dublin businessman, already owns a Lisbon tram (no.305<\/strong> from 1902) and has converted that into a caf\u00e9 and intends, eventually, to do the same with 360<\/strong>. He estimates that it will cost around 150,000 euros to convert and he is already in discussions with Dublin City Council over a location for the second of his tram caf\u00e9\u2019s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We brought you the news a few months ago that the sole Portuguese tram on the Isle of Man was about to be made homeless as it stood in the way of the Ballasall bypass \u2013 well, now the story … Continue reading