Manx Electric Railway rolling stock explained

This page details the rolling stock on the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man, which is unique insofar as the railway still operates with its original tramcars and trailers, all of which are over one hundred years old, the latest dating from 1906. Save for a fire in 1930 in which several cars and trailers were lost, all of the line's original rolling stock remains extant, though many items have been out of use for a number of years, largely due to the decrease in tourism on the island over the last thirty years. Despite this, members of each class are still represented on site today, though not all are in original form or in regular use.

Motors

A total of 33 motor cars were provided to the railway from its inception in 1893, the last being delivered in 1906, most of which survive today except where noted below. These tramcars are in a variety of styles ranging from closed saloons to open toastracks and were delivered in batches from various manufacturers. Today the serviceable fleet appear in a variety of historical livery styles. There are presently a total of fourteen working cars, notable among which are their original two which hold the Guinness World Record for being the oldest operational tramcars still in regular use on their original line. Also of note is Winter Saloon No.22 which was rebuilt following a fire in 1991, and works car No.34 which began life as a replica works vehicle for the Snaefell Mountain Railway.

Key:	Departmental Use	In Storage	Serviceable	Scrapped	Undergoing Rebuild

No.	Year	Builder	Type	Livery	Seats	Livery Notes	Notes
No.1	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Unvestibuled	Maroon & Cream	34	As Delivered	~
No.2	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Unvestibuled	Maroon & Cream	34	As Delivered	~
No.3	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Unvestibuled	~	34	~	Lost 1930 Shed Fire
No.4	1894	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	~	36	~	Lost 1930 Shed Fire
No.5	1894	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	Red, White & Teak	32	Early Co., Scheme	~
No.6	1894	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	Maroon, White & Teak	36	Late Edwardian Livery	~
No.7	1894	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	Blue, Ivory & Teak	36	Original Livery	Rebuilt 2008-2011
No.8	1894	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	~	36	~	Lost 1930 Shed Fire
No.9	1894	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	Red, White & Teak	36	Non-Standard	Illuminated Car
No.10	1895	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	Allover Grey	None	Freight Livery	Freight Car - Stored
No.11	1895	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	~	38	~	Scrapped 1926
No.12	1895	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	~	38	~	Scrapped 1927
No.13	1895	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Vestibuled Saloon	~	38	~	Scrapped 1957
No.14	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Maroon & Teak	56	Original Livery	Rebuilt 2015-2018
No.15	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	~	Withdrawn 1973
No.16	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	House-Style
No.17	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	~	Withdrawn 1973
No.18	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Roofed Toastrack	White & Red	56	~	Withdrawn 2000
No.19	1899	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Winter Saloon	Maroon, Cream & Teak	48	'Original' Livery
No.20	1899	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Winter Saloon	Red, White & Teak	48	Former 1970s Style
No.21	1899	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Winter Saloon	Green & White	48	Nationalisation Livery
No.22	1899	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Winter Saloon	Red, White & Teak	48	Standard Livery	Rebuilt 1991-1992
No.23	1900	I.o.M.T.& E.P. Co.	Locomotive	Green & Grey	N/A	I.o.M.T. & E.P. Co.	Withdrawn 1994 & Stored
No.24	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Roofed Toastrack	~	56	~	Lost 1930 Shed Fire
No.25	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	~	Withdrawn 1996
No.26	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	~	Withdrawn 2009
No.27	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Yellow, Red & White	N/A	Non-Standard	Withdrawn 2003
No.28	1898	E.R.T.C. Co., Ltd.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	~	Withdrawn 1970
No.29	1904	E.R.T.C. Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	~	Restoratio 2019-2024
No.30	1904	E.R.T.C. Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	~	Withdrawn 1971
No.31	1906	E.R.T.C. Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	~	Withdrawn 2002
No.32	1906	United Electric Car Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Green & White	56	Nationalisation Livery	~
No.33	1906	United Electric Car Co.	Roofed Toastrack	Red & White	56	House-Style Livery
No.34	1995	Isle of Man Transport	Diesel Locomotive	Yellow & Black	~	Non-Standard Livery	Departmental Use

Trailers

Similar to the power cars and delivered in batches between 1893 and 1903 with further examples in 1930 replacing stock lost in the shed fire at Laxey that year, the majority of trailers are of the toastrack style, with four being saloons (one of which is a rebuilt toastrack converted for disabled access passengers). A total of twenty-one of these trailers are available and in regular use, each carrying a variety of livery styles to match their power cars when possible. Some have had their bodies removed for departmental use over the years while others have been restored to original condition, carrying original fleet numbers where full restorations have been completed, for instance No.36 now carries the original No.19 number complete with curtains. As built early examples were not provided with a roof but these were quickly added as it proved impractical.

Key:	Departmental Use	Withdrawn & Stored	Serviceable	Lost 1930 Fire	Undergoing Rebuild

No.	Year	Builder	Type	Livery	Seats	Livery Notes	Notes
No.34	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	~	44	~
No.35	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	~	44	~
No.36*	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Maroon & Teak	44	As "No.19"	Curtains Fitted 2023
No.37	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Red, White & Teak	44	Lined 'House' Style	Paired Car 2
No.38	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	~	44	~
No.39	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	~	36	~
No.40	1930	English Electric Co.	Toastrack	Red, White & Teak	44	Standard	Replacement
No.41	1930	English Electric Co.	Toastrack	Red, White & Teak	44	Standard	Replacement
No.42	1903	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Red, White & Teak	44	Standard
No.43	1903	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Red, White & Teak	44	Standard
No.44	1903	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Red, White & Teak	44	Standard	Paired Car 22
No.45	1896	G.F. Milnes & Co.	None	Black & Yellow	N/A	Non-Standard	Flatbed Trailer
No.46	1899	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Red, White & Teak	?	Standard
No.47	1899	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Red, White & Teak	?	Standard
No.48	1899	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Blue, Cream & Teak	?	Original Style	Matches Tunnel Car 7
No.49	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Maroon, Cream & Teak	44	Restored To Original	Paired Car 1
No.50	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Red & White	44	Plain 'House' Style	Undergoing rebuild[1]
No.51*	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Maroon & White	44	Original Livery	As "No.15"
No.52	1898	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Flatbed	Black & Yellow	N/A	Non-Standard	Flatbed Trailer
No.53	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	White & Red	44	Plain 'House' Style	Last Used 1978
No.54	1893	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	White & Teak, Red Dash	44	Plain 'House' Style
No.55	1904	E.R.T.L. Co.	Toastrack	Red & White	44	Isle of Man Railways	Last Used 1997
No.56	1904	E.R.T.L. Co.	Saloon	Red, White & Teak	Varies	Standard Lined	Disabled Access
No.57	1904	E.R.T.L. Co.	Winter Saloon	Red, White & Teak	32	1970s style
No.58	1904	E.R.T.L. Co.	Winter Saloon	Red, White & Teak	32	Edwardian style
No.59	1895	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Winter Saloon	Blue, Cream & Teak	18	As Built	Royal Trailer
No.60	1896	G.F. Milnes & Co.	Toastrack	Red & White	44	Standard Lined
No.61	1906	United Electric Car Co.	Toastrack	Red & White (Teak Dash)	44	Standard Lettered
No 62	1906	United Electric Car Co.	Toastrack	Green & White	44	Nationalisation Livery	Matches Toastrack 32

Others

Bertie

a contractors' locomotive used when relays were being undertaken, since moved to UK.

Bungle & Zippy

hired second-hand from Bord na Móna in 2008 and refurbished on-island for further use on the railway, since returned to UK.

Bonner Wagons

road-rail dual purpose wagons dating from the earliest days of the line, none of which are extant today.

Aachen 1010

a Talbot/Kiepe bogie car from Aachen’s series 1001-1011, built in 1956-1957 and retired in 1974; bought for use but never converted, spending much of its life as a storage car at the railway's depot.

Lisbon 360

a Brill-Stephenson 1907 bogie car in that city’s unusual track gauge of, bought for conversion to Manx Electric Railway’s almost identical gauge, — conversion never implemented due to clearance difficulties; it was used as a passenger waiting shelter for a spell; vehicle now in off-site storage on the island.^[2]

Dreadnought Trailers

bogie open wagons with removable sides used for a variety of non-passenger purposes, but particularly associated with stone traffic from Dhoon Quarry, now all scrapped. General 12 ton capacity bogie vehicles.

Four Wheel Goods Vehicles

from 1894 onwards the Douglas and Laxey Electric Tramway and its successors operated a fleet of small four wheel goods wagons, mainly of 5 ton, and 6 ton capacity. There were a total of ten opens and eight vans built by Milnes, Milnes Voss, and the MERCo between 1894 and 1912. Some of the vans were painted red and used for mail traffic.

See also

• Heritage railways in the Isle of Man
• Transport on the Isle of Man
• Manx Electric Railway

References

• Web site: Fleet List. Manx Electric Railway. 2019.
• Book: Goodwyn, Mike. Manx Electric. Platform Five. 1993. 978-1-872524-52-8.
• Book: Hendry, Robert. Manx Electric Album. Hillside Publishing. 1978. 0-9505933-0-3.
• Book: Jones, Norman. Isle Of Man Tramways. Foxline Publishing. 1994. 1-870119-32-0.
• Web site: Manx Electric Railway. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120331091921/http://www.gov.im/tourism/attractions/railways/electric_attract.xml. March 31, 2012. Isle of Man Government. 2009.
• Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20090406105706/http://www.mers.org.im/fleetlist.htm. 2009-04-06. Manx Manx Electric Railway Fleetlist. 2002. Manx Electric Railway Society.
• Book: Pearson, Keith. 100 Years Of Manx Electric Railway. Leading Edge. 1992. 0-948135-38-7.
• Web site: Manx Electric Railway Pages. Island Images. 2003. Jon. Wornham.

Notes and References

1. https://manxelectricrailway.co.uk/trailers/no-50/
2. “Lisbon No.360” Manx Electric Railway Online

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