Snaefell Mountain Railway

Snaefell Mountain Railway
Double Track (right-hand traffic)
Rack system	Fell System
Track gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Electrification	550 V DC Overhead Wire
Highest elevation	2,020 feet (620 m).
Maximum incline	1:10 (10 %)

The Snaefell Mountain Railway (

.

Operation

The railway operates from March to early November,

.

History

The line was originally surveyed by George Noble Fell, the son of

for propulsion up the steep gradients; however the cars are fitted with Fell braking equipment for use when descending.

In December 1895, the SMRA sold the line to the Isle of Man Tramways & Electric Power Co. Ltd (IoMT&EP), which owned the MER. Doubt was thrown on this transaction retrospectively after the later collapse of the IoMT&EP, when it was revealed that the SMRA was unregistered, and that most of the directors of the IoMT&EP were also members of the SMRA and had voted on the acquisition in contravention of that company's articles of association. The IoMT&EP went into liquidation in 1900 as a consequence of a banking collapse. The railway and the MER were sold by the liquidator to the newly-formed Manx Electric Railway Co. Ltd, which took over in 1902. By the late 1950s the company was in financial difficulties as well, and it was acquired by the Isle of Man Government in 1957.

Stations

Point	Coordinates (Links to map resources)	OS Grid Ref	Notes
Laxey	54°13′55″N 4°24′21″W / 54.2319°N 4.4058°W / 54.2319; -4.4058 (Laxey Station)	SC43288447	Interchange with Manx Electric Railway
The Bungalow	54°15′05″N 4°27′49″W / 54.2513°N 4.4637°W / 54.2513; -4.4637 (The Bungalow Station)	SC39588675
Snaefell Summit	54°15′44″N 4°27′47″W / 54.2622°N 4.463°W / 54.2622; -4.463 (Snaefell Summit Station)	SC39678797

v t e Snaefell Mountain Railway
Legend
Snaefell Summit Bungalow A18 Mountain Road Laxey (Snaefell) Depot Laxey Interchange for Manx Electric Railway

The main railway station on the line is the interchange with the

. During race periods, trams terminate on either side of the road and passengers cross over a footbridge.

Above Laxey station there is a spur leading to the depot where all the rolling stock is housed and maintained; this complex was completely rebuilt in the winter of 1994-95 and officially opened in readiness for the railway's centenary. Also in the depot is a smaller shed which houses the Air Ministry railcars used to access masts at the summit during the winter months, when the overhead lines are removed from the top section of the line to prevent frost damage.

Rolling stock

Passenger

The railway operates with five of the original six identical tramcars, all built in 1895 by George F. Milnes & Co., and delivered in time for the line's opening that year. Of note is Car No. 5 which was severely damaged by a fire on 16 August 1970 and subsequently rebuilt locally, re-entering service in 1971.^[2] It was distinguished by having modern aluminium-framed "bus" type windows, but these were removed and wooden sliding ones refitted during a subsequent rebuild in 2003, when the tram became the first to carry the railway's name in Manx along its side.

The current livery has been standard for over a century, save for a period upon nationalisation in 1957 when certain cars carried an unpopular green and white scheme. The original livery used until 1899 was a cream and Prussian blue scheme featuring "tramway" wording (rather than "railway" which has since been favoured). With the extensive rebuild of Car No. 1 commencing in 2011, this car was chosen to revert to the original colour scheme, complete with original wording. This was the first time a markedly different livery has been carried by any of the cars since the abolition of the short-lived nationalisation (green and white) colour scheme in 1962.

Until the addition of dynamic braking equipment on car roofs in 1970, knifeboard adverts were carried on the roof tops. Car No. 3 was totally destroyed in an incident on 30 March 2016, when it ran away from Summit station and subsequently derailed.^[3] The salvageable remains of the vehicle have been stored at the engineering works of the Manx Electric Railway, where it is expected that the car will eventually be rebuilt.^[4]

Key:	Serviceable	Lost	Rebuilt

№	Built	Layout	Current Livery	Current Lettering	Notes	Status
No.1	1895	Vestibuled Saloon	SMT Blue / Teak / White	Snaefell Mountain Tramway	Rebuilt 2012	In Service
No.2	1895	Vestibuled Saloon	S.M.R Red / Teak / White	Snaefell Mountain Tramway	~	In Service
No.3	1895	~	~	~	Destroyed	~
No.4	1895	Vestibuled Saloon	Green / Teak / White	Snaefell Mountain Tramway	~	In Service
No.5	1895	Vestibuled Saloon	Red / Teak / White	Snaefell Mountain Tramway	Rebuilt 1971	In Service
No.6	1895	Vestibuled Saloon	Red / Teak / White	Snaefell Mountain Railway	~	In Service

Non-passenger car

The seventh car built by the railway was a non-passenger car supplied at opening in 1895. It was based largely upon the passenger cars, but without seated closed accommodation. Numbered 7 in sequence with the other stock and nicknamed "Maria", it was used to convey coal from Laxey to the power station near the Bungalow, and traditionally borrowed traction bogies from other passenger vehicles as required. It latterly saw many years at the works depôt mounted on barrels until it became completely rotten and beyond saving. A replica was built in 1994 to take part in the

on the "low road" (a colloquial name for the MER to differentiate it from the mountain line). It features a mounted diesel generator for self-propulsion when the overhead wires are down.

Key:	Serviceable	Scrapped

№	Built	Builder	Layout	Current Livery	Current Lettering	Notes	Status
No.7 (i)	1895	G.F. Milnes & Co.	End Cabs / Open Wagon	Allover Grey	None Carried	Scrapped 1995, Replica Built	Scrapped, 1995
No.7 (ii)	1994	Manx Electric Railway	End Cabs / Open Wagon	Yellow / Red / Black	None Carried	Converted (No.34 Manx Electric Railway)	Stored

National Air Traffic Services

There have been four different railcars on the line, all

(the successor of the Air Ministry and Civil Aviation Authority). The vehicles are used by crews travelling to maintain the aerial masts at the top of Snaefell mountain.

Works №	Fleet No.	Builders	Year Delivered	Original Livery	Status
5864	Air Ministry No.1	Wickham of Ware	1951	Teal Blue	Awaiting Restoration
7642	CAA No.2	Wickham of Ware	1957	Teal Blue	Unknown
10956	CAA No.3	Wickham of Ware	1977	Teal Blue	Operational
11730	NATS No.4	Wickham of Ware	1991	Yellow / Black	Undergoing Overhaul

Other

The railway also has a four-wheeled wagon used to carry supplies to the summit railway station, which has no road access; the wagon is ordinarily propelled in front of the first morning car which delivers the staff to the summit, and remains at the summit during the operational day, returning behind the last tram. It is occasionally used on service cars as part of special events, primarily for photographic purposes.

Incidents

During the construction of the line in 1895, the steam locomotive "Caledonia" was being used to transport sleepers and rails up the line. Heading up the hill from Dumbell's Row, the locomotive began to slip about 20 metres up the hill, crashing through a bakery and into a greengrocers shop, causing significant damage to both properties. Both property owners and drivers were unhurt.^[5]

On Monday, 27 July 2009, a vehicle carrying a mechanical excavator came into contact with wires supplying traction power to the Snaefell Mountain Railway and the Manx Electric Railway at a crossing in Laxey, according to portal site Manx.net. There were no injuries. Police and MER electrical engineering crews were at the scene of the incident, the report also said. It did not indicate what damage had occurred as a result of the incident. Service resumed the next day after temporary repairs to the overhead lines, which were permanently repaired over the next couple of weeks.^{[citation needed]}

On 30 March 2016, the unoccupied Snaefell Mountain Railway Car No.3 suffered a runaway from the Summit and derailed just north of Bungalow Station.^[3] No injuries were reported, but the 121-year old tramcar was totally destroyed in the incident. 30 passengers were left stranded at the Summit for a short time.^[3]

On 4 August 2017, the Snaefell Mountain Railway Car No. 2 suffered brake failure on the descent from the Snaefell Summit terminus to the Bungalow. The Isle of Man Director of Public Transport, Ian Longworth, stated that the tram had sustained a loss of rheostatic braking due to an interruption in the overhead electricity supply which occurred when the bow current collector momentarily lost contact with the overhead wire. In this incident the crew attempted to apply the emergency Fell-rail brake but were initially hampered in their attempts by a gap in the Fell-rail at a road crossing near the Bungalow railway station. The crew were eventually able to stop the vehicle after the recommencement of the Fell-rail section.^[6] Following the incident, the speed limit on the line was reduced from 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) to 8 miles per hour (13 km/h). However, on 10 August, the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate banned trams from operating following reports that trams were not adhering to the new speed limit.^[7] Services resumed on 30 March 2018 after modifications to the braking systems.^[8]

See also

• Transport on the Isle of Man
• List of light-rail/tram systems
• British narrow gauge railways

References

• Goodwyn, Mike (1993). Manx Electric. Platform 5 Publishing Ltd.
  ISBN 1-872524-52-4
  .
• Heavyside, Tom (2010). Douglas – Laxey – Ramsey: including the Groudle Glen Railway. Narrow Gauge Branch Lines series. Midhurst, West Sussex, UK: Middleton Press.
  ISBN 9781906008758
  .
• Hendry, R Preston; Hendry, R Powell (1978). Manx Electric Railway Album. Rugby: Hillside Publishing Co.
  ISBN 0-9505933-0-3
  .
• Hendry, R. (1993) Rails in the Isle of Man: A Colour Celebration, Midland Publishing Limited,
  ISBN 1-85780-009-5
• MERS Online (2002) The Manx Electric Railway : Outline History www site, Manx Electric Railway Society [accessed 23 August 2004]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Snaefell Mountain Railway.

• Official website
• Isle of Man Transport
• Manx Electric Railway Society
• Snaefell Mountain Railway

54°15′01″N 4°25′54″W / 54.2502°N 4.4317°W / 54.2502; -4.4317