Railway - Manx Electric Railway No. 22 - postcard

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  No. 22 Manx Electric Railway
• Publisher:  Isle of Man Railways
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The Manx Electric Railway is an electric inter-urban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Castle at the northern end of the promenade in Douglas, and with the Snaefell Mountain Railway at Laxey. The line is undulating and passes through areas of scenic beauty. Many visitors take an excursion on the trams.

The line runs on roadside reservation for the first few miles from Douglas and then on segregated track through the countryside for most of the route to Ramsey. The line is 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge and is 17 miles (27.4 km) long. It is largely segregated from road traffic, running on double track on roadside reservation or private right-of-way, and is electrified using overhead line at 550 volts direct current. Initially the trams used pairs of Hopkinson bow collectors (still used on the Snaefell Mountain Railway, owing to its dependability in strong winds on the mountain) but by the turn of the 20th century they were fitted with trolley poles, the method still employed. Originally the electricity was generated by the railway's own power stations, now via the island's grid by the Manx Electricity Authority. Having always operated year round, the winter service is much less frequent than in summer, and has been intermittently dropped from schedules in recent years to allow substantial investment in infrastructure, including relaying longer stretches of track.

Winter Saloon No. 21, Derby Castle

Originally the service was provided by about 24 trams and the same number of trailers: the earliest date from 1893 and almost all are pre-1910. Two of the three cars that opened the line in 1893 are still in use, and are the oldest electric trams at work on their original line in the world. The design pre-dates any consensus on design, and they have distinctive boxy bodies. Most services are operated by a motor car towing a single trailer, although later cars can haul two trailers. This has never been common practice (in recent years this has included in a few ""special"" services as part of the long-running series of events) although it was not uncommon for cars to haul a box-van for freight and, until 1975, a mail van. In September 1975 the line was closed between Laxey and Ramsey and the contract with the Post Office was lost, but in 1977 the Ramsey section was reopened. Since then a limited winter service has operated on weekdays, suspended in 1998 as an economy measure. The line operates a seasonal timetable with services terminating at Laxey or Ramsey, with some short workings in connection with the Groudle Glen Railway in peak season, and limited evening operation as far as Laxey in peak season to tie in with evening services on the Snaefell Mountain Railway, which since 2009 has provided a weekly Sunset Dinner service including a meal at the summit. The possibility of a limited evening service to Ramsey has been considered in recent times and trams are sometimes chartered during summer for enthusiasts' excursions.

The first section, from the northern end of the promenade at Douglas to Groudle Glen, opened in 1893, to Laxey in 1894 (the Snaefell Mountain Railway opened the following year from Laxey) and Ramsey in 1899. The first section was built by Douglas Bay Estates Ltd., and by 1894 the tramway had been acquired by the Douglas & Laxey Electric Tramway Co. Ltd, which changed its name to the Isle of Man Tramways & Electric Power Co. Ltd (I.o.M.T.&.E.P.) the same year. The I.o.M.T.&.E.P. went into liquidation in 1900 as a consequence of a banking collapse. The line was 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, and in 1957 it was acquired by the Isle of Man Government (which carried out a similar move two decades later to save the Isle of Man Railway). A nationalisation livery of green and white was applied to some trams and trailers for a limited time, though this was unpopular and later dropped. A government Board was formed to manage the line and the Snaefell Mountain Railway, and still does so after various changes of title from the original Manx Electric Railway Board to Isle Of Man Passenger Transport Board, now Isle Of Man Heritage Railways (the word heritage being added in 2009). This is a division of the Department of Community, Culture & Leisure of the Isle of Man Government, and is also operates the island's buses as Bus Vannin.

type=printed

period=post-war (1945-present)

postage condition=unposted

number of items=single

size=continental/ modern (150x100 mm)