IOM steam railway

[Old Yard Dog]

Multiple cancellations/short workings as only one train in service. No info on website. A shambles. Try phoning 01624 673623 from 8 am on the day if you hope to travel.

 

[ainsworth74]

Our experience when a group of Forum members visited earlier in the year was that the service was totally shambolic. The first train of the day seemed to run okay but after that the timetable seemed to just go totally out of the window and basically you had no idea when a train was going to run or even if it was going to run at all!

I would strongly advise against using intermediate stations to start a journey and stick to the terminus station as at least there are station staff to try and get information out of!

The Manx Electric Railway on the other hand seemed to run fairly punctually through most of our trips.

Thankfully if it does all go wrong there is a very good bus service (never thought I'd say that) so at least you shouldn't be totally stranded.

 

[A0]

I spent 2 weeks on the IoM in August and we had no probs with the steam railway - though I notice on Heritage Railway's news feed they are currently having problems with loco availability and only Fenella is working.

On the two weeks we were there we saw Fenella and Hutchison in use.

 

[trentside]

Our experience when a group of Forum members visited earlier in the year was that the service was totally shambolic. The first train of the day seemed to run okay but after that the timetable seemed to just go totally out of the window and basically you had no idea when a train was going to run or even if it was going to run at all!

The crowning glory being the attempt (ultimately successful) to combine the late evening dining and service trains into one and the resultant stop outside of Douglas while they attempted to get moving again. Wasn't it the best part of an hour late in the end?

Still, it's pretty and we had a good laugh on the way!

 

[ainsworth74]

The crowning glory being the attempt (ultimately successful) to combine the late evening dining and service trains into one and the resultant stop outside of Douglas while they attempted to get moving again. Wasn't it the best part of an hour late in the end?

Still, it's pretty and we had a good laugh on the way!

Yes and it was a, er, lively ride to say the least which for the diners must have been very interesting!

Definitely worth doing but just don't plan any tight connections

 

[Cowley]

Sounds like the olden days, times that people get nostalgic over .
Don't suppose the fireman shot a pheasant out of the cab window during the journey did he?

 

[AndyPJG]

BBC News item (20 September 2016)

Isle of Man Steam Railway announces service cuts
The Isle of Man Steam Railway will operate a revised timetable until the end of the 2016 season because of a "high level of operational issues".
Isle of Man Railways said the move was necessary because only one of their trains is currently working.
Director of Transport Services Ian Longworth apologised to passengers.
He said: "We operate Victorian locomotives and we have experienced a high level of failures that require substantial repairs."
The revised schedule will start immediately and run until 6 November.
Isle of Man Railways said their No.8 locomotive Fennela is their only train in service.
The narrow gauge steam-operated railway runs 15.3 miles (24.6 km) between Douglas and Port Erin.

 

[SeanG]

The crowning glory being the attempt (ultimately successful) to combine the late evening dining and service trains into one and the resultant stop outside of Douglas while they attempted to get moving again. Wasn't it the best part of an hour late in the end?

Still, it's pretty and we had a good laugh on the way!

The boat trains were usually banked or double headed out of Douglas so one would imagine this would have a similar weight.

There is a new simulator of the diesel at the railway museum - the joke is that the simulator only works as far as Ballasalla

 

[Old Yard Dog]

IOM railways have introduced a revised one-train timetable to the end of the season. There is a return trip from Douglas to Port Erin at 0950 on operating days and then two short trips to Castletown at 1350 and 1550. Today the Port Erin trip was delayed by 15 mins while they put on an extra coach as numbers were swelled by a 38-person coach party. The 1350 was quiet.

On Monday, an optimist with suitcase alighted the 1350 at Ronaldsway Halt. How often is this used?

The only steam loco in service is in fact no. 10 C.H. Wood. The other 3 have serious boiler problems and the diesel has been out since last year.

 

[Ianigsy]

Fenella would probably be the least ideal loco to have as your last in service, as it's the only running small-boilered loco on the island- which has implications in terms of taking on water and therefore timekeeping. It doesn't help that the IOM Government was essentially sold a pup when it bought a replacement diesel loco which seems to have more problems than the one it replaced!

It's a particular shame when the season has been extended to Bonfire Night, presumably to provide an attraction for islanders rather than tourists, but it also needs to be remembered that the IOM steam railway is government owned and any boiler work tends to be contracted off-island. I'm guessing the priority will be to get the standard steam fleet in better order for next spring.

 

[swissrailpassion]

I had a ride behind Fenella last week on the reduced TT.

As for the new diesel, an old ex-industrial engine re-gauged would have been a better option.

 

[AntoniC]

Yes and it was a, er, lively ride to say the least which for the diners must have been very interesting!

Definitely worth doing but just don't plan any tight connections

Especially as it was curry night that night in the dining cars.

As I remember , we were stuck for an hour outside of Douglas, enjoying the company (and the weather !)

It was the same on all the trips we made on the Steam railway, but as others have said the Electric Railway stuck more to the published timetable !.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

IOM railways have introduced a revised one-train timetable to the end of the season. There is a return trip from Douglas to Port Erin at 0950 on operating days and then two short trips to Castletown at 1350 and 1550. Today the Port Erin trip was delayed by 15 mins while they put on an extra coach as numbers were swelled by a 38-person coach party. The 1350 was quiet.

On Monday, an optimist with suitcase alighted the 1350 at Ronaldsway Halt. How often is this used?

The only steam loco in service is in fact no. 10 C.H. Wood. The other 3 have serious boiler problems and the diesel has been out since last year.

Having just checked my holiday snapshots, I can confirm that No. 8 Fenella was in service on Mon 19th Sep and No. 10 C.H. Wood was in use on Thu 22nd Sep.