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.
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.
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.
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.
Car CCFL 360 in 1977, still in regular service in Lisbon.
Lisbon 360
a Brill-Stephenson 1907 bogie car in that city’s unusual track gauge of 900 mm (2 ft 11+7⁄16 in), bought for conversion to Manx Electric Railway’s almost identical 3 ft (914 mm) 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.
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