5th July 2017

I think it's obvious where this is! It is 14.05 and Car No. 1 will operate the 14.15 service to the summit, on which I will be a passenger. The line has a gauge of 3 feet 6 inches, which is wider than the 3 feet gauge of the adjacent Manx Electric Railway. I assume that the wider gauge was necessary to accommodate the Fell centre rail system, used for emergency braking on the mountain section, but as a result it does make things awkward should the cars need maintenance in Douglas, For this purpose there is a short dual-gauge section, where the cars can switch bogies and be taken to the shops at Douglas. No. 1 was built in 1895, as were all of the cars on this line.