Manx Electric Railway Online

Trailer 36 (as No.19) in full 1894 as-delivered condition., July 2023 © Website Collection

History:

Trailer No.36 was the third trailer in a batch built for the Manx Electric Railway in 1894 by G.F Milnes, as No.19. It was renumbered as No.36 in 1898 with the impending construction of the ‘Winter Saloon’ Cars.

In use mainly on specials to Groudle and Laxey, No.36 last received workshop attention in 1965. It was still in use for summer work until 1971, where it was withdrawn from service and stored in the seaside road at Ramsey Car Shed, moving for further storage at Laxey Car Shed during 1973.

It was moved from there for further storage at the Homefield Bus Garage in Upper Douglas in May 2002, returning to the M.E.R in November 2009. No.36 was stored (on trucks) at Derby Castle Car Sheds for the next 10 years. In Winter/Spring 2019, the trailer was chosen for restoration and preliminary work was carried out pending full overhaul by M.E.R. workshop staff and volunteers.

No.36 was moved to Laxey in May 2019 and full restoration commenced, although halted temporarily by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following over 1,000 hours of work, the cosmetic restoration of No.36 was completed in late 2021, and the trailer was moved to Derby Castle for mechanical repair and final signwriting.

Trailer No.36 was relaunched as its original number, 19, in 1894 condition, as part of the Year of the Railways transport Festival in July 2023, and is now once again an active member of the M.E.R. fleet. No.19 is fitted with curtains instead of shutters – this was a feature of the vehicles when delivered but removed only a couple of years into their lives. No.19 therefore is the only vehicle currently fitted with this unique weather deterrent!

Trailer 19 mainly sees use during the summer months alongside the other Lightweight Trailers.

Information:

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