Re: Isle of Man

The Snaefell Mtn operates mostly with original 1895 cars. Of the original 6 cars (#1-6), #5 burned in 1970 and was reconstructed, and #3 was destroyed in a runaway last year. The rest, while having been rebuilt constantly to keep up with their daily use, are mostly original carbodies.

SMR car #1 - painted in the original white/blue color scheme - approaches the summit. Was a cold, windy, foggy morning this morning, but the ever-present sheep didn't seem to care.


At the summit station. Note the unusual rigid bow collectors used on these cars.


The summit station of Snaefell at 2036ft. Heard someone from the UK commenting on how high up they were and just had to chuckle a bit. My front doorstep at home is well over 3x as high.



The summit switch is of an unusual design - basically a single center rail operating as a sector plate, swinging side to side to route the car.



The line is now powered from the national grid, just like the MER. However, originally the route was fed from its own powerhouse, located approximately halfway up the line. The building still remains today, along with one of the boilers laying outside.