The Manx Heritage Transport Festival drew to a close yesterday with the workshops and signal box at Douglas Station open to the public with tour guides provided by volunteers of the Supporters’ Association and double-headed trains for the Rail 200 event suitably bedecked with headboards.  Across the week a number of events were staged commencing with the welcome evening which featured No.5 Mona and No.6 Peveril, both cosmetically restored by the Supporters’  Association in 2023, and M.N.Ry. No.4 Caledonia providing shuttle rides between the southern terminus and Colby Station using both the Foxdale Coach and restored six-wheeler M.N.Ry. No.6.  

Wednesday 23rd saw the Annual General Meeting, ahead of which No.9 Douglas was unveiled following the recent completion of its cosmetic restoration by the Supporters’ Association in the presence of Infrastructure Minister Michelle Haywood and Chief Engineer Andy Cowie; also on show was the restored Royal Saloon F.36.  Other highlights included a day of headboards commemorating the Buttell Family, a double-headed evening train, dining services and the use of No.18 Ailsa on shuttles within the confines of the yard (a similar event featuring Wickham No.23 was cancelled owing to a mechanical failure.

The final day was Sunday 27th which saw double-headed and banked trains carrying Rail 200 headboards, as well as the popular workshop and signal box open days, for which the volunteers of the Supporters’ Association provided tour guides once again.  In the signal box was former general manager and signalman Roger Webster, also a director of the Supporters’ Association, who gave an insight into the operation of the box.  In the workshops work is ongoing on No.12 Hutchinson with one of the recently-acquired Bord Na Móna locomotives, while No.9 Douglas and Royal Saloon F.36 were also viewable at close quarters as well as M.N.Ry. No.4 Caledonia and a variety of other stock.  Thanks to Otto Barlow and Shaun Snr for sharing the accompanying images of the event.