The 1966 Almanac : 17th July 2026
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As part of the sixtieth anniversary celebrations of the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters’ Association a new publication has been compiled charting the year 1966, the momentous year in which our fledgling group was first formed.
This booklet will use contemporary articles from early editions of our official journal Manx Steam Railway News and various other sources, highlighting other significant happening which took place in the same year across the globe.
Titled The 1966 Almanac it is hoped that it will be the first in an annual publication using the source material in two hundred editions of Manx Steam Railway News as well as photographic content from each year.
Produced in an A4 softback format to best showcase the photographic content, the publication charts the year in which the future of the railway hung in the balance and let to our group’s formation. 2026 presents the ideal time for publication.
Publication comes perfectly timed to coincide with the upcoming Manx Heritage Transport Festival which starts on Tuesday 28th July and runs until Sunday 2nd August, this year including a number of events to highlight our milestone year.
Wednesday 29th July will see a variety of headboards carried commemorating Supporters’ Association stalwarts and will culminate in our Diamond Jubilee taking passengers to our Annual General Meeting the Railway Museum at Port Erin Station.
The following day will see a display of our projects at Port Erin Station including our four cosmetically restored locomotives and our three vehicles, H.1, M.78 and G.1 with our representatives on site throughout the day.
Our Now : Priced £10.00
We are delighted that our good friends at Isle of Man Railways will be stocking our new publication in their three retail outlets on the railway, namely at Douglas Station, Castletown Station and in the Railway Museum priced at £10.00 per copy with all proceeds going towards the ongoing F.6 Restoration - updates on which will be given at the annual meeting.
With the upcoming 200th edition of Manx Steam Railway News which will be published later in the year, we now have a comprehensive archive of news for each year, and should The 1966 Almanac prove successful it is our intention to produce similar volumes for each year. Work has already commenced on the 1967 volume for which there is much material.
Early newsletters were type-written foolscap format with no images appearing in 1973 as printing technology advanced; with much progress in printing techniques in recent times, it will be possible to include much more photography and we always welcome submissions to include in future editions. Please contact The Secretary if you can help.
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