The Governors’ Saloon F.75
Two of the first four-wheel carriages built for the opening of the Peel Line in 1873 by the Metropolitan Carriage &Wagon Co., Ltd., of Saltley in Birmingham, upon delivery of the first bogie carriages from Brown, Marshall & Co., Ltd., in 1874 this carriage was close-coupled with C.9 and later mounted onto a bogie underframe in 1926 to become F.75; these two unique carriages were both saloons, the only two delivered, and now form the Governors’ Saloon, extant in the railway museum at Port Erin where it has been exhibited since withdrawal from traffic in 1975. The left portion as below is A.12 with its larger windows while C.9 has five smaller windows each side of the central door and small opening windows above the centre glazing. The panelling between the two illustrates how they became pairs carriages. Remaining in this formation since 1926, an opening between the two saloons was created for the reopening in 1967 and the following year the carriage made an excursion to St. John's for a Supporters' Association special train. The vehicle remained in periodic use thereafter, with a premium sometimes being charged to travel in it. It entered the railway museum in 1975 where it has remained since, apart from a short spell 1998-1999 stored in Douglas Station during museum refurbishments. In February 2014 it was moved to a dedicated plinth during renovations by volunteers of the Association and it remains here today, coupled to closed van G.19. Sadly, the interior is not open to the public.
Fleet Number:
Capacity:
Built:
Width:
Manufacturers:
Length:
Status:
40 (Two Adjoining Saloons)
1873/1874 (Paired 1926)
7’ 0”
Metropolitan
34’ 2”
Above: two four-wheel saloons mounted in 1926 onto a bogie underframe supplied by the Metropolitan Carriage & Wagon Co., Ltd. of Birmingham, these two unique vehicles date from the opening of the Peel Line and were used to convey the Duke of Sutherland and dignitaries on the first train; the differences are clear in this rendering, central doors accessing the two compartments which were fitted with a connecting opening for the first train in 1967 by Lord Ailsa; the livery is as they were paired.
(Photo: I.o.M.S.R.S.A.)