Brake Composite F.6
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F.6 is the last bogie carriage of an initial order of six delivered from Brown, Marshall & Co., Ltd., of Birmingham and dating from 1876, the first batch of bogie rolling stock purchased by the railway, having initially opted for four-wheel stock for its opening in 1873. It is of what was to become a standard design of six compartments being 35’ 0” long and 7’ 0” wide with a height of 9’ 4”. Passenger accommodation is provided in five of the six compartments with the final one being for the guard; the two central compartments are designated first class, while two third class compartments are open-backed.
The carriage survived in traffic until 1965 when its last recorded use was noted, though it was available as a spare during the tenure of Lord Ailsa until 1968. Thereafter stored in the carriage shed at Douglas Station until the end of the 1971 season when it was moved to St. John’s Station for storage the following winter. Having retained its wooden brake blocks is was not favoured in traffic and became surplus to operational requirements following the closure of the Peel and Ramsey lines and was therefore moved, in one of the final ever stock movements on the Peel Line before lifting in 1975.
It was sold in 1975 to the Phyllis Rampton Charitable Trust together with a number of other carriages, and removed from the island shortly afterwards, where it remains in storage today. It is the lowest numbered carriage to survive and therefore the oldest passenger carriage to have survived into the the twenty-first century. After many years as part of the private collection, in 2024 the opportunity arose for the Supporters’ Association to purchase the carriage and repatriate it and this matter is presently ongoing, the ultimate plan being to fully restore the carriage for its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary in 2026.
Fleet No.:
Year:
Builders:
Length:
Width:
Height:
Capacity:
Status:
F.6
1876
Brown Marshall
35’ 0”
7’ 0”
9’ 4”
40 / 48
Sold
Douglas Station outside the old carriage shed in September 1965 with the standard post-war red and cream livery, note the third class doors labelled as well as first and the panelling between compartments.
F.6 at Peel Station showing the first class door designations and wider panelling between the compartments to good effect. The black solebars are painted on, a trait of the earlier bogie stock.
F.6 wearing purple lake livery with off-white upper panels at St. John’s Station in July 1939, the panels between compartments particularly stand out in this scheme, centrally painted fleet numbers.
F.6 stored on Road One at Douglas Station in storage but ready for use at this stage designated as a spare carriage in case of need, August 1968. Its last recorded use was prior to the tenure of Lord Ailsa.
Beneath the carriage at its present location showing the timber underframing of the earlier bogie stock, of which it is the oldest survivor, including detail of the braking gear.
The condition of the open third class compartments of F.6 in late 2023 showing the “as withdrawn” condition of the carriage with Railway Company seating moquette of the era.
F.6 stored in its present location off-island still bearing the “sold” marking from when it was bought by the late Peter Rampton together with other items of rolling stock from St. John’s Station back in 1975. Other carriages obtained at the time were:-
In April 2024 the Association were approached with an opportunity to repatriate this carriage, the oldest surviving item of passenger rolling stock from the railway to exist, and at present discussions remain ongoing with a view to a return to the railway for restoration and return to traffic.
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