The Isle of Man has the oldest small gauge steam train in Europe and it still runs. Not only does it run, it is used as local transport. It is not just a tourist train. We woke up to a glorious sunshine filled day. The walk down to the train station was much easier in the sun. We boarded in the first train of the day going south. It seemed like we would have the cabin to ourselves but then 3 folks came in and sat down. Then as we were about to take off another lady came in and sat down. Six in the cabin was the max. The last passenger gave us good information about how to plan our day. She told a crazy story about the taxis. It turns out you need to reserve them days in advance. She also told us that kids going to the mainland for University have to pay international tuition rates which are triple. The other three were also visiting the island. They were in a brass band that was playing that night back in Douglas. They invited us to attend and we did. The ride south lasted about an hour. We rode through forests, farmers fields, seaside cliffs and rolling hills. The train stopped in Port Erin. Here the train had to top off with water so we had an hour to explore the tiny town.
Off to the north of Douglas, the main town, we saw this structure
A church on our walk
The train cars are original and a bit small, I had to bend down to lean out
The Douglas Station
Snug in our carriage
Sheep are everywhere
Coal smoke at first then just steam
The logo
Heading out of the yard
Very compact engines
A bit windblown
Forested section
Fields in which we saw pheasant, geese, crows, and herons
There are regular stops and stops only on request
The towns names are written in Manx Gaelic and in English
Coal is a messy thing to work with
Mountains off in the distance
Lucky number 12 was our engine
We stopped here later in the day
Idyllic landscape
Our cabin mates, trombone, baritone horn and trumpet
Here we are in Port Erin
These trains were the prototype or inspiration for Thomas the Train
End of the line and the south west side of the island
