King rides Douglas horse tram

During his visit to the Isle of Man on 14 July, His Majesty King Charles III (and Lord of Mann) unveiled a plaque at Strathallan Crescent to mark the 150th anniversary of the Douglas Bay Hose tramway and then took a ride along the Promenade on newly-restored double-deck horse tram 18, pulled by horse Bobby. The King was accompanied by the island’s Lieutenant Governor, Sir John Lorimer. This was the King’s first visit to the island as Lord of Mann; he had previously travelled there in 2012 as Prince of Wales. 

 

The 3’ (914mm) gauge Douglas Bay Horse Tramway was established in 1876 by Thomas Lightfoot and was soon carrying visitors along the Promenade from the Sea terminal to the terminus of the Manx Electric Railway at Derby Castle (1.6 miles, 2.6km). More recently the line was cut back from the Sea Terminal to Broadway, but moves are underway to re-instate the original link at a cost of £1.2M. The service has been operated by Douglas Corporation since 1902. Car 18 is the only double-deck tram in the fleet of 13 (similar car 14 is preserved at the Manx Museum) and was built by Metro-Cammel in 1883. It ran as a single-deck tram from 1904 until it was rebuilt again in1989. It was withdrawn in 2024 to be refurbished and repainted in original red-and-white livery. Trams on the line run every 30 minutes from April to November, with a £5 day ticket.