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Power, Poles & Platelaying
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We’ve been visiting the Isle of Man
for decades longer than we’ve lived
and worked here. On our first visit
we were so delighted with the
heritage railways that we took all
sorts of photographs of how things
were done. Little did we know that,
in many ways, we were
photographing something which was
rapidly disappearing. |
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On our second visit, less than a year
later, much of what we’d
photographed had already gone.
Yet very few people would probably
have noticed a difference. The trams
themselves were just as lovely as
they had been the previous year.
It was the inexorable change of the
working environment, the
all-important engineering that we,
and particularly the senior partner,
noticed. |
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It was inevitable, of course. The days
of those working on the railway
being expected to put in long hours
in unsafe conditions had gone –
and rightly so. New, more efficient
working practices had begun to be
introduced to the old railways.
Less idiosyncratic working methods,
better equipment, new track and
overhead, more efficient power
supply. |
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But with all this, something had gone
from the old railway. I’m so pleased
we were there in time to see it pass.
As the senior partner says:
photograph it now; you never know
when it will disappear. |
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Power, Poles & Platelaying;
Keeping the Manx Electric Railway on Track
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A different look at the Manx Electric and Snaefell
Mountain Railways on the Isle of Man.
The book examines the engineering infrastructure
behind these historic lines. The technologies
involved in their creation, development, renewal
and maintenance are examined and an eye cast on
the long-term future for the systems.
When constructed, in the late Victorian era, the
lines were in the vanguard of rapidly evolving
electrical engineering technology. In the 125 years
since the MER was built, developing technology
in electrical power supply made successive
installations obsolete. In the twenty-first century,
efficient solid state equipment has largely
superseded all that has gone before.
In parallel with the electronic revolution there have
been major advances in permanent way which are
leading to higher levels of passenger comfort and
safety, with lower maintenance costs.
The civil and structural engineering aspects have
not been neglected either as improved coating
techniques mean that the major steel structure at
Ballure, like the Forth Railway Bridge, now needs
attention on an extended thirty year cycle rather
than every few years as before. |
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All these engineering developments have been
taken in the shadows of the historic fleet of cars
which continue to serve the island's population
and visitors. Indeed many tourists will have little
idea of the work which is carried out on the
railways outside the holiday season: over the
winter months, professional teams renew track,
structures and overhead and are charged with
completing repairs and improvements before the
next season.
This book provides enthusiasts and the merely
curious with an overview of the processes at work
in building and maintaining these historic railways.
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