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For quick though superficial reference to many of the aspects of the Island's history generally covered by Manx Transport Review, there has grown a useful list of keynotes. It is now many years since this was first compiled for private purposes but since their use shows no sign of diminishing, they are reproduced here for the general information of readers. They are not comprehensive but are primarily useful for the references contained. Any corrections or additions would be gratefully received. |
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Services & Utilities - Shipping Industries - Mines, Quarries and Extraction |
Utilities - Water Originally under the aegis of several private companies, the water supply finally came under the unified IoM Gas & Water Authority. The original Douglas reservoir was situated at Summer Hill (SC394775); the Clypse, the first additional supply, opened in 1878 (SC403808), Kerrowdhoo (SC400802) was opened in 1893 and Baldwin (or Injebreck) was finished in 1905 (SC360802). The southside of the Island is served by Cringle Reservoir (SC253745) whilst the north is fed from Ballure (SC454729) which was originally developed by the Ramsey & Northern Water Board in 1858, and the vast new Reservoir at Sulby Glen (SC373895). Smaller reservoirs exist in Glen Rushen (SC247785), Konslieu (SC289781), Eairy (SC299778) and Michael (SC335893).
Between 1836 and 1898 gas undertakings were formed to serve Douglas, Castletown and Port St Mary, whilst the Ramsey Gas Light Co dated from 1857. Each had its appropriate gasworks. Coal gas generation finally finished in the Island in 1971 with the closure of Port St Mary gas works, and none of the plants remain intact, since the changeover to natural gas, imported in bulk liquid form. The Douglas Gas Company Ltd and the Ramsey Gas Light Co Ltd (taken over in 1967 by Calor Gas Ltd and now trading as Calor Manx Gas Ltd) remain trading. There was a fifth Town Gasworks on the Island, at Peel. It was built about the same time as the Ramsey site, after a special Act of Tynwald was passed in 1857. In the 1960s, with the advent of natural gas and LPG, the Peel Gaslight Co got into financial difficulties (along with the Castletown and Port St. Mary companies) and had to be rescued by the taxpayer. The gasholder still remains, but the bulk of the site has been cleared.
Douglas was the last town of its size anywhere in the British Isles to be provided with a public supply, the delay being caused by leaden footed civic pride. The predecessors of the Manx Electric Railway Co Ltd had promoted electric tramways and lighting for the Borough from their own supply in 1895. They already supplied private customers in Port Jack, Onchan and elsewhere from their power stations, but Douglas Corporation decided that the supply of utilities by private trading concerns was not to be countenanced. Instead they procured consulting engineers' reports on a projected municipal electricity supply with monotonous regularity: 1898, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1913, 1918 and 1919. The first municipal power station, built between North Quay and Lord Street (the fabric of which may still be seen) provided the first public supply when it opened on May 18 1923 and which quickly proved to be insufficient in generating capacity. A very much larger steam turbine station was opened at Pulrose in 1928 and much enlarged in 1935 after means had been found to reduce the likelihood of flooding, which had caused the station to be abandoned for some time in September 1930. The original power station on North Quay continued in use until it blew up in October 1944. The earliest commercial generation in the Island was provided by the electric tramway's Derby Castle power station, opened in 1893 and which provided a public supply in Onchan, Port Jack and elsewhere. Further power stations were built for what became the MER at Laxey (1894) at the Bungalow (Snaefell line) 1895 and Ballaglass (1898). The Laxey plant was augmented by a hydro-generating turbine set using water from the Laxey River. Inaugurated in 1899 the remains of the weirs, head and tail races, power house and turbine house can still be seen. The MER ceased to generate its own power in 1935 when it was connected to the "All-Island" and Douglas municipal supplies. The "All-Island" supply was introduced by the Isle of Man Electricity Board in 1932-3. Other power stations in the Island included Pigeon Stream on the Marine Drive, which supplied their electric tramcars on the Douglas HeadPort Soderick line. This too ceased to generate in 1935 when it was connected to the Douglas supply. Before the coming of the Douglas and later All-Island supplies, electric power was frequently produced privately by means of generator sets. A much larger scale private generating capacity was operated by Mr Bellamy of Baldrine, who had a small power station on Clay Head Road, and which supplied several properties in the immediate area until 1935-6. Modern generating stations exist at Peel (which was expected to be the source for the All-Island supply when opened in 1950, but never was, and Ramsey Milntown, opened in 1960. Both Peel and Pulrose have been almost totally re-equipped and enlarged in the past seven years and all are equipped exclusively with diesel alternator sets, and the costs to the consumer (up to four times the UK price equivalent) reflects the enhanced operating costs of this type of generation and well as the economics of small-scale production. See MTR 56 (Summer-Autumn 1989)
The first submarine cable for communications between England and the Isle of Man was laid between St Bee's Head (Cumbria) and Port Cornaa in 1864. The Shore terminal hut can still be seen on the south side of Cornaa Beach. Wireless installations were provided for signals between Seaforth and the Government Office in Douglas in 1914; the aerial was mounted on the roof of the building. This continued in use as a back-up facility until 1929, when the GPO Telephones laid a trunk cable from Norbreck (near Blackpool) to Port Grenaugh. The first call was made by Sir Claude Hill, the Governor, and HM Postmaster General Leese Smith on June 28 1929. This cable link carried two trunk circuits; by 1955 these had been increased to 60 circuits. A further radio-telephone link was introduced in 1940 with a station and generating plant at Creg-na-Baa, augmented by a co-axial cable link from Holyhead to the Isle of Man. Later and more recent developments include the provision of microwave stations in the Island. |