For many years the Manx Electric Railway Society has
worked hard with the Department of Tourism & Leisure,
and in particular the last Minister, the Hon David Cretney
MHK to secure the long-term future of the Manx Electric
Railway. At times our efforts were unwelcomed by elements of
the management of the line and the realisation that
something had to be done to prevent a whittling away of the
charm of the MER ultimately led to the creation of a
Conservation Policy designed to protect the ambience of the
line and its assets. This policy was enthusiastically
written by Mr. Cretney in consultation with the Manx
Electric Railway Society.
Following the change of Ministerial appointments after last
November's General Election, the MER Society wrote in
January to the new Minister, Hon Adrian Earnshaw MHK to
ascertain his intention to continue with the Department's
adopted policy. At that time he was uncommittal but told the
Society '…that under my leadership the Department will
remain fully committed to the long-term preservation of our
heritage railways'.
Almost six months later the Society (again seeking to
establish his position on the Conservation Policy) was
granted a meeting with the new Minister. It was with some
astonishment that the Society heard the Minister admit that,
despite being in office for over six months and having had
the matter brought to his attention, he had not yet read the
Conservation Policy, a surprising statement from someone
responsible for its implementation (until such stage as he
abandons it). What ought to concern the Public and indeed
the Council of Ministers is that the Minister of Tourism
decided to pick a fight where he did not need to; if he had
read the Conservation Policy he would have seen that the
final say under the policy is his.
Worse still, and in direct contradiction of the Minister's
statement in January, Mr. Earnshaw informed the MER Society
that it was his intention to dispose of a large number of
historic Victorian and Edwardian tramcars.
It was accepted long ago that it would be political suicide
for a Minister to scrap trams, but this appears the course
on which Mr. Earnshaw has embarked. The Minister for Tourism
is boldly marching into a political minefield, which will
cause unnecessary embarrassment to the Isle of Man and its
Government. Just at the very time his Department has
identified a market in the charm and quaintness of the
Island as a tourist destination the Minister has decided to
send out another signal - that the Island smashes
heritage.
The belief that no sensible Minister for Tourism would want
to send out a signal to the many enthusiasts who holiday
here that the Island scraps trams appears to have been
mistaken. And make no mistake; these include trams that the
public paid for to be removed to Homefield 'Bus Garage in
Douglas and paid for to be stored there. Has Mr Earnshaw
asked himself why this was thought to be essential?
Included on the list of tramcars and trailers under threat
are a number which date from the opening of the Manx
Electric Railway in 1893 and its extension to Laxey in 1894,
as well as some of the 'newest' delivered in 1904. These are
priceless and are vital as a backup fleet should some
disaster befall the line - in recent history the MER has
suffered the loss of a number of trams by fire. The most
recent in 1991 occurred in a tram depot and could easily
have spread to the bulk of the rest of the fleet. The frames
of the newer cars are amongst the least used on the MER, to
waste them would be tragic. Should a disaster affect the
rest of the fleet these cars could run again. If the
Minister has not scrapped them.
If the Minister is allowed to proceed with his decision he
will write off over a thousand years of the Manx Electric
Railway's heritage. He will go down in history as the man
who has done more damage to the MER than anyone else. Never
in 114 years has the Manx Electric Railway faced such a
savage and serious threat. At the meeting the Minister asked
us what they were worth? The answer is that they are
priceless historical artefacts, a credit to the Isle of Man
and their destruction would be fatal to the reputation of
the Island as an enthusiasts' paradise. The work of millions
of pounds of advertising over the years lost in an
afternoon. That is what they are worth. So much for 'Treat
your inner child to a weekend away' whatever that cost us.
Scrapping trams would be the most damaging publicity since
Summerland.
Who would have imagined 10 years ago that people would be
criticised for taking holiday flights? Who would have
thought of Global Warming as having any real impact on the
way we live? Who can predict what the holiday business will
be like in 10 years time? Who can predict whether people
will be taking so many foreign holidays? And what will be
the impact on the Manx tourist trade? The simple fact is we
cannot say, but no-one can rule out a serious boom should
foreign air travel decline, after all it is the increase in
such travel that led to the slump in the 70's.
Whilst it is true that the tramcars stored in Homefield are
currently not used for passenger services and the lease on
the premises is due to expire in 2009, who can tell what the
future holds and having a valuable stock of unique and
original 100+ year old that are not offending anyone, other
than the Minister, it seems ludicrous to suggest disposing
of them, especially when there is sufficient space on the
line to store them, and given that Tynwald has allocated
funding for the rebuilding of Laxey depot, to allow it to be
brought back into use.
When we raised the possibility of these trams going into
Laxey depot the Minister responded 'just because you have a
space doesn't mean you have to fill it'. Much better to
scrap priceless historic tramcars and have a half-full shed
then? And what would people think of a Minister for Tourism
who had so little insight as to scrap a large part of the
MER fleet that had survived over 100 years only to fall into
his hands? And to scrap it when there was plenty of room for
it to be kept under cover?
When the Manx Electric Railway Conservation Policy was
written, it was unthinkable that a Minister for Tourism
would be ignorant of the need for such a thing and the
policy therefore centred on the principle of Ministerial
Consent. We have now entered a different world. The Minister
for fun has been replaced by a very different animal who has
hit the ground running with not a proposal for discussion
but an announced policy of getting rid of the reserve
fleet.
In Tynwald on June 19 Mr. Earnshaw stated that he had met
with the Manx Electric Railway Society and other groups and
'…hopefully, I am forging a good relationship with them
and we are moving things in a positive direction'. The MERS
cannot have a working relationship with a man that has
indicated his wish to get rid of trams. The Manx Electric
Railway Society has no confidence in Mr. Earnshaw, is not
convinced that '…under my leadership the Department
will remain fully committed to the long-term preservation of
our heritage railways', and calls for his immediate
dismissal and replacement by someone who cares for the
Island's priceless heritage.