Manx Electric Railway

Manx Electric Railway
Cars, shed and sign at Derby Castle
Operation
Opened	1893
Owner	Isle of Man Heritage Railways
Technical
Line length	17 mi (27 km)
Track gauge	3 ft (914 mm)
Electrification	550 V DC

The Manx Electric Railway is an electric interurban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Castle at the northern end of the promenade in Douglas, and with the Snaefell Mountain Railway at Laxey. The line is undulating and passes through areas of scenic beauty. Many visitors take an excursion on the trams.

The line runs on roadside reservation for the first few miles from Douglas and then on segregated track through the countryside for most of the route to Ramsey. The line is 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge and is 17 miles (27.4 km) long. It is largely segregated from road traffic, running on double track on roadside reservation or private right-of-way, and is electrified using overhead line at 550 volts direct current. Initially the trams used pairs of Hopkinson bow collectors (still used on the Snaefell Mountain Railway, owing to its dependability in strong winds on the mountain) but by the turn of the 20th century they were fitted with trolley poles, the method still employed. Originally the electricity was generated by the railway's own power stations, now via the island's grid by the Manx Electricity Authority. Having always operated year round, the winter service is much less frequent than in summer, and has been intermittently dropped from schedules in recent years to allow substantial investment in infrastructure, including relaying longer stretches of track.