Douglas Head Marine Drive No. 1

DHMD 1. W A Camwell, 1938.

Another unusual design feature is that access to the tram was from the seaward side only, which explains why both sets of stairs are on the same side of the car and the trolley mast is also displaced on what would have been the ‘landward’ side. Canvas blinds were added later to give a degree of protection from the stiff sea breezes.

Unusually for a British tramway (though not the Isle of Man) the number of passengers that could be accommodated was also increased by the regular use of trailers and the Douglas Southern Electric Tramway eventually operated a fleet of eight motorised tramcars together with an equal number of trailers.

In the early days the tramway company was a separate entity from the Douglas Head Marine Drive Company, which owned the roadway and received a payment of one penny per passenger together with a share of the takings. When the franchise to operate the tramway expired in 1926, however, the two companies amalgamated under the title of the Douglas Head Marine Drive Company Ltd.

Tramway operations had ceased for the duration of the first world war and the system was once again moth-balled on the outbreak of the second world war in the expectation that operations would re-commence once hostilities were over. Sadly, however, changing tastes in leisure pursuits and tourism meant that the tramway never re-opened and the company’s assets were sold to the Isle of Man Highways Board once the war was over.

Sister car DHMD 4 inside depot. D.W.K. Jones, May 1951.

Although the tracks were lifted in 1946-8, the remotely-situated depot at Little Ness, together with its fleet of 16 tramcars survived as a ghostly ‘time capsule’ until 1951. Eventually, the depot and all its occupants were unceremoniously scrapped on site but shortly before this happened, in June 1951, DHMD 1 was rescued in the nick of time by a member of the Light Railway Transport League (F K Pearson), who persuaded the IoM Highways Board to undertake the challenging feat of extricating and removing the car.

DHMD 1 at Little Ness. D.W.K. Jones, May 1951.

After a period in storage on the Isle of Man, the car was moved in 1956 to the British Transport Museum in Clapham, where it was expertly restored and put on display. When this museum closed in 1964, responsibility for the car passed to the Science Museum, which made it available for display at the TMS site in Crich in 1975.  It made its initial test run on 20th April of that year.

DHMD 1 outside depot. D.W.K. Jones, May 1951.

In May 1997 the Science Museum agreed to transfer ownership of the car to the TMS in recognition of Crich TMS’s unique relationship with the tramcar and the high degree of professionalism shown by the TMS in developing the museum.

DHMD 1 being offloaded at Crich. Ian Dougill, 1975.

DHMD 1 is the oldest electric tramcar in existence that has never been rewired. So although it has been restored to working order, it is likely to remain as a largely static exhibit in view of the pioneering – and irreplaceable – state of its mechanical and electrical equipment. Nevertheless, it has made the occasional sortie from the Exhibition area, one such instance being the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Tramway Museum Society in 1980.

DHMD 1 making an exceedingly rare foray under its own power shortly after its arrival. Photo: Richard Lomas, April 1975