Appeal for help to store heritage railway carriage

On Ramsey harbourside in 2012 as it left the Isle of Man

A charity is appealing for help in housing a heritage railway carriage on the Isle of Man so it can be returned to the island.

The 1879 Manx Northern Railway carriage left in 2012 amid a dispute, and has been stored in a Suffolk farm as part of a collection of vehicles.

The Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association is looking for covered storage on the island to repatriate the "historic" carriage.

Chairman Bill Cubbon said that the public appeal represented a "final throw of the dice" to attempt to have this carriage "returned home".

Stored in the open in 1955 in St John's Station

An original for Manx Northern Railway, the carriage was one of a fleet of 14, with only three other coaches of its kind remaining.

It had 48 seats, comprising 28 first class in two areas of the carriage, and the remaining 20 seats part of two third class sections.

A spokesperson for the association, which is working with the coach's owners the Three Foot Gauge Society, said that initial discussions with a number of organisations had been "fruitless", and that there was no available space for the coach on the railway itself.

Mr Cubbon added: "We are now opening our appeal up to the general public in the hope that we can find a home for it.

Whilst some "remedial" work has taken place, the carriage cannot be operated in service, the organisation said.

As the carriage would need to be transported on a road trailer, potential accommodation would need to be accessible by road.