Politics
Neigh Chance: Charles is Back With Horse Tram Rant
The debate over Douglas’s horse trams is firmly back in the forefront of islanders mind, all thanks to the island’s answer to David Attenborough.
And once again, historian Charles Guard didn’t hold back.
The trams first rolled out in 1876 and are widely recognised as the last original horse-drawn tram service in the world.
Along with the Manx Electric Railway and the Isle of Man Steam Railway, they form part of the island’s proud, distinctive Victorian transport heritage.
Although funding was approved in 2017 to relay the track from Derby Castle to the Sea Terminal, only the section to Broadway has been restored, earning the humerous nickname ‘The Halfway Horse Tram.’
In his video, Mr Guard didn’t mince words.
Nine years on from the original commitment, he said, ‘absolutely nothing has happened.’
He described the truncated line as a ‘withered stump’ and criticised repeated votes in Tynwald supporting reinstatement that he says have not been followed through.
‘I’ve been on the radio with ministers. I’ve lobbied you by email and conversations. I’ve had coffee with some of you… and absolutely nothing has happened.
‘So the question now is just what are you doing about this?’ he told members.
Highlighting the trams’ global significance, he added: ‘Okay, this is a piece of world heritage that you have trashed… This year is the 150th anniversary of it.
‘And instead of us having people from all around the world taking notice of it… we’re not going to have anything at all because all you’ve left us with is a withered stump of a tramway that finishes barely halfway down the promenade.’
Mr Guard also urged Tynwald to hold the executive to account, pointing to ministers’ powers under the Government Departments Act 1987.
He contrasted the delay with other major capital projects: ‘In recent years, you’ve spent millions buying the Steam Packet Company… built a fantastic new seawall… and ploughed millions of pounds into developments helping developers build on our brownfield sites… But you’re really expecting us to believe that in nine years you haven’t been able to scrape together the money to put some tracks back along a bit of grass so a horse can pull a tram to the Sea Terminal.
‘You must think we’re stupid. You’re not interested, are you? That’s it. You just don’t care.’
Passenger numbers, he said, have fallen from around 78,000 a year when the trams ran the full length of the promenade to roughly 45,000 today.
He also noted that enthusiasts visiting from abroad, including at a trade fair in Dublin, had asked whether the trams had been restored.
Third time Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall confirmed in 2024 that funds originally allocated to the project were used elsewhere under a previous administration.
A question on the completion of the horse tramway is expected in the House of Keys next week. Gef has contacted the DoI for comment.
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