Bus-replacement trains

[AndrewE]

On the Isle of Man. Manx Electric Railway trains have been running N of Douglas, now it seems that the steam railway might step in too...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cje42vnk4dxo says

As bus drivers take part in a fourth round of strike action in a row over pay and entitlements, the government has drawn up contingency plans that include using steam train services.

Unite members employed by the Department of Infrastructure (DOI), which operates services under the banner of Bus Vannin on the Isle of Man, are staging a four-day walkout until the early hours of Tuesday.

The DOI said, as well as the Manx Electric Railway (MER) commuter service put on during previous strike action, the Isle of Man Steam Railway would be running services.

It would enable passengers to travel between Douglas and the south of the island at fares equivalent to bus prices, it said.

I am surprised tha they haven't got any serviceable diesels which could be used...

 

[The Pelican]

I don't think the Manx Steam railway has ever been mainly diesel hauled- it had the diesel railcars in the past, and more recently tried to run a modern diesel loco from an American manufacturer which got called "The Cabbage" because of how unreliable it was! Diesel locos as motive power have been suprisingly uncommon on British narrow gauge railways.

 

[AndrewE]

I don't think the Manx Steam railway has ever been mainly diesel hauled- it had the diesel railcars in the past, and more recently tried to run a modern diesel loco from an American manufacturer which got called "The Cabbage" because of how unreliable it was!

Yes, but it doesn't have to be "mainly" diesel-hauled, just a continuous brake-fitted loco or 2 for works trains, which could be pressed into passenger service in an emergency. I did follow the story of their failed diesel experiment - and saw it parked on a pile of sleepers outside the depot a few years ago.

Diesel locos as motive power have been suprisingly uncommon on British narrow gauge railways.

I think Simplex, Motor Rail and others would disagree... Since the 1950's I would gues they were the most common form of motive power.

 

[Krokodil]

I am surprised tha they haven't got any serviceable diesels which could be used...

No.21 broken again? I'm shocked...

just a continuous brake-fitted loco or 2 for works trains

No.17 used to be available for this reason but after 20 years service (and it was secondhand before that) it was knackered. The Irish railcars were employed on P-Way work for a while too. No.18 is used on works trains but would not be suitable for passenger services. The railway did try to acquire a CIÉ 501 Class loco but CIÉ took a higher bid from the scrapman, a shame given that those were very well suited to passenger work.

The ideal situation would of course be to complete the restoration of the Irish railcars for passenger use - and improve them by replacing the final drive with one that allows multiple working. I understand that some locomotives have been acquired from Bord na Móna, but I doubt that these will be suitable for passenger work.

 

[Hbbz9392]

it would be so cool to board those steam trains. i really want to operate a steam train one day

 

[Belfastmarty]

With the ongoing bus drivers industrial action in the Isle of Man we see an unusual reversal of the normal situation with the provision of bus replacement trains, both on the IMR and MER. Yesterday I caught up with MER 22 and the unique short saloon trailer 59 at Ramsey - this was the first time I've ever physically seen 59 in use in 55+ years of travelling to the Island. Later in the day I went down to Port Erin to see IMR 13 Kissack with a train full of Schoolkids from Castletown Academy - a hark back to the days during the 40s and 50s when school trains were actually a thing on the IOM.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I am surprised tha they haven't got any serviceable diesels which could be used...

They spent millions on The Cabbage and still didn't end up with a serviceable diesel loco at the end of it. It's still something of a sore point here.

The IMR is fundamentally a tourist railway now. No real pressing need for diesel locomotives. Outside of strike days you'd never commute by train.

 

[Gag Halfrunt]

They weren't literally bus-replacement trains, but in 2021 the Zimbabwean state bus company ZUPCO contracted with National Railways of Zimbabwe to run ZUPCO-branded commuter trains around Harare, charging the same fares as ZUPCO buses. If I remember correctly they didn't last very long.

 

[Acathater]

On the Isle of Man. Manx Electric Railway trains have been running N of Douglas, now it seems that the steam railway might step in too...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cje42vnk4dxo says

I am surprised tha they haven't got any serviceable diesels which could be used...

Do they still have those two Donegal railcars - were they ever restored to service?

 

[Bletchleyite]

It was done (with a temporary Workington North station) in Workington when the road bridge was damaged by floods and it took an extended period before it could be rebuilt.

 

[Belfastmarty]

Do they still have those two Donegal railcars - were they ever restored to service?

Both were being rebuilt around the turn of the century, but then the money ran out. It's a shame as it looks like the bodywork was about 75% complete. They are currently stored at Douglas.

 

[Angusbswheeler]

There was this bus replacement rail service in Scotland a few years ago.

Slightly eccentric.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It wasn't a dedicated service, but a road closure somewhere along the Cambrian meant the railway replaced the local school buses for a bit as they'd otherwise need to go a very long way round.