Mannin ready for 2026?

Hopes remain for a return to service in three years’ time of Manx loco No. 16, while reassembly of No. 12 Hutchinson is well underway as overhaul progresses.

RESTORATION to steam of Isle of Man Steam Railway’s Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T (6296/1926) No. 16 Mannin is currently targeted for 2026, with the proviso that this timescale “remains subject to budgetary prioritisation”.

Mannin was the final steam loco supplied to the original Isle of Man Railway and was bigger and more powerful than the previous Manx Beyer Peacock 2-4-0Ts. It was last steamed in 1964 and for many years was exhibited in Port Erin Museum.

Being non-standard with the rest of the IoM steam fleet, Mannin had not been viewed as a restoration candidate. However, in 2019 Isle of Man Transport confirmed it was seriously considering returning No. 16 to operation (RM, July 2019) with a view to it forming a centrepiece attraction for the steam line’s forthcoming 150th anniversary celebrations.

Amid a rearrangement of exhibits in the museum in March 2020 prior to opening for the new season, Mannin was moved out and taken to Douglas (RM, April 2020). Mannin did not appear during the Isle of Man’s Year of the Railways 2023 festival marking the 150th anniversary of the steam line and 130th of the Manx Electric Railway. In response to a Freedom of Information request earlier this year, Isle of Man’s Department of Infrastructure confirmed over £129,000 had so far been spent on restoration of Mannin of which £23,922 was for boiler repairs, £23,971 for wheelsets and the remaining spend largely for chassis work which was ongoing. In late October, The RM was told work on Mannin was currently halted due to more pressing projects.

The winter programme at Douglas includes reassembly of Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T No. 12 Hutchinson with a view to returning it to traffic next season. The frames, together with the new boiler constructed by Severn Valley Railway (SVR) in 2018 which were sent to SVR in mid-August 2022 for modification (RM, October 2022), returned to Douglas on October 26. Other components received included a new bunker. No. 12 last ran in August 2019.