Douglas Horse Tram

The Douglas Horse Tram is a horse-drawn tramway located in the town of Douglas on the Isle of Man. The route runs along the sea-front promenade for a distance of 1.6 miles (~2.8 km), from a southern terminus at Victoria Pier to a northern terminus at Derby Castle (which is also the southern terminus of the Manx Electric Railway). The route consists of 3 foot (914.4 mm) gauge track, is double track throughout, and is not segregated from other road traffic.

The service was originally introduced in 1876 and has run every year since, except for a period during the second world war. Since 1927 the service has run in summer only. Service is provided by 23 tramcars and some 45 horses provide the motive power. The tramway is now owned and operated by Douglas Borough Council.

The Douglas Horse Tram is one of the very few horse-drawn tram routes remaining in public transit service anywhere in the world.

Related topics

• Transport on the Isle of Man
• Heritage railways in the Isle of Man
• Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram, another horse drawn tramway in Australia
• List of light-rail/tram systems

External link

• Douglas Borough Council on the tramway's 125th anniversary