1979 News
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The Season
The season opened on Thursday 30th April and trains operated until Sunday 28th September with no Saturday service; extra trains ran Sunday to Thursday only in July and August , plus Saturday trains on key peak season dates on an ad-hoc basis.
Royal Train : 23rd May For Duke & Duchess Of Gloucester
Royal Train : 5th July For King Olaf V Of Norway
Year-Long Celebrations : Millennium Of Tynwald
A Royal Train was operated in the early evening of 23rd May for the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester, who were making a one-day visit to the island. No.13 Kissack with F.35 and F.41 left Douglas at 5.45pm, the diesel railcars had left half an hour earlier to check that all was in order for the passing of the Royal Train; the royal visitors left the train at Castletown Station and an empty combined train of No.13 Kissack, two carriages and railcars returned to Douglas.
Locomotives
No.4 Loch (1874) was in regular operation, now in the non-standard maroon livery introduced the previous year upon nationalisation, the closed dome would be replaced with a bell-mouth version in the year.
No.11 Maitland (1905) was also a regular performer still retaining the spring green livery applied upon the reopening of the railway in 1967, the last service locomotive to do so.
No.13 Kissack (1910) remained in operation in a mid-green livery with yellow lining out detail; this was the most recently re-boilered locomotive in the fleet, this was fitted in 1971.
Displayed in the Railway Museum at Port Erin were No.1 Sutherland | No.15 Caledonia and No.16 Mannin while withdrawn and stored were No.6 and the remaining frames of No.7 Tynwald and in private ownership were No.5 Mona, No.8 Fenella, No.9 Douglas still stored on the railway, with No.14 Thornhill preserved in the north of the island.
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