0:00:02 > 0:00:03BBC Four Collections -
0:00:03 > 0:00:07archive programmes chosen by experts.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09For this Collection, Gary Boyd-Hope
0:00:09 > 0:00:13has selected programmes celebrating Britain's steam railway legacy.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14More programmes on this theme
0:00:14 > 0:00:16and other BBC Four Collections
0:00:16 > 0:00:18are available on BBC iPlayer.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22VIOLIN PLAYS FOLK-STYLE TUNE
0:00:58 > 0:01:00The Isle of Man is a bit of an oddity.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03It's set squarely in the middle of the British Isles
0:01:03 > 0:01:05and yet forms no part of Great Britain.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08It isn't even part of the United Kingdom,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11and yet our monarch is also the Lord of Mann.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15You can trundle along the Douglas promenade in a horse-drawn tram
0:01:15 > 0:01:18and you can arrive on the Isle of Man
0:01:18 > 0:01:21on board one of the most modern of jets.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23You can come there because you like its taxation system
0:01:23 > 0:01:26and lack of death duties, or you can come as a tourist
0:01:26 > 0:01:29to get rid of a little of your money.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32There's one more oddity - it has still got steam.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00But whether you're there for the offshore finance,
0:02:00 > 0:02:02or the blend of old and new,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05or because it's a change from Blackpool and Morecambe
0:02:05 > 0:02:07and has the romance of being an island
0:02:07 > 0:02:09with everybody in the old days, such as the Vikings,
0:02:09 > 0:02:11having to come by boat,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14it's now famous for some because of its railways.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18It isn't a very big island, being only some 30 miles long.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21But the railways have played an important part
0:02:21 > 0:02:26in its history and commerce, and now nostalgia and tourism.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29You might have thought that such an island, with its independence
0:02:29 > 0:02:31and unique government and craggy scenery,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35would have wanted nothing to do with such things as trains.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37But not a bit of it.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42The steam railways crossed the island, high ground permitting,
0:02:42 > 0:02:48but then vanished - first from Ramsey and then from Peel.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50However, there is still Douglas to Port Erin.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59As with almost everywhere,
0:02:59 > 0:03:01the roads have taken the load the railways used to bear.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04And the railway buildings might seem no more than a front,
0:03:04 > 0:03:10like ancient castles telling of former times, of the days of steam.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13But behind them, there is still steam
0:03:13 > 0:03:16blowing its trumpet in a manner it alone can do.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41It's one of the most unique transport systems in the British Isles,
0:03:41 > 0:03:42if not the whole of Europe.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Not only have you got a modern bus service,
0:03:45 > 0:03:50which you've got everywhere, of course, but you've got this unique
0:03:50 > 0:03:54vintage railway system, which dates back until the 1870s,
0:03:54 > 0:03:59in certain cases. The Electric Railway, the Steam Railway,
0:03:59 > 0:04:01the Snaefell Mountain Railway.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Marvellous systems, all completely different,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07all with their own type of image, their own atmosphere,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10and it's that type of thing which really is a boyhood dream,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13I suppose, to be in charge of running such an enterprise.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20NARRATOR: Well, firstly, is it a tramway, is it a railway?
0:04:20 > 0:04:22But it's certainly the Isle of Man.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32And the Isle of Man was very much ahead of the times,
0:04:32 > 0:04:37for the Douglas & Laxey Coast Electric Tramway started in 1893.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41London didn't get its first electric trams
0:04:41 > 0:04:44until this century, in 1901, and Birmingham, 1903,
0:04:44 > 0:04:49or ten years after the Manx Company had shown the way,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51and so excitingly.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02The island is not short of contours and the construction of its tramway
0:05:02 > 0:05:06was a challenge that appealed to the supremely confident Victorians,
0:05:06 > 0:05:11who seemed to prefer the problems caused by all that mountain scenery.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13But they didn't only push their trams into the glens,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15they did the same with steam.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18And this steam, having fallen into disrepair,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22was then lovingly restored by, among others, Tony Beard.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Years ago, we were volunteers working on the Steam Railway.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29When it was nationalised, we found that we were no longer required.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32So we still wanted to do something in railway preservation
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and so we decided to restore this Manx Glen Railway.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41NARRATOR: I suppose one disadvantage of train sets
0:05:41 > 0:05:42is that they aren't big enough.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45They're not quite the real thing.
0:05:45 > 0:05:51But this certainly is and has been, off and on, since 1893.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59Built originally in Stafford
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and then restored by apprentices at Sellafield,
0:06:02 > 0:06:08Sea Lion is now 95 years old and will plainly hit a century, or maybe two.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12They don't work her too hard, but it's usual to get her in steam
0:06:12 > 0:06:15on summer Sunday mornings to pull another load of tourists.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17And that, strangely,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21is what this particular railway was always designed to do.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23There was never any more serious business
0:06:23 > 0:06:26than taking a bunch of tourists along a length of line
0:06:26 > 0:06:28and then bringing them back again.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38So it's now business as usual along Groudle Glen,
0:06:38 > 0:06:43thanks to the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45The railway was closed for World War II,
0:06:45 > 0:06:50closed again in 1960 and then reopened for passengers in 1985.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Everyone who works here is a volunteer.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00Ron Cooper, ticket seller, usually works in an office.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Colin Kelly, guard, works in a brewery.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06And the driver of the train, Kevin Lewin, is a storeman.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11MAN: This is a marvellous example of some Victorian engineer who decided
0:07:11 > 0:07:14to develop a glen and build a 2ft gauge narrow-gauge railway
0:07:14 > 0:07:16three quarters of a mile long to serve a zoo
0:07:16 > 0:07:18where there were sea lions and polar bears -
0:07:18 > 0:07:22hence the name of the two locomotives that served the line for many years.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26It's supposed to be a hobby, but it's nearly turning out to be
0:07:26 > 0:07:28a full-time job, but it's very, very enjoyable.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32Every minute I spend down here is totally enjoyable.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33I speak for everybody who comes down.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35The total commitment, and it's good fun.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38And to see people's faces, travelling on the trains,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41and you see them enjoying themselves as a result of your efforts,
0:07:41 > 0:07:44makes it worthwhile. That's what I like about it.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54BRASS BAND MUSIC
0:08:55 > 0:08:58NARRATOR: Journey's end, with lots of bracing sea air.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01You can tell it's an English summer,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03because so many are wearing anoraks.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06In the old days, there was more to this headland station
0:09:06 > 0:09:08than just a headland.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10The engine had been called Sea Lion
0:09:10 > 0:09:12because it used to call at the sea lions.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15And down there, at the end of the last century, someone had built
0:09:15 > 0:09:17a zoo with sea lions and polar bears.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20And bits of the old cages still remain.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Today, you just have to look, take deep breaths of air
0:09:24 > 0:09:26and imagine what it must have been like
0:09:26 > 0:09:29when you could stroll across the bridge
0:09:29 > 0:09:32and look down and across at the animals.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34It isn't typical polar bear country,
0:09:34 > 0:09:36but perhaps a touch nearer than Regent's Park.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Anyway, the place attracted 100,000 visitors in its first three months
0:09:45 > 0:09:48and they had to run 40 trains a day.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51It was one of the sights to be seen before it was time for everyone
0:09:51 > 0:09:55to be back on the coaches and then back down the glen.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09But there's still, as it were,
0:10:09 > 0:10:13a proper railway that's a touch more inter-city than just going to a zoo.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18The Isle of Man Railway still exists, with Douglas being the major station,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and they are still in steam.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32We are a full-time employer.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35The railway doesn't run with volunteer labour.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39So all our staff are very flexible.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42The majority of them can do at least two jobs
0:10:42 > 0:10:44and a lot of them three or four jobs.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47So the trains that are running now,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51with the drivers and firemen and guards, in the winter,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55they are switched on to the maintenance of track and vehicles
0:10:55 > 0:11:00and the full-time engineering staff also turn out in the summer
0:11:00 > 0:11:02to work extra duties on the traffic.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05And between the lot of them, we keep the whole job going.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17The staff are excellent on the Isle of Man railways.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20We have a very flexible staff.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25They go from making springs for the locomotives, painting,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29doing traffic work, being a guard, a station master, a ticket collector.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34All sorts of things...each person is expected to do and they do it well.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37You see, they've got a vocation. That's important.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39They care about the railway.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44Without them, we wouldn't have an Isle of Man Steam Railway.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57NARRATOR: The Isle of Man Railway, built on a 3ft gauge,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59started work in 1873.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02And the first steam engine was number one.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08But number 13 is no chicken, having entered service in 1910.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Not only still going strong, but also, it would appear,
0:12:11 > 0:12:15shining no less brightly after the passage of almost eight decades.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Of course, the line was busier in the old days.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29But with some of those engines still working,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33there's a great feeling of continuity between then and now.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35But with one difference -
0:12:35 > 0:12:39that the platforms still had their canopies in the old days.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11The surviving length of track runs from Douglas to Port Erin,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14about a dozen miles as the crow might make the journey,
0:13:14 > 0:13:16but nearer 20 by steam.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43So steam lives, but only goes to Port Erin in the summertime,
0:13:43 > 0:13:49when there are more visitors to use and see this whiff of the past.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17Steam trains have now been running on this line for 114 years.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20First to Port Soderick, then Santon and Ballasalla
0:14:20 > 0:14:25and Castletown and Ballabeg and Colby and Port St Mary.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28And finally, to Port Erin,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32which, under a clear blue sky, can look most magical.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37The connection between Port Erin and Douglas has had its hiccups,
0:14:37 > 0:14:42notably in the 1960s, when lines were being closed with such enthusiasm.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47But the old signs were not taken down and are now useful all over again.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59- Can you run to the end? - Yes.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05The first memory must've been looking out of the window
0:15:05 > 0:15:08of the Martins Bank House, where we used to live,
0:15:08 > 0:15:13eagerly awaiting the arrival of whatever train was on its way in.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17Wondering whether it was my father or grandfather who would be driving.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19NARRATOR: Mike Buttel's father, on the left,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21and Grandfather Buttel on the right.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24In fact, the grandfather retired three times and was called back twice
0:15:24 > 0:15:27because they couldn't replace him.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30But it was Mike's father, mainly, who gave him a love of steam
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and who helped to make this a fourth-generation railway family -
0:15:34 > 0:15:38one just as long-lasting as the trains they served.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42The smell of the railway was with us over in Bank House all the time.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45With living more or less on top of the railway, we used to get
0:15:45 > 0:15:48the smell of the steam drifting into the house.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51There was always the smell on my father's overalls
0:15:51 > 0:15:52lying around the place.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54The station building itself
0:15:54 > 0:15:57is undoubtedly the most beautiful building in Port Erin.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59It's a red-brick construction.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02It was built by a local firm of builders
0:16:02 > 0:16:08in the early years of the century. It's all done on a theme.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09The decoration over the station windows
0:16:09 > 0:16:15and doors is also in the bargeboards on the top of the roof.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17There's this carved arch
0:16:17 > 0:16:21that's reflected throughout the whole building.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24NARRATOR: I think only a true fanatic would say that
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Port Erin's railway station
0:16:26 > 0:16:28is the most beautiful building in town,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31but you need that kind of enthusiasm if the virtues of the past
0:16:31 > 0:16:34are not to be swept aside in pursuit of modernity.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36MIKE BUTTEL: Inside, in the booking office,
0:16:36 > 0:16:38what we're trying to do is recreate
0:16:38 > 0:16:45the feel of the place as it must have looked between 1910 and, say, 1920.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49You can see we have got a lot of the original posters
0:16:49 > 0:16:51we've rescued from various stations along the line.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55NARRATOR: And that means everything is a touch old-fashioned,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58like the tickets and politeness.
0:16:58 > 0:17:03- No, these are return tickets. - Oh, fine. Thank you.
0:17:03 > 0:17:04Thank you.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- To Douglas? - Yes.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07Right.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Could you have your tickets ready, please?
0:17:16 > 0:17:17Thank you.
0:17:18 > 0:17:19Thank you.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23'The satisfaction really comes from the whole job,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26'from seeing the loco coming out in the morning, nice and clean,
0:17:26 > 0:17:28'and the passengers rolling up with their tickets
0:17:28 > 0:17:31'and the smiles on their faces as they go off for their day out.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35'Then seeing another train full of people coming back in.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39'It's having to deal with the people, having to deal with the crews
0:17:39 > 0:17:43'and any problems that may come up during the day.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46'It is a very satisfying experience
0:17:46 > 0:17:49'and it's one that I take a great amount of pride in.'
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Thank you.
0:17:54 > 0:17:55OK, thank you.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57TRAIN HOOTS
0:18:00 > 0:18:03All the little engines have their own little personalities.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08I look forward to seeing them come again, the different make-up
0:18:08 > 0:18:10of the trains, the rolling stock,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12whatever order it's in on that particular day.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15There's always something interesting to find going on.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21NARRATOR: A commuter in, for example, Southern England might wonder
0:18:21 > 0:18:23if this is modern times at all
0:18:23 > 0:18:26and when he last had a door opened for him.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Occasionally, my mother, I suppose, wanted to get rid of me for the day.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36I'd be bundled off with my father
0:18:36 > 0:18:38and taken off to Douglas on the engine.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Of course, we'd never start off in the engine at Port Erin.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Mr Nelson wouldn't have approved of that sort of thing.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48But as soon as we got into Port St Mary,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51you'd get out of the guard's van on the blind side of Mr Corkish,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53who was the station master there,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and climb into the loco cab and set off towards Douglas.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00It was always a marvellous feeling to be in the footplate with them.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06One of the things I can remember is that they used to keep their tea
0:19:06 > 0:19:10in enamel pots with wire handles, hanging from the lamp brackets
0:19:10 > 0:19:12on the back plate of the boiler,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16and keep the tea hot for the journey into Douglas.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18And we'd run through Colby and Castletown
0:19:18 > 0:19:23and then across the other train at Ballasella.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25And tucked into the corner of the cab there,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28you'd be out of the sight of the station masters,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30and so you'd be all right.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33NARRATOR: It would be easy to think that the young Mike Buttel
0:19:33 > 0:19:35didn't have to bother with a train set at home
0:19:35 > 0:19:40when there were real trains to play with - Dad and Granddad permitting.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43MIKE BUTTEL: At Port Soderick Station,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45it was a case of having to get off the loco
0:19:45 > 0:19:47and back into the guard's van.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50It wouldn't have done to be seen by Mr Kelly in Douglas
0:19:50 > 0:19:53or, worse still, the general manager, Mr Sheard,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56whose office was on the corner of the administrative buildings.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00He had a protruding bay window and he could look out
0:20:00 > 0:20:03onto the platforms and over the goods yard and see all that was going on.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06And, of course, if I'd been seen getting off the footplate
0:20:06 > 0:20:10in Douglas, then my father would have been in serious trouble
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and probably up to Mr Sheard's office in double-quick time.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19NARRATOR: But apart from the task of keeping the young Buttel
0:20:19 > 0:20:22out of sight, there was coaling to be done.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24And also maintenance of the engines,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26which were getting on in age even then.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29On the approach to Douglas Station,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32MIKE BUTTEL: there used to be a big double-gantry signal
0:20:32 > 0:20:33on the side of the workshops.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35That's no longer there.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38I was always bundled off to the signal box to sit with Bobby Tate,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41who was a great old boy. He was the signalman at Douglas
0:20:41 > 0:20:43and he would always have a brew of hot tea on.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47I can remember sitting there, talking to Bobby.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50You'd always get a cup of tea in one of these old enamel mugs.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53It was steaming hot. So hot, you could hardly hold it.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56And he'd sit and talk about the other two great loves of his life.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59He used to breed budgies and make model boats,
0:20:59 > 0:21:04and I spent quite a few happy occasions up with good old Bobby.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10NARRATOR: But budgies and model boats permitting,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13there was always lots to do at Douglas.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16It was a busy railhead before the closures came.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18Both Peel and Ramsey were then connected.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25MIKE BUTTEL: Trains setting out from Douglas towards Peel and Ramsey
0:21:25 > 0:21:27would always be double-headed.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29The Peel and the Ramsey section would make up the train.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31When the train would arrive at St John's,
0:21:31 > 0:21:33it would be split into two sections.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36The loco that brought the train up from Peel to St John's
0:21:36 > 0:21:39would take the train back down into Peel.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42The Ramsey loco would continue on the run up to Ramsey.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49St John's Station was really the hub of the island railway system.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52At one time, you could get trains out to Ramsey, to Peel,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55back into Douglas and down to the little mining village of Foxdale.
0:21:55 > 0:21:56It was always great fun
0:21:56 > 0:21:59when two trains used to leave St John's at the same time,
0:21:59 > 0:22:01one bound for Peel and one for Ramsey.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Officially, they were supposed to leave
0:22:03 > 0:22:05within two minutes of each other.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07But quite often, the crews would hang about
0:22:07 > 0:22:10and they would race each other out of the station.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12As I remember, the Peel train always used to win the race,
0:22:12 > 0:22:14because it was going downhill.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16But it's always great fun to be sitting in one of the carriages
0:22:16 > 0:22:20of one train and watching the other train go away into the distance.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25You could always tell the approach to Peel Station because
0:22:25 > 0:22:29the smell of the fish factories and the kipper works would come up
0:22:29 > 0:22:33from Peel to greet you before you were actually in the village itself.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Peel Station was situated right on the harbour.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51A really picturesque setting on a sunny day.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54If we went down to Peel, we used to take a picnic with us
0:22:54 > 0:22:56and sit on the grass over by Peel Castle
0:22:56 > 0:22:59and watch the trains come in and out.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07It was a sad day when the Peel service finished in 1968.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11NARRATOR: The trains may vanish,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14but not all the names, or even all the buildings,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16such as the stations themselves,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20and this one is now a fisherman's co-operative.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23MIKE BUTTEL: This is Glen Wyllin Viaduct.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26There used to be a pleasure ground underneath, which was owned
0:23:26 > 0:23:27and operated by the railway company.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31There was a little cafe and amusement arcade and boating pool.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34All the crockery was printed with the railway company crest.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37It was a nice little place, Glen Wyllin.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41NARRATOR: It's nice to remember the old days
0:23:41 > 0:23:43and what a viaduct used to look like.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46But keeping an aged railway going with ageing locomotives
0:23:46 > 0:23:51and ageing rolling stock is a major problem for, among others,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54traffic superintendent Graham Warhurst.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56GRAHAM WARHURST: With the vehicles, it's really the age of them,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59particularly the wooden-bodied coaches.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03And we're now finding, as well as needing constant attention,
0:24:03 > 0:24:04the older ones -
0:24:04 > 0:24:08and I'm talking of coaches that have been in service for 100, 105 years -
0:24:08 > 0:24:12are now requiring major bodywork attention.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16NARRATOR: Yes, major bodywork attention.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20And a considerable task for craftsman David Maddox.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22DAVID MADDOX: When a wreck like this comes in,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26when it goes out, it's as good as new. That's the satisfaction.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30This coach here was being used the past ten years
0:24:30 > 0:24:33down at the sea terminal as a tourist information centre,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35handing out leaflets, selling tickets.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40It was in a bad state, but in six months' time, it'll be running again.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42It's going to be around probably longer than I will.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55NARRATOR: There was nothing plastic about the old coaches,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59and so nothing plastic about the renovation, just good mahogany.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01But there's also nothing about the workshop
0:25:01 > 0:25:04that smacks of very modern times.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06It's more like industrial archaeology,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09with the old machines still doing the same old job.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24What was good enough for the Industrial Revolution
0:25:24 > 0:25:27still keeps the wheels turning for the Isle of Man railways
0:25:27 > 0:25:31and provides the power for Colin Goldsmith to do his new job.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34He used to be an electrician.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38I've had to learn a completely new trade, really,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40and I've enjoyed a great deal of satisfaction from that
0:25:40 > 0:25:43and knowing that I've been able to do that.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46I've learnt to do a reasonable amount of boiler maintenance,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49in respect of fitting in tubes, things like that.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00We're carrying out this work now.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04We've just done a reasonable amount of re-staying, it's been re-tubed.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08Given that we'll probably have to re-tube every eight or nine years,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10apart from that, we're thinking of
0:26:10 > 0:26:1425 years' service out of this boiler
0:26:14 > 0:26:16and, likewise, out of the other three boilers.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21NARRATOR: Well, you might expect boilers to need re-tubing,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23but what about springs breaking?
0:26:23 > 0:26:27They've still got to be put right and you can't buy them off the shelf
0:26:27 > 0:26:30any more than you can buy the engines.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33So self-sufficiency is the keynote.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37And remember what they used to do, and what they did it with,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40and how they used the tools in those good old engineering days
0:26:40 > 0:26:44when, if you wanted something, it was up to you to make it.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Mainly, it's a job where there aren't any hard-and-fast rules.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59You've got to make a lot of your rules up as you go along.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03If you work in a factory, everything is laid down for you
0:27:03 > 0:27:06and you work exactly as you're told to work.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10Here, as I say, you've got to make a lot of your own equipment
0:27:10 > 0:27:12and a lot of fabrication.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16And a bit of ingenuity, as well.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18I'm not really a steam fanatic,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21but it does give me a kick to see my own work.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23It doesn't matter that it's a steam engine,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27it could be any other old piece of machinery.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30These things have to be preserved.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35And I'm lucky I'm in a job where I'm doing that sort of thing.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43The satisfaction that I get is in, well, innovation, call it,
0:27:43 > 0:27:49using modern materials to make replacement items
0:27:49 > 0:27:52for the old engines,
0:27:52 > 0:27:57but using the techniques and equipment that the old-timers used.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Brian Crossfield, blacksmith. New springs for old
0:28:08 > 0:28:12and the satisfaction of a good job well done.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16But so, too, with the railway system as a whole
0:28:16 > 0:28:21and keeping this piece of the old days alive in modern times.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25It's that which is the task of the Chief Executive, Robert Smith.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29We have people coming long distances to see the railway,
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and although we seek cost efficiencies
0:28:31 > 0:28:33and we can give value for money,
0:28:33 > 0:28:36the railway must still survive in its present form
0:28:36 > 0:28:39if we're to attract the people as a tourist island.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44My job is to see that the railway steadily improves,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47so that it's here for my son's generation,
0:28:47 > 0:28:50my grandson's generation.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52So into the next century, the Isle of Man Steam Railway
0:28:52 > 0:28:54will still be here.