SERVICES on the Snaefell Mountain Railway have been halted on health and safety grounds.
The Health & Safety at Work Inspectorate suspended services on the Isle of Man 3ft 6in gauge line on August 10, in the wake of an incident in which brakes failed on a tram six days earlier.
After a tram came down from the summit on the afternoon of August 4, the brakes failed on the vehicle and it sped through Bungalow station. It was brought to a halt by the Fell system brakes.
Enjoy more Heritage Railway reading in the four-weekly magazine.
Click here to subscribe & save.
Following the incident, the normal line speed was reduced 12mph to a temporary limit of 8mph.
However, health and safety officials found that tram drivers were not complying with the new lower limit.
A statement from the Inspectorate read: “Following an incident on the Snaefell Mountain Railway on the afternoon of Friday, August 4, 2017 and an urgent post incident review, a reduced speed limit of 8mph was introduced to facilitate the safe continuation of operations while the control system installed in the trams was examined.
Read more in Issue 232 of HR – on sale now!
Advert
Enjoy more Heritage Railway reading in the four-weekly magazine. Click here to subscribe.