Saturday evening saw the Heritage Railway Association (HRA) awards ceremony in London, where Douglas Bay Horse Tram was announced as the winner for Outstanding Visitor Experience in the Small Groups category.

This will be the fourth award in 2019 for Isle of Man Transport who early this year collected a trio of wins for the Manx Electric Railway. Including Tram (traditional) of the Year, Tramway of the Year and Event of the Year.

Ian Bates, Director for Isle of Man Transport, said: ‘For Douglas Bay Horse Trams to win the Heritage Railway Association award for outstanding visitors experience is a fantastic achievement. We have seen passenger numbers for the Horse Trams increase year on year, with 2018 season carrying well over 80,000 passengers and a 9% increase for 2017.

We were up against strong competition for the HRA awards, including another fantastic Isle of Man attraction: The Great Laxey Mine Railway.

A few reasons why the Horse Trams have been such a success is due to the increase number of tour operators who are visiting the Island as well as a fantastic team we have to operate the Horse Trams and ensure our horses are looked after well. This includes an exceptional team of volunteers’.

[Attached photo left to right Jeremy Grimshaw: Senior Supervisor of Transport of Railways, Ian Longworth, former Director of Transport and now Major Projects Officer and Stephen Hall Workshop Supervisor]