Douglas Corporation double decker horse tram
Date made: 1883
Maker: Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
Description: Douglas Corporation horse-drawn Tram No.14 was built in 1883, by the Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company of Birmingham, originally for South Shields tramways. It was purchased by Douglas Corporation in 1887 and ran until 1939 when it was withdrawn from service. The tram left the Island in 1955, to join the Museum of British Transport. It then passed into the collections of the Science Museum, before returning permanently to the Isle of Man. It is believed to be the oldest surviving double-decker horse tram.
The tram is painted in the red and cream livery of Douglas Tramways, and is adorned with the arms of the borough. The interior is finished in wood and brass.
Single deck horse trams still run each summer along Douglas promenade, and the Isle of Man is one of the last places keeping the tradition of working horses alive in this way. The horse trams are also a reminder of one of the world's first integrated transport systems, which collected tourists from the steamers and delivered them to their hotels or connected them with other forms of transport such as the electric or steam railways.
Materials: iron, wood
Object name: tram
Collection: Social History Collection
ID Number: 2005-0098