Strathallan Tramcar Shed... By 1894 when the horse tramway was sold on again to a new concern, the Douglas & Laxey Coast Electric Tramway Company, there were already 31 horse tramcars in service, the majority stored overnight in the open. With the likelihood of the tramcar fleet expanding further to meet growing passenger demand, the new owners and operator purchased a plot of land inside the entrance to the Derby Castle Pleasure Grounds and in 1895 proceeded to build the Strathallan Tramcar Shed, a new 12-road tramcar shed which could hold up to 36 tramcars. The large wooden advert hoarding erected above the single storey front facade initially promoted all the glens along the coast between Douglas and Ramsey, ‘places of interest along the way’ which visitors could travel to via the Douglas & Laxey Coast Electric Tramway (later to be renamed the Douglas, Laxey & Ramsey Electric Tramway and, from 1902, the Manx Electric Railway). After the horse tramway was purchased in 1902 by Douglas Corporation, commercial advertising became abundant and for many years adverts for Jacob’s Biscuits of one sort or another appeared on the Strathallan Tramcar Shed hoarding and on the horse tramcars. The advert hoarding made way for the addition of an upper floor in 1935. Subsequently, the upstairs offices have been used by the transport division of the Isle of Man Government up until 1999 and then as rentable meeting rooms until 2015. Following a structural survey in 2016, it was determined that the Strathallan Tramcar Shed was life-expired and its replacement rather than restoration would be more cost effective. In early 2018, the Department of Infrastructure submitted a planning application to demolish the existing building and to replace it with a new structure in keeping with the original design and the adjacent buildings. ![]() The superb replacement building, designed by Modus Architects for Isle of Man Transport, was completed in June 2020 and provides office space, staff and public amenities, a ticket sales area and, within a central open-plan hall, accommodation and maintenance space for the thirteen tramcars retained by the Government to operate the horse tramway service and to display the historic vehicles which date from 1883 to 1913. The new depot's facade is closely styled on the original as it appeared circa 1902. Together with the cobble-effect floor surface in the main tramcar hall and slatted roller shutter doors, this essential piece of infrastructure for the Horse Tramway maintains the look and feel of a Victorian transport building sympathetically adapted for continued use in the 21st Century. Top of Page >>> |