Join us on the Isle of Man in 2026 as we celebrate the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the opening of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, the oldest horse-drawn passenger tramway to remain in service anywhere in the World.

Experience, first hand, the real-life workings of the earliest form of urban mass-public transit systems: the horse-drawn street tramway.

In the lead up to anniversary day, Isle of Man Railways will be celebrating the milestone with a number of events as part of its annual Manx Heritage Transport Festival, taking place from 28th July to 2nd August 2026. The  Festival Programme leaflet is available to view online or download as a PDF format document.

Horsetram 150 Events & Services:

• Every Day - 'Canvas-Roofed Toastrack' car no.22 will return to the Horse Tramway for Festival week and be placed on display (subject to weather) outside Strathallan Depot for photographs. On occasion it will also open as the DBHT 150 gift shop. Kindly loaned to Isle of Man Railways by the Jurby Transport Museum.

• 28th July (Tues daytime) - G.F. Milnes 'Toastrack' car no.21 (dating from 1890) and G.C. Milnes Voss 'Toastrack' car no.42 (dating from 1905) in service throughout the day.

• 28th July (Tues evening) - Festival Welcome Evening at Strathallan Depot with representatives from Isle of Man Railways, Bus Vannin and the Jurby Transport Museum.  Celebrating 150 years of the Horse Tramway with a line up of different tramcars on display outside Strathallan Depot for photographs, with one tram on the traverser trolley, weather permitting. Special evening service operating on the horse tramway with Metropolitan RC&W Co 'Double-Decker' car no.18 (dating from 1883).  In addition, celebrating 50 years of nationalised bus services on the Island, a number of vintage buses and modern buses in historical liveries will also be on display.

• 29th July (Wed daytime) - G.F. Milnes 'Sunshade' car no.36 (dating from 1896) and Metropolitan RC&W Co 'Double-Decker' car no.18 (dating from 1883) in service throughout the day. Pre-book behind-the-scenes tours of Strathallan Depot available at set times during the day (10:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 14:00).

• 29th July (Wed evening) - special evening service operating on the Horse Tramway, in conjunction with Groudle Glen Railway and Manx Electric Railway evening services.

• 30th July (Thurs) - G.F. Milnes 'Winter Saloons' car no.27 and car no.29 (both dating from 1892) in service throughout the day.

• 31st July (Fri) - recently restored and re-liveried Metropolitan RC&W Co 'Double-Decker' car no.18 (dating from 1883) in service as one of the tramcars throughout the day.

• 1st August (Sat) - a spectacular cavalcade of in-service horse tramcars along the Promenade starting at 10:00, Derby Castle to Broadway and return.  A two-tram service will be in operation after the horse tram and subsequent bus cavalcades have concluded.  

• 1st August (Sat) - starting at Derby Castle (13:00), a pre-book guided walk along the Promenade highlighting buildings and other points of historical interest along the Horse Tramway route between Derby Castle and the Sefton Hotel. 

• 2nd August (Sun) - starting at Bottleneck Car Park near to the Sea Terminal (09:00), a pre-book guided walk along the route of the former Upper Douglas Cable Tramway (celebrating its 130th anniversary this year) which connected with the Horse Tramway at the Promenade junctions with Victoria Street and Broadway.

• 2nd August (Sun) - tramcar display outside the Terminus Tavern and Strathallan Depot for photographs. A two-tram service will be in operation throughout the day.

Timetable 'P' will be operation on the Horse Tramway throughout the Festival - see below.

For more details and pre-booking requirements, please view the official Festival Programme leaflet published by Isle of Man Railways. Events and services may be subject to late change or cancellation due to weather conditions and other operational constraints.