The Manx Electric Railway was built by Alexander Bruce, a banker, Frederick Saunderson, a civil engineer and Alfred Jones Lusty, a land owner, who formed the Douglas Bay Estate company to develop land north of Douglas.

The line from Laxey to Ramsey opened on 2 August 1898[4] by the Lieutenant Governor, John Henniker-Major, 5th Baron Henniker.

[6] In 1902 the assets were purchased by Herbert Kidson on behalf of a syndicate of businessmen from Manchester, and the Manx Electric Railway company was born.

[8] On 2 August 1902, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra travelled from Douglas to Ramsey[9] in enclosed trailer No.

[8] A nationalisation livery of green and white was applied to some trams and trailers for a limited time, though this was unpopular and later dropped.

This is a division of the Department of Infrastructure of the Isle of Man Government, which also operates the Island's buses as Bus Vannin).

[12] The section between Laxey and Ramsey was closed again in summer 2008, after a consultancy report commissioned by the Isle of Man Government exposed critical failings in the permanent way, deeming it unsuitable for passenger service in the near future.

The line runs on roadside reservation for the first few miles from Douglas and then on segregated track through the countryside for most of the route to Ramsey.

It is largely segregated from road traffic, running on double track on roadside reservation or private right-of-way, and is electrified using overhead lines at 550 volts direct current.

Closure of the line during the winter has allowed substantial investment in infrastructure, including relaying longer stretches of track.

Originally the service was provided by about 24 closed motor tramcars and the same number of open trailers: the earliest of these date from 1893 and almost all are pre-1910.

This has never been common practice (in recent years this has included in a few "special" services as part of the long-running series of events) although it was not uncommon for cars to haul a box-van for freight and, until 1975, a mail van.

The possibility of a limited evening service to Ramsey has been considered in recent times, and trams are sometimes chartered during summer for enthusiasts' excursions.

The line is in many ways unique, not least because it still operates entirely with its original rolling stock, except for winter saloon 22, which was completely rebuilt after a fire in 1990 which made the bodywork unusable.

The line belongs to the Isle of Man Government, formerly as part of the Department of Community, Culture & Leisure, which does not see the requirement to retain unused stock that has no potential use or long-term storage place on the railway.

The line has Lisbon tram purchased in 1999, but this has never seen use due to clearance difficulties (it was used as a passenger waiting shelter for a spell).

The history of the unpowered half of the MER's passenger vehicle fleet is complicated, as there have been withdrawals, scrappings, replacements, conversions and several renumberings.

[clarification needed] There have been many visiting examples of traction and stock to the Manx Electric Railway throughout its history, some used in the original construction of the line, others for special events and centenaries.

Owing to the number of open and ungated level crossings there are minor collisions, and these are reported in the local press.

These have become more commonplace but are usually minor; warning signage to alert motorists that trams are operating has been erected at the start of each season in recent times, but incidents still occur.

One such incident took place on Monday, 27 July 2009, when a vehicle carrying a mechanical excavator came into contact with the overhead wires supplying power to both the line and the Snaefell Mountain Railway at a busy road crossing in Laxey; there were no injuries.