Year of Railways

The Year of Railways was a series of special events held on the Isle of Man during 1993 to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the first section of the Manx Electric Railway from Douglas (Derby Castle) to Groudle in September 1893.

Each of the event periods commenced with "meet and greet" sessions held at Summerland, where organisers, directors, staff and other influential people from the railways were on hand.

They included: Organised by the staff and friends of the railways including local preservationist groups, and backed up by the island's Department of Tourism and Leisure, which own the railways, these events were hailed both on and off the island as a resounding success.

There were also lower-key events in 1997 and 1999 for the centenary of tram services to Ramsey, but despite their smaller scale they were well attended by visitors.

They usually consisted of more straightforward events such as unusual tramcars in operation, double-headed trains, non-passenger vehicles in service.