Loss-making horse trams a key draw for Douglas says councillor

The Island's historic horse trams make their last journeys ever along the promenade tracks today (17 Sept).

The end of the summer season marks almost a century and a half of uninterrupted service.

Next year the trams will be suspended as major road works are carried out to upgrade the entire promenade. 

The horse tram tracks will be repositioned on a single track on the seaward side of the road as part of the refurbishment, with the service due to re commence in 2016.

Douglas councillor Stephen Pitts says this year's service has run at a loss in the region of a quarter of a million pounds.

But he insists closing the trams to save money would be a huge mistake: