The locomotives of the Isle of Man Railway were provided exclusively by Beyer, Peacock & Company of Manchester, England between 1873 and 1926; other locomotives that appear on this list were inherited as part of the take-over of the Manx Northern Railway and Foxdale Railway in 1905, when the railway also purchased two more locomotives from Beyer, Peacock. All the steam locomotives have or had the wheel arrangement, apart from No. 15 Caledonia (built by Dübs & Co. of Glasgow) which is an .
In 2024 two modern, small diesel locomotives were acquired secondhand from Bord na Móna in Ireland.
No. 1 Sutherland
No.BuiltNameBuilderWorks No.Wheel arr.WithdrawnStatusLiveryOrigin of nameNo.11873SutherlandBeyer, Peacock & Company12532-4-0T1921–1922, 1964–1998, 2003–DateRailway MuseumHolly green (1873–1946)Company chairman, George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland
The railway's first locomotive arrived on the island on 27 March 1873. It hauled the first train from Douglas to Peel on 1 May 1873, carrying the Duke of Sutherland, and the official opening train on 1 July the same year, for which the locomotive carried a banner stating "Douglas & Peel United".
The locomotive remained in service until 1964, latterly as Douglas shunter. When the Marquess of Ailsa took over the railway in 1967, it was painted spring green and placed on static display at St John's. It was later transferred to Douglas when the railway closed at the end of the 1968 season.
When the Isle of Man Railway Museum opened in 1975 Sutherland was moved there for display. Sutherland was taken to Douglas in 1997 and returned to service, using the boiler from No.8 Fenella, for the railway's 125th anniversary the next year. During the anniversary year in 1998 the locomotive travelled to the Manx Electric Railway, on occasion steaming from Laxey to Fairy Cottage, and made a brief return to Peel railway station to commemorate the opening of the Peel line.
Sutherland was later repainted Indian red and when the locomotive was withdrawn its boiler was returned to No.8. No.1 was stored undercover at Douglas station until being cosmetically restored and returned to display in the railway museum in 2020. To mark the 150th anniversary of the first official train a replica "Douglas & Peel United" banner was fitted to the locomotive.
No. 2 Derby No.BuiltNameBuilderWorks No.Wheel arr.WithdrawnStatusLiveryOrigin of nameNo.21873DerbyBeyer, Peacock & Company12542-4-0T1908–1909, 1929–1930, 1951–DateScrapped in 1980NoneEarl of Derby
No. 2 was delivered in 1873 as part of the original batch of three locomotives for the opening of the Douglas to Peel line. It was named after the Earl of Derby. The locomotive is often seen in early photographs without its back cab sheet (No. 1 also appears in this form on a famous photograph of opening day).
The locomotive was loaned to the Douglas & Laxey Coast Electric Tramway for use in construction of the Manx Electric Railway. No. 2 is the railway's only locomotive to have been scrapped, with just a pony truck surviving today. It was withdrawn in 1951 and dismantled at the time for use as spare parts for other locomotives. The frames were stored for many years before being scrapped in 1980.No.2 Derby Iomsrsa The surviving pony truck was kept and later re-built with new roller bearing axleboxes and entered regular service under another locomotive in 2020.
No. 3 Pender
No.BuiltNameBuilderWorks No.Wheel arr.WithdrawnStatusLiveryOrigin of nameNo.31873PenderBeyer, Peacock & Company12552-4-0T1898–1899, 1912–1913, 1962–DateSectioned at Science and Industry Museum, ManchesterHolly green (1873–1946)Company deputy chairman, John Pender
This is the last of the original three locomotives. It was originally going to be named Viking, but this was changed to honour Sir John Pender, deputy chairman of the railway company.
In 1925, Pender was involved in an accident at Douglas station. The train failed to stop as it arrived at the station and crashed through the buffers before coming to rest in the concourse. The fireman remained in the engine and survived, but the driver jumped out and suffered fatal injuries. This accident and the following enquiry led to all rolling stock being fitted with vacuum brakes.
This locomotive was little modified over the years compared with its classmates, and was withdrawn from service in the 1950s. Pender was re-boilered in 1888 and 1913. The third and current boiler was made in 1923 for No. 2 Derby and was fitted in 1951 after that locomotive was broken up. The side rods are from No. 4. Loch (they are stamped 1416). Pender was cannibalised for spare parts to keep the other locomotives in service. Many non-ferrous fittings are missing.
Pender left the island in 1979 and has been sectioned for display at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.
No. 4 Loch
No.BuiltNameBuilderWorks No.Wheel arr.WithdrawnStatusLiveryOrigin of nameNo.41874LochBeyer, Peacock & Company14162-4-0T1955–1968, 1995–2002, 2015–2021In trafficIndian red (1946–1965)Henry Loch, 1st Baron Loch
Locomotive No.4 was delivered in 1874 for the opening of the Port Erin line. It was named after the island's lieutenant governor, Henry Brougham Loch. As originally built Loch was a small-boiler locomotive, although it had larger water tanks and bunkers than the original three locomotives. It was rebuilt with a larger boiler in 1909, which gave it the same tractive effort as Nos. 10 and 11.
No. 4 received a new boiler in 1967 and returned to service in September 1968 just in time to haul one of the last trains to Peel before that line closed. The locomotive was based at Port Erin for many years, and was unusual in that it worked with its chimney towards Douglas. During the 1993 Year Of Railways the locomotive hauled special services on the Manx Electric Railway.
After being withdrawn from service in 1995, Loch underwent an overhaul in 1998–2000, including fitting a new boiler and returned to service. Following a further overhaul starting in 2017, the locomotive has been in traffic again since 2021. During the 2017–2021 overhaul it was fitted with Salter safety valves, which had not been seen in service on the railway for over 60 years. From 1979 until withdrawal, the locomotive had and a non-standard maroon livery. It currently carries the familiar Indian red livery.
No. 5 Mona
No.BuiltNameBuilderWork No.Wheel arr.WithdrawnStatusLiveryOrigin of nameNo.51874MonaBeyer, Peacock & Company14172-4-0T1909–1911, 1937–1938, 1969–DateCosmetically restoredSpring green (1967–1978)Latin name for Isle of Man
Locomotive No.5 arrived with No.4 in 1874 for the opening of the Port Erin line. It was rebuilt as a medium-boilered locomotive in 1911. Last reboilered in 1946, No. 5 was a regular on the Peel line later in its career.
The locomotive remained in service right until 1968. It was privately purchased from the newly nationalised railway in 1978 but bought back in 2012. The locomotive was stored in the carriage shed at Douglas, including several years in a sealed tent with No.9 Douglas due to the presence of asbestos. Following the removal of the asbestos in 2020, the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association cosmetically restored the locomotive for the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Peel line in 2023. Mona then entered the Railway Museum adjacent to Port Erin railway station, where it remains exhibited today.
No. 6 Peveril
No.BuiltNameBuilderWorks No.Wheel arr.WithdrawnStatusLiveryOrigin of nameNo.61875PeverilBeyer, Peacock & Company15242-4-0T1901–1902, 1929–1932, 1960–DateCosmetically restoredIndian red (1946–1965)Sir Walter Scott's Peveril of the Peak
No.6 Peveril was a one-off purchase in 1875 from Beyer, Peacock & Co. (works number 1524) and was identical to Nos.4 and 5. It was rebuilt as a medium-boiled locomotive in 1911, and last reboilered in 1932.
The locomotive saw extensive use on Peel Line for many years and was withdrawn from service in 1960, having been station shunter at Douglas for a number of years. In 1967, it was put on static display at St. John's station, and was relocated to Douglas station for display purposes after the Peel and Ramsey lines closed in 1968.
Peveril was offered to the National Railway Museum in the late 1970s, but was not taken and the locomotive was stored for several years in the carriage shed at Douglas with No.5 Mona before being cosmetically restored by members of the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association in 1994. The locomotive was then displayed in the Railway Museum until 2023 when it was moved to the goods shed at Port St Mary.
No. 7 Tynwald
No.BuiltNameBuilderWorks No.Wheel arr.WithdrawnStatusLiveryOrigin of nameNo.71880TynwaldBeyer, Peacock & Company20272-4-0T1900–1901, 1928–1929, 1947–DateIn private storageHolly green (bunker)Manx parliament
Built in 1880 (Beyer, Peacock works number 2038) and named after the Manx parliament, this locomotive was identical to Nos.4-6. No.7 was the first of the fleet to have sandboxes placed just ahead of the water tanks. As a result, the feedwater pipe was changed from the original C-shaped end to an "S" shape entering the boiler between the smokebox and first cladding ring, rather than between the first and second cladding rings.
The locomotive was involved in a collision with No.10 G.H. Wood in 1928, and the frames were badly damaged at this time. Tynwald was the first of the railway's locomotives to be withdrawn from service in 1947. The tanks and cab were scrapped in 1974 No.7 Tynwald iomsrsa while the remaining main frames and coal bunker were purchased by Isle of Man Railway Society. These were displayed on the goods platform at Castletown station but have since been moved to storage in Weeting, Norfolk.
No. 8 Fenella
No.BuiltNameBuilderWorks No.Wheel arr.WithdrawnStatusLiveryOrigin of nameNo.81894FenellaBeyer, Peacock & Company36102-4-0T1969–2003, 2008–2012, 2020–DateWithdrawnIndian red (1946–1965)Sir Walter Scott's Peveril of the Peak
Fenella, built in 1894, was identical to No.7 Tynwald except for being fitted with a higher pressure (160psi) boiler. For many years it was based on the Ramsey line and the locomotive was still in service for the Marquess of Ailsa's revival in 1967.
The locomotive was purchased by a preservation group in 1978 with the goal of complete restoration, and in 1988 the boiler was removed from the frames and sent to the Severn Valley Railway's workshops for reconstruction. This was a long-term project and as relationships between the owners and management soured the project did not reach fruition. However, the owners offered the boiler (now complete) for No.1 Sutherland so that it could return to service for the Steam 125 celebrations in 1998. After three years the boiler was then returned to No.8, which was a member of the active fleet until early summer 2008.
Fenella kept its original tanks and carries a unique 160 psi boiler. This boiler gives Fenella the same theoretical power output as the medium boiler locomotives, but in reality it is inclined to run short of steam on heavy trains. As the sole example of the smaller engines it was often seen on lighter trains, specials and acting as station pilot. The locomotive returned to railway ownership in April 2012. In 2020 the locomotive was withdrawn from service and it was awaiting overhaul.
No. 9 Douglas
No.BuiltNameBuilderWorks No.Wheel arr.WithdrawnStatusLiveryOrigin of nameNo.91896DouglasBeyer, Peacock & Company38152-4-0T1909–1911, 1922–1922, 1953–DateCosmetically restoredHolly greenIsland's capital