C1 Coach Body

C1 was built by Metropolitan Carriage and wagon Company of Saltley (Birmingham) in 1873, as the first of a batch of 14 vehicles designated 3rd class with one of the three 10 seat compartments fitted with a handbrake wheel. Finished in chocolate brown with yellow lining and lettered in gold shaded with blue, it was delivered for the opening of the Peel line.

At a board meeting on 19 June 1973 the Isle of Man Railway agreed to re-designate all 3rd class accommodation to 2nd class and all vehicles were re-classed before shipment to the Island.

While the Isle of Man Railway felt that 4-wheeled stock would be suitable, it was only around 2 years later on 12 January 81875 that tenders were invited for the first bogie stock.

The first of these vehicles arrived in 1876 and was followed by further deliveries until in 1909 it was decided t order new bogie chassis for the 4-wheeled stock and mount 2 bodies on each chassis.

C1 was paired with B19, also a second class coach, in 1912 and became F64. At this stage it would have been painted with chocolate brown lower panels and cream upper panels. Sometime after 1968 it would have received the then standard red lower panels with off-white upper panels.

The vehicle was used regularly until 6 August 1978 when while at Port Erin the Douglas end of the coach was badly damaged by fore. The vehicle was dismantled, the chassis swapped with F66 entering service as a runner, the undamaged body of C1 was moved into store and the remains of B19 broken up.

The body of C1 remained in the old carriage shed at Douglas until it was evicted in early 1999 and the old shed demolished.

Surplus to requirement and unlikely to be in line for restoration it was feared hat C1 would be broken up. It was offered a new home by Peel Heritage trust as part of their railway display, and restoration is now underway.

The coach will be finished in the plain chocolate livery with yellow lining, the condition in which it probably visited Peel on opening day in 1873.

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