BROUGHTON might have lost its passenger steam trains in 1958 on the branch line from Foxfield to Coniston but members of the Duddon Valley Local History Group were transported to a place where old traditions die hard.

David Alison was the guest speaker at the Broughton Victory Hall for an illustrated talk on the Transport Delights of the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man - and what are now seen as heritage tramways and railways – developed at the end of the Victorian era as trippers went to the island by steamers from places like Barrow, Fleetwood and Heysham.

Mr Alison said: “Douglas really developed as a seaside report in the 1890s.”

The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway was established in 1876 and the horses each make a maximum of three return trips a day pulling open “toast rack” trams.

He said: “The horses are extremely well looked after.

“They all have names and wear boards displaying their names.”

The horse-pulled service links up with the Manx Electric Railway, which was built between 1893 and 1899. Services are provided from Douglas to Laxey and Ramsey.

A stop at Groudle Glen lets visitors try out the narrow gauge, steam-hauled Groudle Glen Railway – which ends at Sea Lion Rocks, a former zoo.

There is also a railway called the Orchid Line which is run by members of the Manx Steam and Model Engineering Club on Sundays.

At Douglas is the main station of the Isle of Man Steam Railway which was opened in 1874 and has several stops on the way to Port Erin.

It operates with century-old steam locomotives and carriages.

The island’s Snaefell Mountain Railway links Laxey with the 2,036ft (610m) summit.

The next talk at Duddon Valley Local History Group is at 7.30pm in the Rankin Room, Victory Hall, Broughton, on April 26.

Guest speaker will be Dan Ellsworth, of Ulverston-based Greenlane Archaeology, with a look at “Recording Historic Buildings in the Furness Area.”