From 1873 The Isle of Man built its own steam and electric railways as well
as horse, electric and cable tramways each under its own operating company.
The horse tramway had extended its services with a horse bus (SG 82) but by
1902 Douglas Corporation had acquired the cable (SG 370) and horse tramways
(SG 365). In 1907 they re-established a horse bus to supplement the trams even
though motor omnibuses had by then taken over most services on the mainland.
In addition the cable tramway was proving expensive to operate so it was not
long before the Corporation considered petrol-driven buses. The Tramway
Committee was charged with developing the proposal. By 1914 they had placed
orders for their first two buses which commenced operations on the 1st and 3rd
August. Both vehicles were blue and cream with the legend Douglas Corporation
Tramways (SG 848). During the 1920‘s another 20 buses had been delivered
although the livery had become primrose by 1927 (SG 845).
At the same time a number of private operators had established their own
services across the more rural parts of the island (SG 846). The Isle of Man
Railway Company became concerned at the potential competition and set about
protecting its position. Farghers Omnibuses and Manx Motors were established
on 8 June 1927 with half their shares held by Isle of Man Railway
officials. The proliferation of operators exceeded the traffic on offer and
consolidation started. By 1930 the Isle ~ of Man Railway Company won the
battle and took over virtually all the operators under the title Isle of Man
Road Services Ltd (SG 850) with AM Sheard as manager of all road and railway
services. The arrangement continued until the railway company became
uneconomic in the 1960s and finally closed in 1965 by which time the island‘s
government became involved to ensure bus services continued even though the
railway‘s future was not secured until 1978 when it was purchased by the
Manx government
At the same time that the Isle of Man Railway became the dominant bus
operator, Douglas CorporationTramways began to rationalise their services. The
horse trams were restricted to summer services and the cable tram was
suffering serious wear and tear. Rather than face the expensive repair bill
the line was closed on 19 August 1929. The cable tram depot became a bus
garage the following year. Summer horse tram services have continued for
holiday makers ever since but the Corporation primarily became a bus operator
for the local inhabitants of Douglas. Further reorganisations have
subsequently further changed the islands transport ownership ending the
Corporation‘s involvement in transport..