A new exhibition has been put together at the Rushen Heritage Centre which showcases the history of the island’s steam railway and the Manx Grand Prix.
The exhibition marks the 150th anniversary of the steam railway reaching Port Erin, as well as featuring eight past and present local MGP competitors.
It has been curated by Ali and Robert Graham from Rushen Heritage Trust, which runs the Centre on Bridson Street in Port Erin.
Ali said: ‘In the build-up to last year's Manx Grand Prix, we featured a small group of local riders, but there were so many more that we wanted to include.
‘When planning this year's season of exhibitions, it was an obvious choice to revisit the MGP and look back at those who weren't featured last year, which include Tony Duncan, Derek Ennett, Dan Sayle, Nigel Beattie, and Richard “Milky” Quayle – holder of a BEM now, of course!
‘We are pleased to have as the centrepiece for the exhibition, a Honda K4 350, and are grateful to Bob Simmons once again for loaning this to us, which is still being raced in classics.
‘Thanks again to Barry Wood for the loan of his personal replicas and memorabilia and the riders who took the time to provide information and interesting memories.’
While last year was the 150th anniversary of the Isle of Man Steam Railway, Ali and Robert wanted to celebrate the fact that 2024 marks 150 years of the line being extended to Port Erin.
Ali added: ‘This obviously played a major role in transforming the village into the tourist destination it became.
‘There are some wonderful old photographs to view and many fascinating stories to discover in both parts of our exhibition. We also have the loan of a small model of the number 16 locomotive “Mannin”, which was built in 1926 and was the most powerful 2-4-0T locomotive on the line.’
Run by volunteers, the Rushen Heritage Centre features a series of exhibitions each season, acts as a visitor information centre in collaboration with Visit Isle of Man and sells Rushen Heritage Trust books and merchandise. The centre also sells greetings cards featuring scenes from around Rushen, as well as a selection of other books and maps related to the area.
Established in 2014, the Trust works to promote heritage in the Isle of Man’s ‘beautiful south’ by creating content that is accessible worldwide, and thus encouraging people – both from the Isle of Man and further afield – to visit Rushen Sheading.
The Trust is celebrating its 10th birthday this year, and has thanked the ‘Gough Ritchie Charitable Trust’ for its support towards this season’s exhibitions.
Remaining exhibition’s include ‘Milner: The Man and The Tower’ from August 27 to October 5, and ‘Rollage ny Twoaie: Renovating a Tholtan’ from October 8 to November 2.
The double-header railway and MGP exhibition is on display at the Heritage Centre in Bridson Street, Port Erin until Saturday, August 24, and is open from Tuesday to Saturday at 10am until 4pm.
For more about Rushen Heritage Centre, you can contact John Quirk on email at [email protected] or by phoning 464634.