It’s been just three and a half months since they signed a lease with the Manx government to begin work.

But the volunteers behind an ambitious project to restore Queen’s Pier, Ramsey, have made remarkable progress.

And after months of hectic fund-raising the restoration trust is just £8,000 short of the target to purchase replacement steel.

Working every Saturday, weather permitting, the eight-strong ’heavy gang’ have stripped back the three layers of decking - the planks, longitudinal stringers and horizontal beams - in the first bay to expose the ironwork beneath.

It’s been challenging and heavy-going work, admits project manager Stuart McKenzie, a retired master mariner, with the 24 beams weighing 200lb each. ’We’ve had to learn as we go along. It will be easier when we get to bays 2 and 3,’ he said.

There’s also plenty of ’light work’ to be done, including removing original nails and bolts from the beams and decking and sanding down the planks so they can be recycled back onto the pier. Some 30-40% of the decking timber is salvageable. But nothing is going to waste, with the invitation going out for creative individuals and groups to turn the wood and nails that can’t be used into future artworks.

With the timberwork removed, it is clear the wrought iron decking in the first bay is in a worse condition than expected. Stuart points out one cross bar that has almost completely rusted through.

But this not an issue, he explained, as the plan has always been to replace the iron decking throughout the length of the pier with steel. The legs of the Victorian structure, however, are in remarkably good condition.

The Queen’s Pier Restoration Trust believes it will cost £1.5m to £2m to fully restore the pier - rather less than the £12m consultants for the government once quoted.

Estimated cost to complete the work in the first bay is £60,000, including £35,000 for the steelwork. Stuart explained that money had to be spent on insurance, a compressor and a scaffolding platform, the later supplied by Kinrades at a generous discount.

The trust is now just £8,000 short of the funds it needs to order the steel for bay one.

But no work to replace the metalwork will be done now until next year. Stuart said: ’We didn’t get the lease as hoped in March. It wasn’t signed until August so we missed the good weather. You can’t consider lifting old metal and putting in new metal during the winter.’

Costs to restore bays 2 and 3 are estimated at £40,000.

The project is proving to be a real community one. That’s reflected in the local companies that have come forward to offer support, manpower and equipment.

The original luggage trolley, dating back to 1886, will be restored by the northern branch of Men in Sheds.

This community spirit is reflected, too, in the fund-raising events that have been staged including a mhelliah, a wine-tasting evening, coffee mornings and concerts. These have raised on average £1,400 to £1,500.

There is also a corporate fund-raising team which is seeking out potential sponsors and will be making an application to the Manx Lottery Trust. One idea is to sell replacement decking planks to individuals and companies who will then donate them back with a plaque on them.

If the money comes in, the Trust is confident the public will be able to walk along the pier again, for the first time since 1990, by 2019. There are 60 bays in total and Stuart said it would be impossible to give a date when restoration will be complete.

The plan is to have a tram running again along the pier, although probably not the original, and to open a tea room on bay one.

A decision has been made not to charge an entry fee. Fund-raising will continue after the opening to pay for maintenance costs - but the Trust believes government should honour its commitment to pay £40,000 a year towards the pier’s maintenance.

Meanwhile, Stuart, who celebrated his 78th birthday last Friday, clearly relishes the task of breathing new life back into the old pier. He said: ’It keeps me alive. When you retire, unless you have something really important to do, you can stultify. I find this exciting and challenging. It’s about problem solving.’