Having not turned a wheel in years, the island’s newest - and most trouble-prone - railway locomotive could be back on track at last later this year.

Diesel no.21, unkindly dubbed The Cabbage, has been dogged with technical problems ever since it was first delivered in 2013.

It has not operated at all since June 2015.

Last year it was revealed that some £246,800 had been spent on fixing the loco so far - that’s on top of the £420,000 spent on its purchase from the States.

In April last year, no.21’s bogies arrived back in the island after repairs in the UK.

It subsequently went on a test run but didn’t get far before it had to be towed back to the depot.

Then in October, the diesel was craned off its chassis so its wheels could be sent back to the UK for further adjustments.

Last week the bogies returned and the machine was lifted back onto its wheels.

Ian Longworth, who stepped down as public transport director this year but continues to manage a number of the department’s major capital projects, said: ’It will have to wait for available time in the workshop to reconnect the two halves - electrical cables for the motors, air pipes for the brakes and chains for the hand brake.

’The workshop is busy at present preparing for the railways to open. We will then commission the diesel.’

In October, Mr Longworth said he expected the overhauled bogies to be returned in about six weeks including time for transport.

He told the Manx Independent at that time: ’With no railway easily available, we opted not to ship the whole loco and to have the bogies shipped back here for testing.

’We expected them to need adjustments to be made after the trial fit.

’Only when the loco is together can you acutely set suspension heights and test bearings. As you would expect some adjustments are necessary. There are no extra costs and the loco should operate on its return as we have tested all the systems in this process.’