Steams up! Five new boilers are to be bought for locomotives on the heritage railway.

But the price has not been disclosed, with public transport bosses saying the commercial terms have yet to be finalised.

The steam railway was dogged by engine failures towards the end of last season, which left just one loco in service for a time and led to a reduced timetable and services cancelled.

There were similar problems the previous year.

Now the public transport division is planning to order five new boilers from the Severn Valley Railway in Shropshire, as part of a programme of phased boiler replacements.

The Severn Valley Railway has a specialised boiler shop and is currently overhauling the 1922 boiler of one of the engines, Caledonia, which is due back shortly.

It will then undertake an overhaul of the boiler for a second loco, Loch, which will include replacing the firebox.

Contract

But the Severn Valley Railway is to be awarded a contract to build up to five boilers, following a competitive tendering exercise.

A spokesman for the public transport division said: ’We have been having difficulties maintaining the boilers of a number of engines, which has led to a significant number of train cancellations over the last couple of years.

’We have been through the government’s procurement system, which resulted in a number of tenders being received.

’These have been evaluated and Severn Valley Railway will be awarded the contract for up to five boilers, which will be delivered over a number of years.

’This will secure steam loco availability in the long term.’

The spokesman added: ’The commercial terms are still subject to finalisation, as we need still to negotiate some of the contract detail.’

The boiler is the obviously the most critical component of a steam engine and it is imperative from both a reliability and safety perspective that it remains in good condition.

Those on the heritage railway’s fleet of steam locomotives are carefully tested and maintained at all times but they do have a limited life expectancy due to the constant heat cycling and operation at high temperatures.

’Replacement of a boiler is a normal part of the life of a steam locomotive and after many years of good service we have determined that a programme of phased boiler replacements needs to be undertaken,’ the spokesman said.

The state-subsidised Steam Railway, Manx Electric Railway, Snaefell Mountain Railway and Douglas Bay Horse Tram saw a combined 13% increase in passengers last year, amounting to 512,847 passenger journeys - 65,949 more than in 2016.