A passenger who helped apply the brake on the runaway Snaefell tram insists the real heroes of the day were the driver and the guard.

Wilf White and his teenage daughter Millie were among the 48 passengers on board the vintage tram that lost power to its main brake shortly after leaving the summit station and ran out of control 1.4km down the mountain.

It reached a speed of 44mph before it was finally brought to a halt 500m beyond the Bungalow road crossing using the manual fell brake and parking brake.

Mr White contacted the Manx Independent after reading our reports of the findings of the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate accident investigation. He was not asked to give his account to the HSWI - as his contact details were never taken after the incident.

Speaking from his home in Suffolk, Mr White said: ’I was the passenger who helped the crew to stop the tram but they were the heroes of the hour. I just did what I was told!’

He said the day of the incident on August 4, 2017 was warm and sunny but the summit of Snaefell was cold and windy so he and Millie - who was 16 at the time - decided they would not stay there long and catch the 2.30pm tram back to Laxey.

’We were the last to board so we were at the back of the tram. I chatted briefly to the guard. His courage and discipline would serve us well in the next few minutes,’ he said.

’Our descent seemed to begin normally but, as a regular traveller on the Isle of Man’s wonderful trains and trams - I even once spent a great day being taught to drive Caledonia on the steam railway - I started to realise we were going too fast.

’I soon saw that the guard was already trying to apply the rear brakes.

’But Snaefell Mountain Railway trams have two rear brakes which are operated by turning brass wheels and the guard very quickly saw that one brake was not going to stop the tram. So he asked me to man the other. I simply had to turn it as far as I could into a braking position, keep turning when I could, and hold it there.’

He continued: ’By this time we were coming down the mountain at what seemed like tremendous speed and I could see Bungalow station approaching. It felt like we were starting to come off the rails.

’I was praying we’d stop the tram before we crossed the Mountain Road because I knew there was a long, sheer drop down to the old mine immediately afterwards. If we went over there, I knew we’d not have a chance. But we stayed on the track and kept on going.’

He said: ’By this time my arms were aching as we tried to hold on to the brakes.

’As the guard shouted "brace! brace!" to the passengers there was only one thought in my head - "my daughter is on this tram and we have to stop it".

’I didn’t really have time to feel scared - I was too busy holding on to the brake wheel! And the guard remained completely calm and in control.’

Mr White said that fortunately the track levels out a bit after crossing the Mountain Road.

He said: ’I could feel that we were starting to slow down. Eventually we stopped. The feeling of relief and shock hit us then. I started to feel very cold while my daughter kept laughing.

’I shook the guard’s hand. "We couldn’t have done it without you," he kindly said - but I knew that he and the driver had really saved the day.

’Another tram came up to take us down to Laxey and I confess that I went straight to the Mines Tavern for a stiff drink. We then went down to the Woollen Mills where I bought a loaghtan wool jumper. Whenever I wear it, I am reminded of that extraordinary day.’

Mr White said he has now read the HSWI report and believes there’s nothing in it that doesn’t fit with how he remembers that day. ’It looks like a thorough investigation,’ he said.

He added: ’I never learned the driver’s name or the guard’s but I hope that they read this and that they will always know how grateful their passengers were for their quick thinking and courage.

’I’d also like to send my very best wishes to my fellow passengers who certainly had a very frightening experience. At least I was lucky enough to feel that I was doing something. It must have been much worse for them.

’I’ve been travelling on the Isle of Man’s trains and trams since I was a child and I’m now 54.

’Will I be travelling on them again when I next visit?

’I trust lessons will have been learned from the report - so absolutely!’

The HSWI report concludes that the incident was caused by the failure of a low pressure monitor switch. It praises the actions of the crew in their efforts to stop the tram and radio ahead to the stationmaster at Bungalow to ensure the warning lights were switched on at the Mountain Road crossing.

Last December, the Department of Infrastructure was fined £18,000 after admitting five health and safety breaches in relation to the Snaefell Mountain Railway.

HSWI served an improvement notice on the DoI obliging it to fit ’fail to safe’ brakes on the trams before the start of this year’s season.

Services began again last week.

Two trams have been fitted with updated braking systems so far with the others to follow.

Wilf White and his teenage daughter Millie were among the 48 passengers on board the vintage tram that lost power to its main brake shortly after leaving the summit station and ran out of control 1.4km down the mountain.