The Last Supper (1995 film)

# The Last Supper (1995 film)

## Abstract

The Last Supper is a 1995 American satirical black comedy film directed by Stacy Title. It stars Cameron Diaz, Ron Eldard, Annabeth Gish, Jonathan Penner and Courtney B. Vance as five liberal graduate school students who invite a string of extreme conservatives to dinner in order to murder them. The film premiered at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival.

## Plot

Jude, Pete, Paulie, Marc, and Luke are graduate school students who live together in a rustic home in Iowa.

After Zack, a Desert Storm veteran, helps move Pete's car, the group invites him to have dinner at their home. However, Zack turns out to be a racist and Holocaust denier who praises Adolf Hitler, leading to a tense political debate with the liberal students.

The evening takes a turn for the worse when the veteran snaps and holds a knife to Marc's throat, threatening to kill him and rape Paulie. Zack releases Marc, and then Pete holds a knife to his throat, but he easily incapacitates Pete and breaks his arm. Marc fatally stabs Zack in the back to defend his friend, and the group decides to cover up the murder. Paulie regrets that Zack is dead even though he threatened her and Marc.

After a long discussion, the students decide to follow up this event by inviting other conservatives for dinner to murder them, reasoning this would "make the world a better place". They lay down a procedure for each murder. The guest will be given every opportunity to change his/her mind and recant his/her beliefs. If the guest fails to change their ways by dessert, the guest is offered poisoned white wine from a blue decanter and raises a toast. The bodies are buried in the vegetable garden.

Guests, all of whom are murdered, include a homophobic protestant reverend, a misogynistic, chauvinistic rape apologist; a Neo-Nazi; an anti-environmentalist; a racist, anti-Semitic Nation of Islam fundamentalist; an anti-abortion activist; a censorship advocate; a man who beats homeless people (the only dinner guest who momentarily considers recanting his beliefs); and critics of gay rights.

After ten murders, misgivings begin to surface within the group as a few grow indecisive regarding the justification of their actions. Infighting and guilt compel them to spare a teenage opponent of mandatory sex education, despite the protests of Luke and Pete.

Sheriff Alice Stanley, investigating the whereabouts of missing girl Jenny Tyler, comes upon the group. By coincidence, the main suspect in the case is Zack, their first victim, who was also a convicted sex offender. The sheriff grows suspicious of the students’ behavior, questioning Pete, Marc, and Paulie at their home. Finding Stanley trespassing in their backyard, Luke – increasingly unhinged – kills Stanley, unbeknownst to the rest.

During a school break, Luke and Pete meet famous conservative pundit Norman Arbuthnot, a regular on TV news and talk shows, and invite him to dinner. During dinner, Norman stymies them with his moderate and persuasive arguments, all of which the usually argumentative group has difficulty debunking. He even admits that he says more radically conservative things mostly for attention.

The frustrated students all excuse themselves to the kitchen to determine Norman's fate. Before excusing himself, Jude warns Norman that the wine in the blue bottle has gone bad. In the kitchen, after a brief discussion, only Luke still wishes to kill Norman, calling him Hitler. After a tense altercation, Luke is dissuaded and breaks down into tears.

Meanwhile, Norman examines the home and pieces together their murderous activities. When they return to the table, Norman presents them with glasses of wine and offers them a toast but does not drink himself, with the excuse that he has to fly his private plane. He puffs on a huge cigar and says, "Don't worry, I didn't pour any of the bad wine."

A closing shot of a painting portrays all five students collapsed on the floor, with Norman standing next to the blue bottle and smoking his cigar. The film ends with audio of Norman speculating about his possible presidential bid to a cheering crowd, pledging to do the people's will.

## Cast

- Cameron Diaz as Jude

- Ron Eldard as Pete

- Annabeth Gish as Paulie

- Jonathan Penner as Marc

- Courtney B. Vance as Luke

- Jason Alexander as Anti-Environmentalist

- Nora Dunn as Sheriff Stanley

- Charles Durning as Reverend Hutchens

- Bryn Erin as Heather

- Mark Harmon as Dominant Male

- Bill Paxton as Zack

- Ron Perlman as Norman Arbuthnot

## Production

The character of Norman Arbuthnot was loosely based on a real-life pundit Rush Limbaugh. Beau Bridges was originally asked to play the role, but turned it down. Ron Perlman was so enthusiastic after reading the script that he threatened to break his friendship with director Stacy Title if he did not get the role. One of the producers has a cameo as the man getting his book signed by Arbuthnot. The screenplay's author, Dan Rosen, also had a small role as Deputy Hartford.

Director Stacy Title was the cousin of co-star Jason Alexander 's wife, Dena E. Title, and was married to the actor playing Marc, Jonathan Penner.

Shonen Knife 's cover of The Carpenters ' " Top of the World " plays during the closing credits.

In the United States, the film premiered at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 1996.

## Response

### Critical response

The Last Supper has a 61% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 38 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "It struggles to find a balance between its humor and its message, but The Last Supper' s sharp script and well-chosen cast offer just enough nourishment for fans of black comedy." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, writing that although it is too long and repetitive, he appreciated its lack of partisanship. He described the film as "a brave effort in a timid time, a Swiftian attempt to slap us all in the face and get us to admit that our own freedoms depend precisely on those of our neighbors, our opponents and, yes, our enemies." M.V Moorhead of the Phoenix New Times opined that the film’s "level of satiric discourse" could have been more " genuinely provocative". Janet Maslin, reviewing the film in The New York Times, was far more critical of the storyline, criticising it for its "lumbering obviousness and sophomoric political debate", and "conventional and unsurprising" plot. In a review for The Washington Post, Rita Kempley described it as "sour, repetitive fare", and "glib, morally muddy, overly schematic".

### Box office

The film grossed $459,749 in limited release in the domestic box office.


Modern flat Earth beliefs

# Modern flat Earth beliefs

## Abstract

Pseudoscientific beliefs in a flat Earth are promoted by a number of organizations and individuals. The claims of modern flat Earth proponents are not based on scientific knowledge and are contrary to over two millennia of scientific consensus based on multiple confirming lines of evidence that Earth is roughly spherical. Flat Earth beliefs are classified by experts in philosophy and physics as a form of science denial.

Flat Earth groups of the modern era date from the middle of the 20th century; some adherents are serious and some are not. Those who are serious are often motivated by religion or conspiracy theories. Through the use of social media, flat Earth theories have been increasingly espoused and promoted by individuals unaffiliated with larger groups. Many believers make use of social media to spread their views.

## Background

Many ancient cultures may have believed that the Earth, Sun, Moon, stars, and planets were flat as they can sometimes appear so on a local level. The Greeks deduced that they were instead a sphere, and that became the scientific consensus.

Contrary to the popular belief that the Earth was generally believed to be flat until a few hundred years ago, Earth's sphericity has been widely accepted in the Western world (and universally by scholars) since at least the Hellenistic period (323 BCE–31 BCE). It was not until the 19th century that the Flat Earth concept had a resurgence.

## 19th and early 20th centuries

Modern flat Earth belief originated with the English writer Samuel Rowbotham (1816–1884). Based on conclusions derived from his 1838 Bedford Level experiment, Rowbotham published the 1849 pamphlet titled Zetetic Astronomy, writing under the pseudonym "Parallax". He later expanded this into the book Earth Not a Globe, proposing the Earth is a flat disc centred at the North Pole and bounded along its southern edge by a wall of ice, Antarctica. Rowbotham further held that the Sun and Moon were 3,000 miles (4,800 km) above Earth and that the "cosmos" was 3,100 miles (5,000 km) above the Earth. He also published a leaflet titled The Inconsistency of Modern Astronomy and its Opposition to the Scriptures, which argued that the " Bible, alongside our senses, supported the idea that the Earth was flat and immovable and this essential truth should not be set aside for a system based solely on human conjecture".

Rowbotham and followers like William Carpenter gained attention by successful use of pseudoscience in public debates with leading scientists such as Alfred Russel Wallace. Rowbotham created a Zetetic Society in England and New York, shipping over a thousand copies of Zetetic Astronomy to the New York branch. Wallace repeated the Bedford Level experiment in 1870, correcting for atmospheric refraction and showing a spherical Earth.

In 1877, John Hampden produced a book A New Manual of Biblical Cosmography. Rowbotham also produced studies that purported to show that the effects of ships disappearing below the horizon could be explained by the laws of perspective in relation to the human eye.

After Rowbotham's death, Lady Elizabeth Blount established the Universal Zetetic Society in 1893, whose objective was "the propagation of knowledge related to Natural Cosmogony in confirmation of the Holy Scriptures, based on practical scientific investigation". The society published a magazine, The Earth Not a Globe Review, which sold for twopence and remained active well into the early 20th century. A flat Earth journal, Earth: a Monthly Magazine of Sense and Science, was published between 1901 and 1904, edited by Lady Blount. She held that the Bible was the unquestionable authority on the natural world and argued that one could not be a Christian and believe the Earth is a globe. Well-known members included E. W. Bullinger of the Trinitarian Bible Society, Edward Haughton, senior moderator in natural science in Trinity College Dublin and an archbishop. She repeated Rowbotham's experiments, generating some counter-experiments, but interest declined after the First World War. The Universal Zetetic Society "was revived under different names over the years—in 1956, 1972, and 2004". The movement gave rise to several books that argued for a flat, stationary Earth, including Terra Firma by David Wardlaw Scott.

Other notable flat Earthers from this time period include:

- William Carpenter, a printer originally from Greenwich, was a supporter of Rowbotham. Carpenter published Theoretical Astronomy Examined and Exposed – Proving the Earth not a Globe in eight parts from 1864 under the name Common Sense. He later emigrated to Baltimore, where he published One Hundred Proofs the Earth is Not a Globe in 1885. He wrote: "There are rivers that flow for hundreds of miles towards the level of the sea without falling more than a few feet – notably, the Nile, which, in a thousand miles, falls but a foot. A level expanse of this extent is quite incompatible with the idea of the Earth's convexity. It is, therefore, a reasonable proof that Earth is not a globe", as well as: "If the Earth were a globe, a small model globe would be the very best – because the truest – thing for the navigator to take to sea with him. But such a thing as that is not known: with such a toy as a guide, the mariner would wreck his ship, of a certainty! This is a proof that Earth is not a globe."

- John Jasper, an American slave turned prolific preacher, and friend of Carpenter's, echoed his friend's sentiments in his most famous sermon "The Sun do move", preached over 250 times, always by invitation. In a written account of his sermon, published in The Richmond Whig of March 19, 1878, Jasper says he would frequently cite the verse "I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth" and follow up by arguing: "So we are living on a four-cornered earth; then, my friends, will you tell me how in the name of God can an earth with four corners be round!" In the same article he argued: "if the earth is like others say, who hold a different theory, peopled on the other side, those people would be obliged to walk on the ground with their feet upward like flies on the ceiling of a room".

- In Brockport, New York, in 1887, M. C. Flanders argued the case of a flat Earth for three nights against two scientific gentlemen defending sphericity. Five townsmen chosen as judges voted unanimously for a flat Earth at the end. The case was reported in the Brockport Democrat.

- Joseph W. Holden of Maine, a former justice of the peace, gave numerous lectures in New England and lectured on flat-Earth theory at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. His fame stretched to North Carolina, where the Statesville Semi-weekly Landmark recorded at his death in 1900: "We hold to the doctrine that the Earth is flat ourselves and we regret exceedingly to learn that one of our members is dead."

- In 1898, during his solo circumnavigation of the world, Joshua Slocum encountered a group of flat-Earthers in Durban, South Africa. Three Boers, one of them a clergyman, presented Slocum with a pamphlet in which they set out to prove that the world was flat. Paul Kruger, President of the Transvaal Republic, advanced the same view: "You don't mean round the world, it is impossible! You mean in the world. Impossible!"

- From 1915 to 1942 Wilbur Glenn Voliva, who in 1906 took over the Christian Catholic Church, a Pentecostal sect that established a utopian community in Zion, Illinois, preached flat Earth doctrine. He used a photograph of a twelve-mile (19 km) stretch of the shoreline at Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin, taken three feet (91 cm) above the waterline to prove his point. When the airship Italia disappeared on an expedition to the North Pole in 1928, he warned the world's press that it had sailed over the edge of the world. He offered a $5000 award ($98,590 in 2022 terms) for proving that the Earth is not flat, under his own conditions. Teaching a globular Earth was banned in the Zion schools, and the message was transmitted on his WCBD radio station.

- Along with those who followed him, Frank Cherry (died 1963), the founder of the Black Hebrew Israelite religion, taught the existence of a flat Earth "surrounded by three layers of heaven."

## International Flat Earth Research Society

In 1956, Samuel Shenton created the International Flat Earth Research Society, better known as the "Flat Earth Society", as a successor to the Universal Zetetic Society, running it as "organising secretary" from his home in Dover, England. Given Shenton's interest in alternative science and technology, the emphasis on religious arguments was less than in the predecessor society. This was just before the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik; he responded: "Would sailing round the Isle of Wight prove that it were spherical? It is just the same for those satellites."

His primary aim was to reach children before they were convinced about a spherical Earth. Despite plenty of publicity, the space race eroded Shenton's support in Britain until 1967, when he started to gain attention during the Apollo program. When satellite images showed Earth as a sphere, Shenton remarked: "It's easy to see how a photograph like that could fool the untrained eye". Later asked about similar photographs taken by astronauts, he attributed curvature to the use of wide-angle lens, adding, "It's a deception of the public and it isn't right".

In 1969, Shenton persuaded Ellis Hillman, a Polytechnic of East London lecturer, to become president of the Flat Earth Society after attempts to convince Eden Thomas, a former chairman, to take on the role; but there is little evidence of any activity on his part until after Shenton's death, when he added most of Shenton's library to the archives of the Science Fiction Foundation he helped to establish.

Historical accounts and spoken history tell us the Land part may have been square, all in one mass at one time, then as now, the magnetic north being the Center. Vast cataclysmic events and shaking no doubt broke the land apart, divided the Land to be our present continents or islands as they exist today. One thing we know for sure about this world...the known inhabited world is Flat, Level, a Plain World.

– Flyer written by Charles K. Johnson, 1984.

Shenton died in 1971. Charles K. Johnson, a correspondent from California, inherited part of Shenton's library from Shenton's wife; he incorporated and became president of the International Flat Earth Research Society of America and Covenant People's Church in California. Over the next three decades, under his leadership, the Flat Earth Society grew to a reported 3,500 members.

Johnson spent years examining the studies of flat- and round-Earth theories and proposed evidence of a conspiracy against flat Earth: "The idea of a spinning globe is only a conspiracy of error that Moses, Columbus, and FDR all fought..." His article was published in the magazine Science Digest in 1980. It goes on to state: "If it is a sphere, the surface of a large body of water must be curved. The Johnsons have checked the surfaces of Lake Tahoe and the Salton Sea without detecting any curvature."

Johnson issued many publications and handled all membership applications. The most famous publication was Flat Earth News, a quarterly, four-page tabloid. Johnson paid for these publications through annual member dues costing US$ 6 to US$10 over the course of his leadership. Johnson cited the Bible for his beliefs, and he saw scientists as pulling a hoax which would replace religion with science.

The Flat Earth Society's most recent planet model is that humanity lives on a disc, with the North Pole at its centre and a 150-foot-high (46 m) wall of ice, Antarctica, at the outer edge. The resulting map resembles the symbol of the United Nations, which Johnson used as evidence for his position. In this model, the Sun and Moon are each 32 miles (51 km) in diameter.

The Flat Earth Society recruited members by speaking against the US government and all its agencies, particularly NASA. Much of the society's literature in its early days focused on interpreting the Bible to mean that the Earth is flat, although they did try to offer scientific explanations and evidence.

### Criticism

Eugenie Scott called the group an example of "extreme Biblical-literalist theology: The earth is flat because the Bible says it is flat, regardless of what science tells us".

According to some flat Earthers, the Flat Earth Society is a government-controlled organization whose true purpose is to make ridiculous claims about flat Earth and therefore discredit the flat Earth movement.

### Decline and relaunch

According to Charles K. Johnson, the membership of the group rose to 3,500 under his leadership but began to decline after a fire at his house in 1997 which destroyed all of the records and contacts of the society's members. Johnson's wife, who helped manage the membership database, died shortly thereafter. Johnson himself died on 19 March 2001.

In 2004, Daniel Shenton (not related to Samuel) resurrected the Flat Earth Society, basing it around a web-based discussion forum. In the late 1990s, Thomas Dolby 's 1984 album The Flat Earth inspired Shenton to look into the Flat Earth Society, and he came to believe in its ideas. He believes that no one has provided proof that the world is not flat. This eventually led to the official relaunch of the society in October 2009, and the creation of a new website, featuring a public collection of flat Earth literature and a wiki. Moreover, the society began accepting new members for the first time since 2001. Dolby accepted Shenton's offer of membership number 00001, although he does not believe the Earth is flat. As of July 2017, over 500 people had become members.

In 2013, part of this society broke away to form a new web-based group also featuring a forum and wiki.

## By country

### Canada

Flat Earth Society of Canada was established on 8 November 1970 by philosopher Leo Ferrari, writer Raymond Fraser and poet Alden Nowlan; and was active until 1984. Its archives are held at the University of New Brunswick.

Calling themselves "planoterrestrialists", their aims were quite different from other flat Earth societies. They claimed a prevailing problem of the new technological age was the willingness of people to accept theories "on blind faith and to reject the evidence of their own senses." The parodic intention of the Society appeared in the writings of Ferrari, as he attributed everything from gender to racial inequality on the globularist and the spherical Earth model. Ferrari even claimed to have nearly fallen off "the Edge" of the Earth at Brimstone Head on Fogo Island.

Ferrari was interviewed as an "expert" in the 1990 flat Earth mockumentary In Search of the Edge by Pancake Productions (a reference to the expression "as flat as a pancake"). In the accompanying study guide, Ferrari is outed as a "globularist", a nonce word for someone who believes the Earth is spherical. The real intent of the film, which was part-funded by the Ontario Arts Council and National Film Board of Canada, was to promote schoolchildren's critical thinking and media literacy by " to prove in convincing fashion, something everyone knew to be false."

#### Relaunch

Multi-media artist Kay Burns re-created the Flat Earth Society of Canada as an art project with her alter ego Iris Taylor as its president. Burns created an installation entitled the Museum of the Flat Earth, which included some artefacts from the 1970 group. It was exhibited in 2016 at the Flat Earth Outpost Café in Shoal Bay, Newfoundland.

### Italy

In Italy there are no centralised societies on flat Earth. However, since the 2010s, small groups of conspiracy theorists, who carry out meetings, started to emerge and to spread flat Earth theories. Among these are Calogero Greco, Albino Galuppini and Agostino Favari, who in 2018–2019 organised several meetings in Palermo, Sicily, with an entry price of € 20.

Among their claims, some include:

- NASA is similar to Disneyland and that astronauts are actors.

- The April 2019 supermassive black hole photo at the core of the supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 is fake.

- The proof Earth is flat lies in a filled bottle where, if placed horizontally, water never curves.

In addition to these, it is their common belief that the United States has a plan to create in Europe a new America open to everyone, where the only value is consumerism and that George Soros commands a satanic globalist conspiracy. They reject the past existence of dinosaurs, the Darwinian theory of evolution, and the authority of the scientific community, claiming scientists are Freemasons.

Former leader of the Five Star Movement political party Beppe Grillo showed interest in the group, admitting to admiring their free speech spirit and to wanting to participate at the May 2019 conference. However, Grillo did not appear.

## Internet-era resurgence

In November 2017 "more than five hundred people... paid as much as $249 each to attend "the first-ever Flat Earth Conference", in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. According to a 2018 YouGov opinion poll, "just 66% of millennials firmly believe" that the earth is round, with celebrities (rapper B.o.B., basketball players Kyrie Irving, Wilson Chandler, Draymond Green) advocating for flatness.

### Sociological explanations for counterfactual beliefs

In the Information Age, the availability of communications technology and social media like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have made it easy for individuals, famous or not, to spread disinformation and attract others to erroneous ideas. One of the topics that has flourished in this environment is that of the flat Earth. These sites have made it easier for like-minded theorists to connect with one another and mutually reinforce their beliefs. Social media has had a "levelling effect", in that experts have less sway in the public mind than they used to.

YouTube had faced criticism for allowing the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories through its platform. In 2019, YouTube stated that it was making changes in its software to reduce the distribution of videos based on conspiracy theories including flat Earth.

In the documentary Behind the Curve (2018) (which follows prominent modern flat-Earthers including Mark Sargent and Patricia Steere, as well as astrophysicists and psychologists who attempt to explain the growing fad), professor of psychiatry Joe Pierre offers as explanations: the Dunning-Kruger effect (the phenomenon whereby ignorance in a given field makes people unable to recognize their own ignorance or lack of ability in that field); misunderstandings of simple observation; pseudoscientific practices which fail to separate reliable from unreliable conclusions; and a progressive divergence from reality that starts with a belief that conventional information sources and the government cannot be trusted.

Out of the necessity to explain photographs of the earth in space, the observations of astronauts, why all major institutions such as governments, media outlets, schools, scientists, and airlines assert that the world is a sphere, etc., modern flat-Earthers very commonly embrace some form of conspiracy theory. As Darryle Marble, a speaker at the Flat Earth Conference, told his audience, after watching hours of YouTube conspiracy videos on Sandy Hook, 9/11, false flags, the Bilderbergers, Rothschilds, Illuminati – "Each thing started to make that much more sense. I was already primed to receive the whole flat-Earth idea, because we had already come to the conclusion that we were being deceived about so many other things. So of course they would lie to us about this."

Conspiracy belief is often intertwined with conservative Christian belief. According to internet influencer Rob Skiba, "the ultimate motivation" of the (alleged) conspiracy of a round earth in space, "many of us have come to believe, is hiding God." Reading the Bible, "when you break down the text of what it represents, there's no way you can get a spinning heliocentric globe out of anything in the Bible." (According to author Alan Burdick, "in style and substance, the flat-Earth movement is a close cousin of creationism.")

They tend to not trust observations they have not made themselves, and often distrust or disagree with each other. Patricia Steere admitted in Behind the Curve that she wouldn't believe an event like the Boston Marathon bombing was real unless she had gotten her own leg blown off. Flat Earth believers in the documentary also professed belief in conspiracy theories about vaccines, genetically modified organisms, chemtrails, 9/11, and transgender people; some said dinosaurs and evolution were also fake, and that heliocentrism is a form of Sun worship.

The scientific experts in Behind the Curve pointed to confirmation bias as a way to maintain a counterfactual belief, by cherry-picking only supporting evidence, and dismissing any disconfirming evidence as part of the purported global conspiracy.

Some flat Earth believers, such as authors Zen Garcia and Edward Hendrie, cite the Christian Bible as evidence. Some critics of the flat Earth idea, such as astronomer Danny R. Faulkner, are young Earth creationists and attempt to explain away the Bible's supposed flat Earth language.

On 3 May 2018, Steven Novella analysed the modern belief in a flat Earth, and concluded that, despite what most people think about the subject, the believers are being sincere in their belief that the Earth is flat, and are not "just saying that to wind us up". He stated that:

In the end that is the core malfunction of the flat-earthers, and the modern populist rejection of expertise in general. It is a horrifically simplistic view of the world that ignores (partly out of ignorance, and partly out of motivated reasoning) to real complexities of our civilisation. It is ultimately lazy, childish, and self-indulgent, resulting in a profound level of ignorance drowning in motivated reasoning.

The British sceptical activist Michael Marshall attended the annual Flat Earth UK Convention on 27–29 April 2018 and noted disagreement on several views among believers in a flat Earth. To Marshall, one of the most telling moments at the convention was the "Flat Earth Addiction" test that was based on a checklist used to determine whether someone is in a cult, without the convention attendees realising the possibility of themselves being in a cult.

### Beliefs

Based on the speakers at the 2018 UK's Flat Earth UK Convention, believers in a flat Earth vary widely in their views. While most agree upon a disc-shaped Earth, some are convinced the Earth is diamond-shaped. Furthermore, while most believers do not believe in outer space and none believe humans have ever travelled there, they vary widely in their views of the universe. (Flat Earth International Conferences, organized by Robbie Davidson, are unaffiliated with the Flat Earth Society. According to Davidson, the "Earth is... a stationary plane, with the sun, moon, and stars inside a dome", while the Flat Earth Society promotes a model in which Earth is "a disk flying through space", and which Davidson finds "incredibly ridiculous".)

Filmmakers of Behind the Curve attended another flat Earth conference at which a substantial number of people believed the Earth was an infinite plane, potentially with more continents beyond the purported circular ice wall of Antarctica. Members of the Flat Earth Society and other flat-Earthers claim that NASA and other government agencies conspire to fabricate evidence that the Earth is spherical. According to the most widely spread version of current flat-Earth theory, NASA is guarding the Antarctic ice wall that surrounds Earth. Flat-Earthers argue that NASA manipulates and fabricates its satellite images, based on observations that the color of the oceans changes from image to image and that continents seem to be in different places. The publicly perpetuated image is kept up through a large-scale practice of "compartmentalization", according to which only a select number of individuals have knowledge about the truth.

Research by Carlos Diaz Ruiz and Tomas Nilsson on the arguments that flat Earthers wield, shows three factions, each one subscribing to its own set of beliefs.

The first faction subscribes to a faith-based conflict in which atheists use science to suppress the Christian faith. Their argument is that atheists use pseudo-science – evolution, Big Bang, and the round Earth – to make people believe that God is an abstract idea, not real. Instead, their arguments use the Scripture – word-by-word – to support an argument that enables God to really exist. This faction frames flat-Earth arguments as revelatory. (For example, a literal interpretation of Revelation 7 -- "I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth..."—indicates the earth must have four corners.)

The second faction believes in an overarching conspiracy for knowledge suppression. Building upon the premise that knowledge is power, the flat Earth conspiracy argues that a shadowy group of "elites" control knowledge to remain in power. In their view, lying about the fundamental nature of the Earth primes the population to believe a host of other conspiracies. This faction frames flat-Earth arguments as liberatory.

The third faction believes that knowledge is personal and experiential. They are dismissive of knowledge that comes from authoritative sources, especially book knowledge. This faction would like to find out themselves whether the Earth truly is round or flat. Because they distrust book knowledge and mathematical proof, this faction believes that the Earth is flat because their observations and lived experiences make it appear as if we live on a flat surface. This faction frames flat-Earth arguments as experimental.

Fellow flat earthers are not exempt from distrust and belief that they may be in cahoots with round earthers. In Behind the Curve, conference attendees were warned against attending by Math Powerland a.k.a. Matt Boylan, who posted videos alleging others were working for the CIA or Warner Brothers. At the 2017 Flat Earth conference:

several speakers made reference to "shills" within the community, people purporting to espouse the theory but who in fact belong to some deep-state counterintelligence program aimed at making the movement seem laughable. In 2016, Dubay, of the "200 Proofs" video, called out Mark Sargent, Jeran Campanella, and other figures as "suspected controlled opposition shills," and last year in a radio interview he called the November conference a "shill-fest." Even the flat-Earth bureaucracy is suspect. At the end of the conference's second day, a panelist mentioned a plan to set up a nonprofit to carry on the work. This brought a rebuke from a woman in the audience. "You had me up until I heard the gentleman say, 'The reason we had to scramble to get the 501(c)(3),' " she said. "In my research, I found out that's a Luciferian contract."

### Social and experimental activities of skeptics and believers

Organisations sceptical of fringe beliefs have occasionally performed tests to demonstrate the local curvature of the Earth. One of these, conducted by members of the Independent Investigations Group of the Center for Inquiry, at the Salton Sea on 10 June 2018 was attended also by supporters of a flat Earth, and the encounter between the two groups was recorded by the National Geographic Explorer. This experiment successfully demonstrated the curvature of the Earth via the disappearance over distance of boat-based and shore-based targets. IIG founder Jim Underdown reported that the flat Earth supporters in attendance immediately rejected the results, denying the validity of the demonstration after the fact, and the discussion degenerated into tangents about Moon landing conspiracy theories and alleged NASA cover-ups.

The 2018 documentary Behind the Curve followed two groups of American flat Earth believers who were attempting to gather first-hand empirical proof for that belief. One group from the YouTube show GlobeBusters used a ring laser gyroscope in an attempt to show the Earth was not rotating. Instead, they detected the actual 15-degree-per-hour rotation of the Earth, a measurement they dismissed as corrupted by the device somehow picking up the rotation of the " firmament ". Another group used lasers in an attempt to show a several-mile stretch of water is perfectly flat by measuring the distance between the water level and the laser beam along three vertical posts. They were unable to align the beam as they expected to because the surface of the still water was in fact bent by several feet over the distance measured; the experiment was dismissed as inconclusive.

Behind the Curve illustrated how flat Earth believers rely on poorly-verified claims. Mark Sargent claimed to have watched flightaware.com for a very long time to check if any flights traveled between continents in the Southern Hemisphere, which in his disc model would be much further apart than they are on the globe. He stated that he saw no such flights, and took this as evidence for the disc model. Caltech astrophysicist Hannalore Gerling-Dunsmore went to the site and immediately found flights that contradicted Sargent's claims.

The solar eclipse of 21 August 2017 gave rise to numerous YouTube videos purporting to show how the details of the eclipse prove the Earth is flat.

In 2017, "the Tunisian and Arab scientific and educational world" had a scandal when a Ph.D. student at the University of Sfax in Tunisia submitted a Ph.D. dissertation "declaring Earth to be flat, unmoving, young (only 13,500 years of age), and the centre of the universe". In 2018, astronomer Yaël Nazé analyzed the controversy over the dissertation. The dissertation, which had not been approved by the committee overseeing environmental studies theses, had been made public and denounced in 2017 by Hafedh Ateb, a founder of the Tunisian Astronomical Society, on his Facebook page.

In March 2019, social media personality Logan Paul released a satirical documentary film about the flat Earth called FLAT EARTH: To The Edge And Back.

The Flat Earth Society has a Twitter account, @FlatEarthOrg. This account shares information about their group and promotes flat Earth ideologies.

#### Mike Hughes

Mike Hughes, a daredevil/stuntman, planned to use a homebuilt crewed rocket to reach outer space. In a practice flight on 22 February 2020, the early deployment and separation of the return parachute allowed his rocket to fall unimpeded from an altitude of several hundred feet, killing him instantly.

After Hughes' death, his public relations representative Darren Shuster stated that Hughes "didn't believe in flat Earth" and that it was "a PR stunt" to get publicity, while Michael Linn, who worked on the documentary Rocketman: Mad Mike's Mission to Prove the Flat-Earth, said that Hughes' belief appeared genuine.

### Social consequences and responses

Behind the Curve ' s filmmakers spoke with several people who said that as a result of their flat Earth beliefs they had lost romantic partners and no longer spoke to many friends and family. One said he was tired of being told he was an idiot. The Facebook group Flat Earth Match is a dating site used by some to find romantic partners who share these beliefs. Experts pointed out that after social ties to people outside the flat Earth community are lost, one consequence of abandoning the flat Earth belief would be loss of all remaining relationships.

Caltech physicist Spiros Michaelakis stated that instead of denigrating flat Earthers, scientists should do a better job of teaching scientific facts. Various scientific and medical experts in the documentary supported improving scientific literacy and avoiding marginalization of flat Earthers. They pointed out that people who distrust all of science, including truths about vaccines, evolution, and climate change, would make poorly informed-decisions, and that people who do not exercise the skill of critical thinking can be easily manipulated. They also pointed out that some believers were motivated to spread false ideas, and that because they are unconstrained by facts they can mutate and become less harmless than a mere belief about the shape of the Earth.

### Prevalence

In 2020, it was reported that based on polling by Datafolha, 7% of Brazilians believed in a flat Earth. A 2018 YouGov poll found that around 4% of the population of the United States believed in flat Earth, while the POLES 2021 Survey found around 10% of the United States population believed that the Earth is flat. A 2019 YouGov survey found that around 3% of British people supported flat Earth.

## The term "flat-Earther"

The term flat-Earth-man, used in a derogatory sense to mean anyone who holds ridiculously antiquated or impossible views, predates the more compact flat-earther. It was recorded in 1908: "Fewer votes than one would have thought possible for any human candidate, were he even a flat-earth-man." According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first use of the term flat-Earther was in 1934 in Punch magazine: "Without being a bigoted flat-earther, perceived the nuisance... of fiddling about with globes... in order to discover the South Seas."


The Last Time I Committed Suicide

# The Last Time I Committed Suicide

## Abstract

The Last Time I Committed Suicide is a 1997 American drama film directed by Stephen T. Kay. Based on a 1950 letter written by Neal Cassady to Jack Kerouac, it stars Thomas Jane as Cassady. The cast also includes Keanu Reeves, Adrien Brody, Gretchen Mol and Claire Forlani. It received a limited release on June 20, 1997.

The action of the letter took place in 1946, when Cassady was 20.

## Plot

Told from Neal Cassady's (Thomas Jane) perspective, in a form of a letter, the film follows his life before and after the suicide attempt by his longtime lover, Joan (Claire Forlani). Demonstrating Neal's active mind and ever-changing thoughts, the film jumps back and forth between before and after the attempt.

The story begins the day of Joan's suicide attempt, with Neal sitting in the hall outside Joan's hospital room. The story then jumps to the day before the suicide attempt, where a rain-soaked Neal whisks Joan away from her job. They have an intimate night together. After, she sits on the bed, sad, but Neal keeps professing his love to her. The scene returns to the hospital room, silence between them. Neal is told he has to leave.

The story moves ahead, with Ben (Adrien Brody) visiting Neal. He asks Neal if he has been back to the hospital to which Neal replies no. It cuts ahead to Neal wide awake, drinking coffee and eating bread with Ben. In a manic state, Neal tells Ben about the story he wants to write.

Neal encounters his friend Harry (Keanu Reeves), who suggests the two of them pick up some girls and take them out on a road trip in a stolen car. They all drive out into the country, flying down the roads. Later, at Neal's job at a tire plant, Neal's friend Jerry finds Neal obviously high, and saves him from getting in trouble.

Eventually, Neal makes amends with Joan, and decides to settle down with her. On his way to pick up a suit for a job interview, he runs into a drunk Harry, who asks him to come in for a beer. Neal ends up drunk, and Harry convinces him to call Mary (Gretchen Mol), his teenaged ex-girlfriend. When Mary sneaks out of her house, her mother calls the police, who arrest Neal just as he is about to leave. He is allowed to make a phone call, but he doesn't know Joan's phone number. When Mary refuses to testify against Neal, the charges are dropped. The police nevertheless hold him on the false premise of suspicion of burglary. After spending two weeks in jail, Neal is released. He goes to Joan's house, but finds it empty; he waits, but eventually it is obvious she isn't coming back. He walks back down the porch, steals a car, and disappears.

Neal finishes writing the letter and places it in an envelope. Walking away, he throws the pages of his novel into the air, paper flying and landing everywhere.

## Cast

- Thomas Jane as Neal Cassady

- Claire Forlani as Joan

- Adrien Brody as Ben

- Keanu Reeves as Harry

- Gretchen Mol as Mary

- Jim Haynie as Jerry

## Production

Filming occurred in Ogden, Utah and Los Angeles, California. It was the directorial debut of New Zealand -born American filmmaker Stephen Kay, whose prior credits included small acting roles on television.

In a June 1997 interview with E!, Keanu Reeves recalled "I knew Stephen. He had written this script about Neal Cassady. I told him I dug it. 'I dug it, brother'—one of the most fun things about the piece was calling everybody 'brother.' I love that fraternity. 'Hey, brother.' 'Hey, brother, man.'—and a couple of months down the road, Stephen asked if I was interested in playing Harry." He also revealed he was a fan of Cassady and other Beat writers as a teenager, reflecting that "To me, these writers represented the epic language they used invoking the Greek and Roman gods. That Bacchus and Dionysian aspect resonated with me, and I used that to try and read my life and break out of myself, search for new sensations--living the moment, staying up late, traveling, experiencing."

To better suit the role of Harry, Reeves allowed his weight to balloon out to 200 pounds. However, he had already gained a substantial amount of weight prior to accepting the role; this was due to a back injury he sustained in a game of hockey during the lead up to the filming of 1996's Chain Reaction. Reeves appeared at his normal weight in Feeling Minnesota —released in September 1996 between Chain Reaction and The Last Time I Committed Suicide —since it was filmed prior to Chain Reaction and the hockey injury.

## Music

The score was handled by composer Tyler Bates, who later collaborated with Reeves on the John Wick franchise. On July 29, 1997, a soundtrack album was released by jazz label Blue Note Records. It included the licensed jazz songs used throughout, as well as some of the original music created for the film.

## Release

After screening at the 1997 edition of the Sundance Festival in Utah, The Last Time I Committed Suicide was picked up by indie distributor Roxie Releasing. Their strategy for the film was to give it a platform release. Producer Peter Locke stated in early 1997 that "this is a film that appeals to a select niche and will be review-driven." The film would end up making only $46,362 against a budget of $4 million, following its release on June 20, 1997. It was intended to be released earlier in June, but was pushed to later in the month, as to avoid competition with Con Air and Speed 2: Cruise Control. A month prior to the release, director Stephen Kay commented in an interview that "the film was going to be released June 6, the day the potential blockbusters Con Air and Speed 2 are opening. I said, 'Do it! We'll just run an ad campaign that says, "The movie that Keanu Reeves did instead of Speed 2! "' But the distributors panicked...They decided the big monsters would gobble us up and backed off." Reeves at the time criticized the summer release date. He remarked "I think they've really picked a good time to bring this out--in the summer against Batman & Robin. Stephen Kay and I both feel it should have come out in the fall, that it's a real fall picture. Know what I mean? It's 50 degrees in New York, you want to go see a picture. The Last Time I Committed Suicide, Neal Cassady...why not?."

The film was subsequently released onto VHS and laserdisc during 1997, and in its true aspect ratio, having originally been matted for theaters. On September 13, 2005, it was re-released onto DVD by Universal. The rights to the film are currently held by Multicom Entertainment, who purchased the library of producer Kushner-Locke in 2013. Multicom have since released it to streaming services Amazon Prime and Tubi.

On July 6, 2021, it was released to Blu-ray for the first time by MVD Entertainment Group.

### Reception

The Last Time I Committed Suicide received mixed to positive reviews upon its release. In a review published on June 20, 1997, Stephen Holden of The New York Times praised the film's cinematography, writing, "Almost every shot is drenched in rich period detail so acute it has a surreal edge. When Cassady visits an office where one of his girlfriends works as a typist, the place is a hushed dimly lit cathedral to capitalism in which elaborately coiffed secretaries sit in rigid formation behind giant manual typewriters. Later, when Cassady and some friends steal a bright red convertible for a joy ride, the image of the cherry-red car jouncing through a field with snowcapped mountains in the background has the nostalgic tug of a Saturday Evening Post cover illustration." Variety remarked that the film "works well as an evocation of the youthful unrest that would soon find cogent subcultural expression."

A critical review came from CNN 's Paul Tatara, who states that the film's style "gives you a major headache." He also criticized Reeves' performance, stating that the actor is "void of talent" and "reciting his lines as if they're non-related words strung together as a memory exercise." Tatara concluded by pointing out that "The degrading treatment of the women in the film is its most offensive element." Kevin Thomas from the Los Angeles Times had a more positive view on Reeves' role in the film, writing on June 20, 1997, that it "leaves you with a feeling of real respect for Reeves for showing up in this modestly budgeted film instead of Speed 2." However, he characterized Thomas Jane's portrayal of Cassady as "not all that distinctive", claiming that "we wouldn't have much reason to be watching this young man if his name weren't Neal Cassady." On a June 28, 1997 episode of Siskel and Ebert, The Last Time I Committed Suicide received a thumbs up from Gene Siskel and a thumbs down from Roger Ebert. Ebert stated that beat writer Lawrence Ferlinghetti, still alive, would have laughed at it. Three weeks later, Ferlinghetti responded to the program in a letter, in which he criticized the film for its "clean cut" portrayal of Cassady.

The Last Time I Committed Suicide was included in Magill's Cinema Annual 1998: A Survey of the Films of 1997, with the book stating that the film "has a beautiful and haunting look to it", and that "while not totally successful, The Last Time I Committed Suicide is nonetheless more successful at capturing the energy of the beats than previous films, such as Heart Beat (1980)." In a retrospective review, Levi Asher of Literary Kicks wrote, "As the world was waiting for Francis Ford Coppola to get busy filming his much-hyped and still-unmade version of On the Road, an unknown writer/director named Stephen Kay was quietly working on his own movie about the Neal Cassady legend. The most notable thing about it is probably the slick editing, which makes creative use of black-and-white, color, stop motion, etc., all blended into an easy-going, fast-moving, almost MTV -like whole. This film will not tax your brain."


Isle of Man Railway

# Isle of Man Railway

## Abstract

The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) (Manx: Raad Yiarn Vannin) is a narrow gauge steam -operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The line is 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge and 15 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (25 kilometres) long. It is the remainder of what was a much larger network (over 46 miles or 74 kilometres) that also served the western town of Peel, the northern town of Ramsey and the mining village of Foxdale. Now in government ownership, it uses original rolling stock and locomotives and there are few concessions to modernity.

## History

The 15 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (25-kilometre) line from Douglas to Port Erin is the last remaining line of the former Isle of Man Railway Company, formed in 1870. Its first line, from Douglas to Peel, opened on 1 July 1873, followed by the Port Erin line on 1 August 1874. Initially the Port Erin line had been planned to terminate at Castletown, but the construction of deep water docks at Port Erin caused an extension to the line. A few years after completion, the dock was destroyed by heavy seas and the idea of deep water vessels abandoned there. The remains of the breakwater are still visible at low tide.

A third line was built in 1878–1879 by the Manx Northern Railway, from St John's (on the Douglas to Peel line) to Ramsey. A further short line was constructed from St John's to Foxdale in 1885 to serve the lead mines there. Although it was built by the nominally independent Foxdale Railway, it was leased to and operated by the Manx Northern. The loss of the mineral traffic from Foxdale and competition for the Douglas-Ramsey passenger traffic from the Manx Electric Railway placed the Manx Northern Railway in financial difficulties. It was taken over by the IMR in 1904.

During the mid-1920s the IMR formed a bus subsidiary that operated most of the Island's bus services, and helped the railway to remain profitable into the 1960s. The first serious examination of the long term viability of the railway came with the Howden Report in 1949, which recommended the closure of the Ramsey line, which was already losing money; the eventual closure of the Peel line, which was breaking even in the late 1940s; and the retention of the then profitable Port Erin line. Howden also reported that the existing equipment of the railway had an economic life of 10–25 years. Economies were made throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. These included the ending of evening and Sunday services, the deferral of track maintenance, and cuts to train mileage as locomotives became unserviceable. To further reduce expenses, there were winter closures of the Peel line (1960–61 only) and the Ramsey line after September 1961, but A. M. Sheard, the then general manager, refused to close the Ramsey line which by this time was losing a considerable amount of money each year.

Following the closure of the County Donegal Railways in 1960, the IMR purchased the CDR's two most modern diesel railcars, which were then largely used on the Peel line in summer, and after 1962 worked the whole of the winter service except when withdrawn for maintenance. The system closed after the 1965 season but was briefly revived when the Marquess of Ailsa obtained a lease and reopened all three routes in 1967. Both the Peel and Ramsey lines shut following the 1968 season, but goods services between Peel and Milntown (just short of Ramsey) continued until mid-1969. Traffic was poor on the two northern lines, especially that to Ramsey, so after the end of the 1968 season, Ailsa decided to concentrate on passenger service on the South Line for three more seasons until he took the option to end his lease at the close of the 1971 season.

There were occasional empty coaching stock workings between Douglas and St John's in 1970 and 1971 for the retrieval of stored stock between seasons. During this time most of the early wooden framed carriages were moved to St John's, where they were lost in a fire in July 1975. The Peel and Ramsey routes and the Foxdale line were lifted in 1975. The IMR operated services between Douglas and Port Erin after Lord Ailsa took his five-year option, beginning in 1972 through the centenaries of the Peel and Port Erin lines in 1973 and 1974 respectively. In 1975, the Port Erin line operated only from its southwestern terminus to Castletown, but it was found that half a railway made twice the loss. The government sponsored a short extension of the service from Castletown to Ballasalla in 1976, and, after extensive campaigning during the 1976 Tynwald elections, the railway returned to Douglas in 1977, the last year in which the railway was operated by the IMR. Following nationalisation the railway has continued to be operated seasonally, for many years from Easter weekend until the end of September, more recently from around 1 March to early November.

## Ownership

Formed in 1870 with the first line following three years later, the Isle of Man Railway Company operated services until 1977 (see below) merging with the Manx Northern Railway and Foxdale Railway in 1905. The railway is now marketed as the Steam Railway to differentiate it from the Manx Electric Railway, operated by the same department. It was marketed as "Isle of Man Railway" until closure in 1965. From 1969 to 1972, it operated as the Isle of Mann Victorian Steam Railway Company Limited, reverting to Isle of Man Railway. When nationalised in 1978 it fell under the banner of "Isle of Man Railway s ", along with the Manx Electric Railway. Re-branding to Isle of Man Passenger Transport took place from 1984 but the steam line was not affected, and this reverted to Isle of Man Railways from 1990, when a re-branding exercise took place with the emphasis on the Victorian origins of the railway. A change in management style occurred in 1999, and trains, trams and buses were presented as Isle of Man Transport. The electric railway was affected more by this change, with a series of non-historical and modern liveries, but in 2007 this was changed and the railway is marketed once more as the Isle of Man Railway. In keeping with the historical aspect, coaches and locomotives carry original names and transfers. The banner heading of all the railways was again changed in 2009 and became collectively known as Isle of Man Heritage Railways, although the "heritage" tag has been dropped latterly. Joint timetabling with the Manx Electric Railway sees the line titled as the Steam Railway in marketing material.

## Locations and Maps

### South Line

### Peel Line

### North Line

### Foxdale Line

### Knockaloe Branch

In addition to the main routes there was also a short-lived branch line/spur off the Peel Line between the terminus ad St. John's serving an alien internment camp of the same name, this operated between 1915 and 1920. The line was on the outskirts of Peel near Glenfaba Mill and climbed steeply in a southerly direction for about 0.7 miles until it reached the village of Patrick. It then turned west along the access road into the internment camp which had been built in the grounds of Knockaloe Farm. The total length of the branch line was about 1.2 miles.

## South Line described

Today's railway is a fraction of its original size: it once served the western town of Peel, the northern town of Ramsey and the small mining village of Foxdale. Since 1969 only the southern line has been operational. Although it is only about half of its former size, Douglas Station is still an impressive complex. After crossing the River Douglas, the line climbs the two-and-a-half-mile-long 1-in-65 Nunnery Bank through a wide rock cutting that brings it through a large estate, and past an industrial estate to the White Hoe, where the Island's largest brewery is passed on the left of the train before crossing the first bridge.

The train continues to climb to Port Soderick, just before which passengers get the first view of the sea at Keristal, before descending into the railway station. The train then passes through Crogga Woods, under another bridge at Meary Veg (centre for the Island's sewage treatment works) and climbs, reaching its summit (209 feet or 63.7 metres, marked by a board visible from the train) close to the site of Ballacostain Halt. The train descends to Santon, the only intermediate station in substantially original condition. From here the train descends at 1 in 60 to Ballasalla railway station, with interesting sea-cliff views to the east. Regular service trains formerly passed each other here. After Ballasalla the line runs over relatively flat land past the request halt at Ronaldsway to the ancient capital of Castletown.

After Castletown the railway crosses the Silver Burn and heads northwest across country to the diminutive request stop at Ballabeg Station. It then turns west for the short run to Colby, which is popular with the locals. After a request stop at the Level the train continues to Port St Mary, with views of Bradda Head and Milner's Tower on this stretch of line to Port Erin. Port Erin railway station is home to the Whistle Stop Coffee Shop, providing light refreshments, and the Isle of Man Railway Museum, established in 1975 with two locomotives and rolling stock including the Governor's Saloon from the opening of the line in 1873.

The majority of the line runs through countryside, with only small stretches close to built-up areas. Many people start or end their journey in Port Erin, a Victorian seaside resort, or in Castletown, the ancient capital. Ronaldsway Halt, between Ballasalla and Castletown, is a few hundred yards' walk from the airport. There are several farm crossings and rural request stops, which largely serve adjoining fields and local communities, especially on the southernmost section which passes through agricultural land. The line passes along the southern plain after traversing the more hilly landscape north of Ballasalla.

## Post-Nationalisation

When the railway was nationalised in 1978 Bill Jackson was appointed the first manager. During his time in office much progress was made, not all liked by the preservationists and supporters: negative developments overshadowing his tenure included the loss of the large railway yard at Douglas and the unpopular rebuild of No. 12 locomotive Hutchinson. Upon his retirement in 1987 he was replaced by Robert Smith, whose style was totally different and who made many changes. Smith masterminded the Year of Railways in 1993 and the celebrations that followed. Rolling stock returned to original "purple lake" livery and No.s 10, 15 and 1 (in that order) were returned to service. When he resigned in 1999 he was replaced by David Howard, with previous bus experience at various UK operators and rail experience from his time at Tyne and Wear Metro. He was more inclined to a corporate approach and the railway had to follow suit. His time in office, finishing in 2006, will be remembered for the thrust on health and safety issues, such as high-visibility clothing and warning signs, as part of a Government-wide drive.

The government commissioned a study to see if it would be worthwhile to operate commuter services to help relieve the road traffic congestion in and around Douglas, and although experimental services were implemented in 2007, these operate only during T.T. race periods. The study recommended against such development. Nevertheless, almost all the line was relaid in the first few years of this century as part of the Department of Transport's IRIS sewerage scheme, with all but one of the numerous level crossings converted from manual to automatic operation, saving the cost of employing crossing keepers. After Howard resigned, the Department of Tourism and Leisure 's Director of Leisure, Mike Ball, stepped in as acting director of public transport, and in early 2007 the leisure and public transport divisions of the department combined into "service delivery", Ball becoming "Director of service delivery" under the minister Adrian Earnshaw appointed in November 2006. Ian Longworth was appointed Director of Public Transport in 2009 and since then the railway became part of the Department of Community, Culture and Leisure.

A number of new services were introduced since the arrival of the new director, including evening excursion trains, a Rush Hour event at the start of each season, and family-oriented events including a Teddy Bears' Picnic and Fathers' Day specials. A restoration programme for the unique collection of rolling stock and locomotives remains ongoing; this has seen two saloon-type carriages completely rebuilt and back in traffic as part of the popular dining train with several more carriages to be restored, one of which has been out of traffic for nearly half a century. Locomotive restorations also continue, though the director retired in September 2022 and to date the role has not been replaced. The one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the closed Peel Line was commemorated in 2023 with an extended Manx Heritage Transport Festival (billed once again as the Year of Railways) echoing in 1993 events, with the similar anniversary of the Port Erin Line due to be similarly celebrated in the summer of 2024 during another week-long event, original locomotives No.4 Loch and No.5 Mona taking a central part in the event with a combined age of three hundred years, though the latter is not operational, having been cosmetically restored by the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association for the 2023 event.

## Locomotives

### Steam

All but one of the railway's distinctive locomotives were built by Beyer, Peacock and Company of Manchester between 1873 and 1926, with 16 steam locomotives in total. As of October 2023 there are four locomotives in traffic: No.4 Loch, No.11 Maitland, No.13 Kissack and M.N.Ry. No.4 Caledonia. In addition, No. 10 G.H. Wood and No.12 Hutchinson as of May 2024 are undergoing rebuilds. The Isle of Man Railway Museum is home to No.1 Sutherland of 1873 and No.5 Mona of 1874, with other locomotives No.6 Peveril at Port St. Mary Station and No.9 Douglas being cosmetically restored by the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association. Only No.2 Derby has been lost, with only the frames of No.7 Tynwald in existence, privately owned off-island and No.3 Pender in the Manchester Science Museum.

### Diesel

The railway also possesses three diesel locomotives: No.17 Viking which was withdrawn in 2010, No.18 Ailsa, used as shunting locomotive at Douglas Station and the unnamed No. 21, a diesel electric locomotive delivered in December 2013. A number of smaller shunting locomotives and people carriers for departmental use also exist including two Motor-Rail units (No.24 Betsy and No.25 Sprout) based at Port Erin Station and Douglas Stations respectively, and two Wickham people carriers (No.22 and No.23) used on departmental work and fire train duties as well as spells in use on the Manx Electric Railway when required. There are also two diesel railcar units (No.19 & No.20) which are in storage at Douglas Station partially restored having last operated in 1995.

## Carriages

About 30 carriages remain on the railway, of which 18 are in service, two in the Isle of Man Railway Museum, and the rest in storage. Several vehicles were sold off-island in 1975 for preservation, and at least one has been preserved privately on the Island. Over 12 out-of-use carriages were lost in a fire that engulfed the large carriage shed at St John's in 1975, and more were damaged beyond economic repair, including most of the remaining Manx Northern six-wheelers. There is an ongoing maintenance programme for returning carriages to traffic, which saw two saloons completely rebuilt and returned to traffic in 2011, with a further two in 2012, all of which now form part of the dining train.

In the winter of 2013, a replica of Empress Van F.27 was built on a steel underframe as a kitchen to work with the saloons as a dining train. Significant work was also done on the Cardinal's Saloon F.35, which is used as the bar carriage, and the other saloons have being converted recently to dining cars seating 66 in total, giving the six saloon set as of 2015. Further restored stock include 'pairs' carriages F.62 and F.63 in 2021 and 2022 respectively, timber framed F.11 in 2022 and work also ongoing on sister F.10 which is receiving similar treatment. F.15 also returned to service in the summer of 2022 with the programme of restorations ultimately to aim for three rakes of five or six compartment carriages.

Serviceable carriages at May 2024 are F.9, F.15, F.18, F.26, F.39 (the Foxdale Coach, numbered M.N.Ry. No.17 and restored to 1887 appearance), F.45, F.46, F.47, F.48, F.49, F.54, F.62 and F.63 with both F.10 and F.11 undergoing restoration works. In addition to these the dining train is made up of F.27 (ii) (a replica 1897-built Empress Van) and saloons F.29, F.30, F.31, F.32 and F.35. The remaining surviving carriages are stored in various states of repair, with Ducal Saloon F.75 in the museum with other non-passenger stock. Also on the railway is privately owned six-wheel Manx Northern Railway carriage M.N.Ry. No.6 which occasionally sees use during events. Withdrawn and stored carriages which remain on the Island are F.21, F.25, F.43 - all at Port Erin Station with F.66, F.67 and F.74 at Jurby Airfield. A number of carriages are off-island, notably M.N.Ry. No.3 in Suffolk with M.N.Ry. No.1 amnd M.N.Ry. No.14 in private ownership with F.68 displayed at the Vale of Rheidol Railway since 2024 in restored condition.

## Operation

The IMR has always had a marked seasonal pattern in traffic. Services evolved around two main considerations: the need to connect with ferries to and from the UK and Ireland, and to transport day trippers out of the major termini. The railway never evolved appreciable commuter traffic, so local traffic tended to revolve around shopping, attending markets, and trips to "Town".

### 1873–1879

When the Isle of Man and Manx Northern Railways opened between 1873 and 1879, the basic service on all three main routes consisted of four or five trains a day. The first departures were timed to arrive in Douglas just before 08:30 to connect with the morning ferries to the UK. The trains returned from Douglas shortly after 09:00, crossing the second inbound trains of the day en route. All three routes then had a late morning/lunchtime, and late afternoon trains in both the up and down directions, with the day's service ending with an early evening departure from Douglas. The February 1878 timetable shows departures from Douglas to Peel at 09:00, 11:00, 14:15, 17:15 and 19:40, and to Port Erin at 08:30, 10:10, 14:10, 17:00, and 19:35. From Peel to Douglas trains departed at 07:40, 10:05, 13:00, 16:00, and 18:30, and from Port Erin at 07:20, 09:50, 12:30, 15:40, and 18:20. This rather basic service tended to increase until after World War Two: seven trains each way on the three main routes was the usual winter timetable in the 1920s and 30s. From 1886 to 1940, the Foxdale branch was served by up to four round trips on weekdays from St John's.

Additional trains were added to the basic service at Easter and again at Whitsun. The high season timetable usually came into effect on the first Monday of July, or immediately following Tynwald Day (5 July). This often stretched the railway's resources to the limit. At its height in the 1920s, the railway was carrying well over a million passengers a year. In this timetable there were up to 15 round trips on the Peel and Port Erin lines, and up to 14 on the Ramsey line, with even Foxdale seeing a half dozen trains each day. In 1927, during the "Bus War", the IMR boasted that it ran "100 trains a day at pre-war prices."

### 1930–1945

In the 1930s, following the integration of train and bus services, the summer train service was trimmed to about a dozen trains each way on all three main routes. This intensive service ran on an entirely single-track system controlled by staff and ticket safeworking, with limited semaphore signalling. As the UK's 1889 Railways Act did not apply on the Island, there were no signal interlockings except at Douglas and St John's, though limited interlocking in the form of slot detectors was fitted at passing loops from 1927 onwards. Continuous vacuum brakes were not fitted until 1925–27. In spite of this the railway has seen very few serious accidents (see below).

During World War II, the usual winter timetable of seven or eight trains each way a day on all three main routes between 07:00 and 20:00 ran throughout. However, as the number of servicemen on the Island increased, additional late trains were run on Fridays and Saturdays: the last arrivals in Port Erin, Peel, and Ramsey were often around midnight. Military requirements led to a large number of special trains being run, some of them in the small hours of the morning, which led to some minor mishaps. Foxdale passenger services ceased in 1940, but the branch was heavily used for spoil trains during the construction of Jurby and Ronaldsway aerodromes.

### 1945–1959

Traffic levels remained very high in the late 1940s due to petrol rationing, but the 1948 Howden Report foresaw the eventual closure of both the Ramsey and Peel lines, with goods services transferred to road transport. The brief post-war resurgence of the Manx tourist industry kept the trains well filled into the mid-1950s, and postponed the day when significant economies and modernisation would be required. From 1955 onwards usage declined sharply; a million passengers were carried for the last time in 1957. By then the high season schedule had been reduced to seven round trips to Port Erin, and five each on the Peel and Ramsey lines. However individual trains, such as the boat trains, and the 10:35 to Port Erin could load very heavily: 9 carriages and almost 500 passengers on a single train was common in high season.

### 1960–1965

The last re-boilering before the 1965 closure took place in 1959; by then the active fleet had been reduced to 11 locomotives from the 16 of 1939 by the withdrawal of Nos. 7, 2, 9, 4, and 3. Loco Nos. 1, 6, 13, 14 and 16 were known to have limited lives left on their existing boilers, so the future looked grim. Although the railway was still intensively used in summer, winter train services had been reduced to morning and afternoon round trips to Port Erin and Peel, and a solitary working to Ramsey. These trains operated mainly for parcels traffic, and were run at a considerable loss. Winter trains usually consisted of a locomotive and one or two carriages. The St John's – Peel section closed for the winter of 1960, reopening the following Easter, whilst in 1961–65 the St John's to Ramsey service was withdrawn for the winter months, after the long-established Kirk Michael to Ramsey school trains were replaced by buses. From 1962 the ex-County Donegal railcars handled most of the winter service; they were used between Douglas and Peel in the summer. The last two summer timetables reflect the tourism of the mid-1960s. These show six round trips on the Port Erin line, three to five on the Peel line, and two to Ramsey. Except for the Port Erin-Douglas boat train July and August, all trains operated between 09:30 and 17:30: quite a contrast with the 15 or 16 hours-a-day operation of the 1920s and 1930s. Almost the whole of the Peel line service was handled by the ex-Donegal Railcars, allowing the remaining steam locomotives to be divided between the South Line and the service to Ramsey.

### 1967–1968

In June 1967 Ailsa issued an ambitious summer timetable that pushed a reduced locomotive fleet to its limit, leaving no contingency in the event of failure, as by now only five Beyer Peacock steam locomotives and the railcars were available for service. The timetable was modified by mid-August to four round trips to Castletown (unchanged), three to Peel (down from 7) and two to Ramsey. This pattern carried over to the 1968 season, except that the Ramsey service was reduced to one train thrice-weekly by the end of the season.

### Closure of the Peel and Ramsey lines

Since the closure of the Peel and Ramsey lines, the basic service has generally been four trains a day between Douglas and Port Erin and return, at roughly two-hour intervals between 10:00 and 16:00. In most seasons an extra train has operated from Douglas around 10:45 during July and August, returning from Port Erin at about 15.30. A brief 1990s experiment of six trains each way in high season was abandoned on grounds of cost. In the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons, a six train service has again been run in high season. The service in 2012 followed the conventional pattern of a third locomotive and third set of carriages providing additional departures at 10:50 and 14:50 from Douglas, and 12:50 and 16:50 from Port Erin; but in 2013, a third locomotive was used to shorten turn around times at Douglas, and trains departed at 90-minute intervals through the day. This allowed the use of only two rakes of carriages for the scheduled service, allowing the saloons to be reserved for excursion and charter trains.

In the period 1945–1965 most trains consisted of two and three-carriage sets hauled by a single locomotive. Each three-car set consisted of a brake third or brake-composite, a first-third composite, and a luggage-brake-third, with two car sets omitting the either the brake-composite, or the luggage-brake-third. Three car sets had seats for 120 third class, 12 first class; two car sets carried up to 60 third and 12 first class passengers. Additional carriages – usually older stock such as "the Pairs" and "small Fs" – were added when loadings increased in mid-summer. The official maximum loading for a single locomotive was seven carriages until 1977, when it was reduced to six (SRN Spring 1978). However, during locomotive shortages a single Medium Boiler locomotive sometimes handled eight or nine carriages on Port Erin trains, banked as far as Keristal by the Douglas station pilot. Peel and Ramsey trains were usually combined between Douglas and St John's. These trains were often double-headed, usually to balance locomotive workings rather than on account of loading.

Apart from the Ramsey Cattle Mart specials and the transport of materials for projects such as the completion of an airfield in the north of the Island, freight trains rarely operated. Most freight was conveyed by attaching freight wagons, loose coupled, to the rear of passenger trains. This practice was contrary to UK regulations, but legal in the Isle of Man. The consequent shunting often delayed passenger trains at intermediate stations, but was cost effective for the railway. A miscommunication while detaching a van from a Douglas train at Union Mills was a contributory factor to the 22 August 1925 accident at Douglas.

Freight traffic ceased in the 1960s, as road transport was much more effective over the Island's short distances. Ailsa's manager, Sir Philip Wombwell, did try to bring container traffic to the railway in 1967/8 and stripped 12 carriages from the F50-75 series of the bodies to act as container flats. The experiment proved unsuccessful as clearance issues prevented containers being carried north of Douglas, and the double transshipment of containers at Castletown – from ship to lorry and from lorry to train – made the traffic uneconomic. Some of the underframes from this project eventually found their way to the Ffestiniog Railway, where they were placed on two foot gauge bogies and used as the basis for some of the "Barn" carriages running on the FR. Far more successful was a contract to haul oil between Peel and Milntown (near Ramsey) for the Electricity Board. Three 'M' series wagons were fitted with tanks, and the oil was worked as tail traffic until passenger trains ceased in September. The service continued through the winter of 1968/9, but was abandoned in May 1969 following the decision to close the Peel and Ramsey lines.

## Timetabling

### 1873–1966

The railway operated a modest local train service throughout the year, which was considerably augmented during the summer months to accommodate tourist traffic. Traffic was driven by three requirements: the need to connect with the ferries to and from Britain and Ireland, on-island transportation for tourists, and local passenger traffic. It was common for three or four timetables to be produced each year reflecting seasonal trends, and these would be published in the local newspapers. Winter traffic declined sharply after the 1920s, but it was not until 1960 that the railway was effectively "closed" for spells during the winter, with services only operating on certain days mainly for parcels traffic. This continued until November 1965 when the railway was closed "for essential maintenance to take place". No trains ran in 1966 but the following year it reopened on a seasonal basis as a tourist attraction as detailed above.

### 1967–1968 Lord Ailsa

The entire network was leased by Archibald Kennedy, 7th Marquess of Ailsa and the lines reopened on 3 June 1967 operating an intensive service, especially on the Peel Line, until September; the following year saw a reduced timetable of operation but proved to be the final year of the lines serving Peel and Ramsey. This has become known as the Ailsa Period known for the change of livery to spring green carried by the locomotives. The timetables utilised the Peel and Port Erin lines heavily whilst there was no service to Ramsey on certain days, and then only a limited service ran.

### 1969–1972 Port Erin Line only

From 1969 only the southern route to Port Erin was operated. Services generally operated from May to September thereafter still under the auspices of Lord Ailsa; the former lines remained in situ but disused, save for occasional stock movements to the carriage shed at St John's for the winter storage of rolling stock. A limited oil tanker service operated only in 1969. At this time the now traditional pattern of four trains each way per day was adopted and it is this pattern of operation that broadly speaking remains in place today.

### 1973–1974 Centenaries

Lord Ailsa took his five-year option on a 21-year lease and relinquished duties to operate trains from the close of the 1972 season and the Railway Company again took over services with subsidy from the Isle of Man Tourist Board. The centenaries of the Peel and Port Erin lines were commemorated with special trains on the anniversary days in these two years. Services continued to operate on the four each way per day pattern with additional services at peak times in the summer months to coincide with Island events.

### 1975–1977 Short Line working

In a cost-cutting measure, trains only operated between Port Erin and Castletown in 1975, and Port Erin and Ballasalla in 1976. The line to Douglas was still maintained as locomotives and rolling stock returned there to receive maintenance. There was much political controversy over the short-line workings and services were ultimately restored in 1977 although rails were lifted on the closed sections during this time. 1977 proved to be the final year of Railway Company operation of the line, again on a familiar seasonal basis with four trains each way per day between May and September.

### 1978–1986 Nationalisation

Various timetables were experimented with in the early period of nationalisation; Notable in this period were the Friday only Winter Shoppers trains which ran during the 1981–1982 and 1983-1983 winter periods, with only one train from Port Erin and return each day. Generally trains operated for Easter Week and the full season began at the end of May to coincide with the annual T.T. race period and ran until the last weekend of September. Aside from the popular Santa Trains, which have operated since 1985 the line remained closed in the winter months. Also of note are the shuttle services which operated between Douglas and the country park at Lough Ned (mid-way to Port Soderick), these ran in peak season and often utilised the railcars; a platform was provided for this service which saw the last regular use of the railcars in passenger service.

### 1987–1999 Anniversaries

Trains operated for Easter Week with the main season running from mid-May each year; from 1987 trains ran seven days a week in this period (previously there had been no Saturday service for several years) and many additional and extra timetables ran for the Year of Railways in 1993, the International Railway Festival in 1995 and Steam 125 event in 1998. Certain years also saw skeleton services operating in October and November in conjunction with various off-season attractions on the Island, although the pattern of passing trains at Ballasalla was adhered to. A familiar pattern during this period was the operation of an additional train on Mondays-Thursdays in July and August which left Douglas mid morning (10:50) and returned from Port Erin at 17:30, utilising the long-closed station at Port Soderick to pass the regular service trains. It was common for a shuttle service to link Port Erin and Castletown during the closure of the Billown Circuit for racing during this time.

### 2000–2009 New millennium

The season was extended so that a daily service also operated during October half term with a three-week closure from the end of September. During this time certain seasons saw trains passing at Castletown rather than the more traditional Ballasalla. There was major disruption to services from 2000 when a sewer pipe was laid beneath the railway seeing short line workings from Douglas to Santon, and various shuttles between Port Erin, Port St Mary and Castletown over three seasons before the full line was reinstated. A courtesy coach for passenger bridging the gap of the closed sections was laid on during this period. The extra peak season train was dropped during this period and only four departures from either termini was the standard operational procedure. From 2007 a commuter service operated during the T.T. period, in the first two years this also ran for Manx Grand Prix week.

### 2010–2014

The season now extends until the first weekend of November to tie in with the Ride The Rocket Bonfire Night service and schools' half term. Various timetables that operate at different times of the season, with the peak version seeing three train sets in service and six departures from each termini, the last one at approximately 19:00 from Douglas, returning from Port Erin at 21:00 – depending on the operating pattern. Special event days often see bespoke timetables with additional services often providing shuttle services to intermediate stations, usually Ballasalla and Castletown, although Port St Mary has also been served by these shuttles. On peak days such as the annual Rush Hour event, the service intensity is reminiscent of the Edwardian era with up to eleven trains each way operating over the 16 mile route.

### 2015–2019

From the start of the 2015 season on 12 February, the passing loop was moved from Ballasalla to Castletown. The railway's new dining train often operated out of season, commonly travelling only as far as Santon, Ballasalla or Castletown before returning to Douglas. There were two basic timetables: the traditional four each way per day for the bulk of the season, with a six train service in peak season. In addition, evening trains operated on Thursdays in July and August, and commuter services continued to operate for the T.T. race period. A new initiative also saw the Commuter Club train which runs on the first Friday of each operating month departing Port Erin at 07:45 and returning from Douglas at 17:45 using the railway's dining train. The 2016 timetable followed a similar pattern to the previous year, the notable alteration being the ex-Port Erin services departing five minutes earlier than previously scheduled, commencing on 5 March and running until early November. The 2017 season commenced on 18 March with a timetable broadly following the pattern of the previous season with the addition of a schedule operating on Sundays in August to accommodate regular dining services.

### 2020–2021 Covid-19

Services commenced as usual on 6 March, following a similar pattern to previous years with two trains in operation five days a week (no services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). However the railway closed after the last trains on 19 March owing to COVID-19; there were only occasional works trains operating in connection with track repairs. From 23 July services resumed on the standard timetable, with all trains crossing at Castletown, but operating only from Thursdays to Sundays (as well as the August bank holiday). Services were expected to end on 13 September, but a series of announcements were made and trains operated weekends only until 1 November, plus 29 and 30 October for half-term, as well as dining trains. With an "air bridge" operating to and from Guernsey, the railway benefited from additional tourist revenue, although this service terminated on 23 October. Locomotives available were No.8, No.13 and Caledonia, while work continued on the rebuild of No.4. In the recent past, services had commonly started at the beginning of March, but owing to lockdown restrictions it was announced on 19 April 2020 that limited services would commence from Thursday 27 May on certain days of the week to the standard timetable with services passing at Castletown. This was in force until mid-July; there was a further announcement to extend services until 12 September including the 'S' timetable each Saturday throughout the period and no services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A mini transport festival took place at the end of July, for which enhanced timetables were published, and a Winter Transport Festival was announced, to take place over five days from 27 October. The timetable was extended to the end of October, as announced on 20 August, with trains running to timetable 'R' five days a week in the same pattern as earlier in the year.

### 2022–2024: 150th anniversaries

It was announced in October 2021 that services would restart on 4 March 2022, and in January 2022 the timetable was unveiled, largely showing a return to pre-Covid scheduling with trains in shoulder season operating five days a week with no services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, commencing seven-days-a-week operation at the beginning of May through to the end of September, with five days throughout October. The season began with No.4 and No.13, and No.11 and Caledonia later joined the service fleet; in addition to the timetable, three transport festivals were announced: for Easter weekend, the end of July and the end of October. The schedules followed the pattern of previous years, with all services passing at Castletown, four trains in each direction on most days, with a more intensive service of six trains in each direction on key days in peak season. Commuter trains operate on the first Friday of each month and for four consecutive days during T.T. week. Train services were suspended on the day of the state funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Monday 19 September. It was announced on 28 September that a limited service would continue after the main season with one train in operation each weekend throughout November, designated as timetable N. The 2024 season, marking the 150th anniversary of the south line, commenced on Friday 15 March.

## Use in film

The earliest use of the railway as a backdrop for filming purposes appears to have been in 1946 when I See A Dark Stranger used Union Mills station in the opening scenes, doubling as a station in Ireland. A 1979 edition of the BBC show Seaside Special featured the railway and used Port St. Mary Station as a backdrop to a Chattanooga Choo Choo dance sequence. The Isle of Man was one of the locations for the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad when Castletown station became Shining Time station while the goods shed at Port Erin became Burnett Stone's workshop, containing a replica of Lady, although the trains themselves were not used during production. Other locations were used to represent the entrance to Burnett's workshop (an old lead mine) and the entry to the Magic Railroad (near the old lead mine), and a workshop in Port Erin was used to store properties, presumably including the Lady replica. The railway has also been used during the filming of The Brylcreem Boys using on-board views and Douglas station, Five Children & It for which Castletown station was fitted with a temporary canopy and given period set dressing, Channel 4's production of Cinderella that saw Santon Station used heavily, the BBC adaptation of The Ginger Tree in which it doubled for communist Russia using the carriage shed at Douglas, lineside scenes and Castletown Station (No.11 Maitland was painted matte black for this production and remained in this guise for the remainder of the 1989 season) as well as being the subject of a 1988 BBC documentary as part of the Train Now Departing... series in an episode called "Steam in the Isle of Man". Other television credits include an adaptation of The Legend of the Tamworth Two, the television movie Stiff Upper Lips and the long-running travelogue show Wish You Were Here...? which featured Sir Norman Wisdom. In more recent times Great Coastal Railway Journeys has showcased the railway as well as Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure

## Events

One-off and special events have been expanded from 2009 with further expansion in 2010 to include several now-annual initiatives, with the focus on the local market and families rather than the less lucrative enthusiasts' market which has tailed off since the expansive events beginning with the 1993 Year of Railways and beyond. Past and present special events are summarised as follows:

- Valentine's Love Train (commonly several services on and around 14 February with dining train options)

- Storytelling Trains (children's themed event on the dining trains 2015–2017)

- Winter Photography (at the end of February or beginning of March, 2011–2014)

- A Night at the Opera (black-tie event serving an evening's entertainment at the Erin Arts Centre)

- Commuter Club (since 2015, an early morning and early evening service with the on-board bar open)

- Rush Hour (an enthusiasts' event held over the Easter weekend annually, 2010–2019)

- Thanks, Mum (Mothers' Day special offers using the railway's dining train, several services)

- The Southern Belle (dining train excursions themed around an historical service on the railway)

- Island at War (annual wartime-themed trains and events usually held mid-August)

- The Darjeeling Limited (themed cuisine night with an evening service to Port Erin and return)

- The Queenie Express (train services to tie in with the Queenie Festival in Port St Mary)

- Dining Trains of the World (a series of dining trains with menus themed around worldwide cuisine)

- Trans-Siberian Express (themed cuisine night with an evening service to Port Erin and return)

- Rail Ale Tour (bar train service to Port Erin tie in with the beer festival at the former Falcon's Nest Hotel)

- Southern "100" Shuttle (occasional road closure replacement service between Port Erin and Castletown)

- Manx Heritage Transport Festival (the main summer festival, usually at end of July or start of August)

- Teddy Bears' Picnic (various themed events centring on Ballasalla, usually early September)

- The Curry Club (themed dining service operating on commuter train days only)

- Night at the Museum (Thursday evenings with late opening of the railway museum in Port Erin)

- Shoebox Special (a special service for Operation Christmas Child charity, usually November)

- Le Train Bleu (themed cuisine night with an evening service to Port Erin and return)

- Family Fun Weekend (weekend in late August featuring bouncy castles, face-painting, etc.)

- A Musical Gala (tie in with the Erin Arts Centre for an evening of old-time musical hall)

- Manx National Week Trains (trains carry commemorative headboards in the first week of July)

- Hop-Tu-Naa Express (since 2010, themed ghost train event at Hallowe'en with dining trains)

- The Emporia's Banquet (themed cuisine night with an evening service to Port Erin and return)

- Ride The Rocket (the end of season train serving the fireworks and bonfire in Port Erin)

- The Santa Express (visiting Santa in his grotto at various locations, Castletown or Santon)

- Christmas Shopping Express (a direct shopping service to Douglas from Port Erin in December)

- Blow Away The Cobwebs Train (out of season one-off special services before the New Year)

- The Wizard's Express (end of season themed children's event using the dining set)

- The Polar Express (festive themed trains in conjunction with Warner Bros. film)

- Christmas Carol Train (shuttle train in cooperation with a local brass band, Castletown–Port Erin)

- The Dino Express (themed children's train Douglas-Ballasalla serving Rushen Abbey, since 2023)

## Incidents

- On 28 October 1916, the steam locomotive No.5 Mona was derailed in the Nunnery cutting after running into a heap of sand placed on each rail by teenage boys. Only the engine driver was injured; the passenger carriages remained on the track.

- On 22 August 1925 a train hauled by No.3 Pender ran into Douglas station with insufficient braking power. Due to a misunderstanding, the guard and brakesman had been left behind at Union Mills, so there was no-one on board the forward and rear brake vans to apply the train handbrakes. The fireman of the train was killed, but the driver, William Costain, escaped unhurt. Vacuum brakes were introduced as a result of the accident.

- J.I.C. Boyd mentions a serious head-on collision between a light engine (No.7 Tynwald) and a passenger train on Port Soderick bank in 1928, which resulted in the frames of No.10 G.H. Wood being bent. They were bent again in a minor collision at Union Mills in 1968.

- On 14 August 2005 a train hauled by No.13 Kissack when entering Castletown was derailed on the facing points of the passing loop, resulting in the locomotive and leading coach F.54 becoming derailed. There were no serious injuries and services were replaced by buses for the remainder of the day while the locomotive was re-railed.

- On 19 May 2008 a train hauled by No.4 Loch to Port Erin was involved in a collision with a van at Port Soderick station. There were no reported injuries to the driver of the van or to the 74 passengers and crew on board the train.

- On 7 May 2012 a train hauled by No.4 Loch was involved in a minor collision with a train hauled by No. 13 Kissack, which was awaiting departure from the bay platform at Port Erin, due to the points being incorrectly set.

- On 31 December 2022 a New Years' dining train hauled by No.11 Maitland struck a tree near Ballabeg Station, causing some damage to the rolling stock, reported in the local media; so later services were cancelled.


Pichai Chunhavajira

# Pichai Chunhavajira

## Abstract

Pichai Chunhavajira (Thai: พิชัย ชุณหวชิร) is a Thai politician, currently serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and Minister of Finance since 2024. Chunhavajira previously served as chair of the board of Bangchak Corporation since 2012, and chairman of the Stock Exchange of Thailand board in 2024.