As the Lady Isabella (The Great Laxey Wheel) celebrates her 165th Anniversary this year, the maintenance team at Manx National Heritage continues to monitor and take care of this wonderful feat of engineering to ensure she continues to run smoothly after well over a century and a half of hard work.
A recent routine maintenance check of the Wheel has highlighted some structural damage to a connecting timber rod. To prevent any further damage, an executive decision has been made to stop the Wheel turning whilst further assessment is carried out and the issue is resolved.
Brandon Ellis, Properties Manager for Manx National Heritage, said;
“During today’s scheduled weekly maintenance work at the Wheel, our vigilant DoI engineers noticed a structural issue with the large timber rod which connects the Wheel’s main crank to the L-Rocker and Counter-Balance bucket at the front of the wheel. This has necessitated stopping the wheel to allow further detailed assessment of the damage by structural engineers.”
The protection of the Island’s Heritage attractions and the safety of visitors are Manx National Heritage’s primary concerns and they hope that the public will understand their decision to stop the wheel turning at this time. We will be working hard with our DoI maintenance partners to get the wheel turning again as soon as possible.
The site remains open to the public, and although the Wheel is not turning, the Lady Isabella continues to welcome visitors to marvel at her Victorian majesty.
The Laxey Wheel is open 7 days a week, 9.30am – 5pm until it closes for the season on 3 November 2019.