A Brush car birthday bonanza!

Posted on Friday 22 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool’s now annual tramway anniversary event (well who says you can’t celebrate 132 years of operation!?) got off to an impressive start on Friday 22nd September, which was dubbed ‘Brush car Friday’. As this year’s event will heavily feature the Brush Railcoach class in honour of their 80th anniversary year, it was decided to put all four operational cars of this type in the spotlight with a special running day as a warm-up to the main event to be held on 23rd & 24th September.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Twin Car 672+682

Posted on Thursday 21 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Back to the Metro Coastlines years of the Blackpool Tramway today as we feature popular Twin set 672+682 at a time when they carried the garish Orange and Yellow Line 1 livery in 2005.

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In Pictures: Midland Metro 26 heads off for repairs

Posted on Thursday 21 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

In recent months there have been two notable absentees running on Midland Metro – 18 which went off to Spain in January for the fitting of batteries and 26. It was not known why 26 hadn’t been used since June but this has now become obvious as half of the tram departed Wednesbury Depot on the back of a low loader on Wednesday 20th September for repair to take place.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Wednesday 20 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

We have a midweek update for you this week and there is one main item – photos from Crich!

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Birkenhead 7 to return to the limelight

Posted on Wednesday 20 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

Shortly after the Birkenhead tramway’s big event to mark 60 years since Liverpool’s last tram, there was more exciting news from the Wirral with the confirmation that Birkenhead 7, a large double-deck horse car, is to move to the tramway for display next month following a lengthy period of storage off display.

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Birkenhead tramway marks 60 years since Liverpool’s last tram

Posted on Wednesday 20 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

On Saturday 16th September, the much-hyped event to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the closure of Liverpool’s dearly loved tram system was held at the Birkenhead tramway. In fact, the annual anniversary had already been marked two days earlier with the Mayor of Liverpool attending, Liverpool 245 running in passenger service and a number of talks and presentations.

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Picture in Time: Douglas Bay Horse Tramway 34 & 1

Posted on Tuesday 19 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Today our archive photo series heads across to the Isle of Man for a view taken at the Strathallan terminus of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway in August 1992 on a wet day which necessitated the use of an enclosed saloon.

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Final preparations for Brush car birthday celebrations

Posted on Tuesday 19 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

Ahead of the Blackpool tramway anniversary event this coming weekend, Blackpool’s operational Brush Railcoaches are now being prepared for their starring role over the weekend, in recognition of their 80th anniversary year. This has included the arrival of visiting car 630 whilst the major renovation of pioneer 621 is now almost complete.

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In Pictures: Citylink Charity Tour

Posted on Tuesday 19 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Sunday 17th September saw a charity tram tour on Stagecoach Supertram featuring the most extensive use of a Citylink tram yet with 399 202 (the same tram as used on Thursday’s inaugural runs) traversing the entirety of both the Blue and Yellow routes. The tour was all in aid of Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital Charity with anyone wishing to travel asked to donate whatever they felt appropriate with buckets available on board.

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Douglas 45 moves to the MER

Posted on Monday 18 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

Douglas 45 has become the latest of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway fleet to be selected for a major overhaul. Last week the tram left its normal home and was moved by road to the Manx Electric Railway’s Derby Castle premises for work to begin on its rebuild.

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In Pictures: Bournemouth 85 & Friends!

Posted on Monday 18 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

As we have already reported on British Trams Online, Bournemouth 85 was the undisputed star of the show at Crich Tramway Village’s ‘Tram Day’ on Saturday 16th September. Bearing this in mind, and because we are rather taken with it, here are some more pictures taken on this day showing 85 in the company of other vehicles in the Crich fleet.

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In Pictures: 267 & 274 receive C R Smith ads in Edinburgh

Posted on Monday 18 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

The addition of more advertising vinyls for C R Smith shows no signs of slowing down with two more trams receiving their new look in the past few days – 267 and 274.

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Event Report: Crich ‘Tram Day’, 16th September 2017

Posted on Monday 18 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

The annual enthusiasts event at Crich Tramway Village – now known simply as ‘Tram Day’ – is commonly regarded as one of the highlights of the year for fans of traditional trams in the UK, and 2017’s event was certainly no exception. Held on Saturday 16th September, this year saw the usual mix of unusual trams displayed in the depot yard, line-ups of trams and an intensive service on the main line. This year’s star attraction was without doubt Bournemouth 85, the latest addition to the museum’s collection.

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In Pictures: Citylink trams debut in Sheffield

Posted on Monday 18 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

As we reported last week there was an unexpected debut for the Citylink tram-trains on Thursday 15th September following the naming of 399 202 at Nunnery Square Depot. The tram ran an additional service on the Yellow route once the naming ceremony had taken place; unadvertised to the general public save for a brief mention on local news in the morning but with the press and local dignitaries present. With thanks to the Railway Herald we can now bring you photos of the first day.

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In Pictures: Brush 630 heads off to Blackpool

Posted on Monday 18 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

No sooner had it played a major role in Tram Day at Crich then Blackpool Brush Railcoach 630 was transferred to the Workshop for preparations to be made for its visit to its old home tramway. Indeed on Monday 18th September the tram was on the road to Blackpool, returning to the resort for the first time in nearly six years.

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Picture in Time: Docklands Light Railway 04

Posted on Saturday 16 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Our modern edition of Picture in Time this week comes from the Docklands Light Railway as we go back to 1994 for a view of P86 04.

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Citylink trams debut in Sheffield

Posted on Friday 15 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

After announcing only a few days ago that members of the public would finally be able to ride on a tram-train in the UK on Sunday 17th September, Stagecoach Supertram then caught us rather by surprise by debuting one of its newest additions in service on Thursday 14th! 399 402 did the honours, performing a number of historic runs on this first day.

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In Pictures: Heritage trams on New South Promenade

Posted on Thursday 14 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

Not previously featured on British Trams Online was the operation of Blackpool’s heritage tram service to Starr Gate on both Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th August. This resulted from the partial closure of the promenade on both afternoons for a music event, forcing the heritage trams to terminate at Tower – and so the service was extended to the tramway’s southern extremity to offer some consolation!

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22nd September is ‘Brush car Friday’

Posted on Thursday 14 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

It was already known that the now annual Blackpool tramway anniversary spectacular event – being held this year on 23rd & 24th September – would be dominated by the Brush Railcoach class, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of these historic trams in 2017. However, an additional event, solely featuring the Brush cars, has now been announced for Friday 22nd September when four cars of the type are expected to be in service.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Brush 296

Posted on Thursday 14 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

A tram which looks very different now is the feature of today’s Picture in Time image – it is Blackpool Brush 296.

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