In Pictures: Bilston Road track replacement

Posted on Wednesday 13 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Three months into the planned six month closure of Midland Metro between Priestfield and Wolverhampton St George’s and progress is continuing with the majority of the southbound track now laid. It is hoped that trams will return in time for Christmas but as well as the northbound track still to be replaced there is work to be done on installing points for the Wolverhampton City Centre extension. Andy Walters provides us with the latest images.

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Lost Trams: Blackpool 144

Posted on Wednesday 13 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Whereas the other trams at the Seashore Trolley Museum which have featured recently in this Lost Trams series are stored with no prospect of a return to service this is not the case for the Blackpool representative in the collection – Standard 144.

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In Preview: Tram Day at Crich Tramway Village

Posted on Tuesday 12 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Tram Day, the annual main enthusiast’s event at the Crich Tramway Village, takes place on Saturday 16th September. We already knew that recently arrived Bournemouth 85 was expected to play a starring role in the day but it has now been announced that the 80th anniversary of the Blackpool Brush Railcoach and the 60th anniversary of Liverpool Corporation Tramways closing will also be themes for the day.

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Posted in Crich Tramway Village, Event Previews | 1 Comment

Picture in Time: Modern Electric Tramways 6

Posted on Tuesday 12 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of Picture in Time we once again venture to Eastbourne for a look at the Modern Electric Tramways operation on the Sussex coast before they moved to the more familiar location today of Seaton. The tram featured is no. 6.

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Centenary car 641 – a work of art?

Posted on Monday 11 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

The latest project involving a tram from the collection of the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust was unveiled on Saturday 9th September, as part of the ‘Art of Recovery in Blackpool’ event. As reported previously, Centenary car 641 has been given a makeover by volunteers from ‘Horizon’, who work to help people with a range of issues such as drug and alcohol addiction, receiving a repaint in the organisation’s vibrant purple colour scheme.

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In Pictures: Another new advert in Sheffield

Posted on Monday 11 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

You wait years for a new advert livery and then two come along within a week! Following on from 111 receiving adverts for IKEA at the start of last week, 116 has now been wrapped in an advert for Doncaster Sheffield Airport replacing a design for East Midlands Trains.

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More details unveiled for Manx Electric Railway 125 in September 2018

Posted on Monday 11 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

There is often some criticism of how late details of special events are announced but that is not something which can be levelled against plans for the 125th Anniversary of the Manx Electric Railway as the full itinerary of events have been released – 12 months before they take place! A full eight days of events will take place between Saturday 1st and Saturday 8th September 2018.

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Posted in Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, Event Previews, Manx Electric Railway, Snaefell Mountain Railway | 2 Comments

The Trawler sails again!

Posted on Monday 11 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

Following a lengthy absence from passenger duties, the illuminated Trawler 737 has recently made a very welcome return to service in Blackpool. It may be remembered that the tram was re-launched last October following a refurbishment which included the fitting of stunning LEDs which change colour to stunning effect! However, after a few weeks the car vanished again due to some teething problems with its new lights and had barely been seen since then.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

Lost Trams: Glasgow 1274

Posted on Monday 11 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Another of the UK trams at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine is the only Scottish representative abroad – Glasgow Coronation 1274. As with Leeds 526 this tram is stored in the car barns at Seashore having never been used in service since arriving in September 1963.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 10 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

We have another two Photo Galleries for you this week, along with our usual updates:

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Picture in Time: Nottingham Express Transit 202

Posted on Saturday 9 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Today Picture in Time heads to Nottingham for another archive image of Nottingham Express Transit, this time dating from 2005.

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Lost Trams: Leeds Feltham 526

Posted on Saturday 9 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

At the end of traditional tram operation in many cities of the UK a number of trams were preserved and exported to the United States of America with the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine becoming home to four trams – from Blackpool, Glasgow, Leeds/London and Liverpool. Of these we have recently seen that Blackpool Standard 144 is being worked on with a view to returning it to service but what of the other three? In this edition of our occasional Lost Trams series we take a look at one of only three Feltham trams still in existence – Leeds 526/London Transport 2085.

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All change for Seaton from 18th September

Posted on Friday 8 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

It has now been confirmed that the old Victorian style terminus at Seaton will be used for the last time on Sunday 17th September with work to redevelop the site starting the following day. Tram services will continue until the end of October although for those starting their journeys at Seaton it will start with a shuttle bus to Riverside Depot where after a behind the scenes tour trams will continue through to Colyton.

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Next phase of Midland Metro expansion starts

Posted on Friday 8 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

No sooner had there been confirmation of Government support for the Midland Metro Edgbaston extension than work on the next phase commenced with one of Birmingham’s most iconic statues being lifted out of Victoria Square. Iron: Man, created by Anthony Gormley, was standing in the direct path of the extension and will be placed in store before returning to a new position in Victoria Square.

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Consultation started to remove ticket machines on Tramlink

Posted on Friday 8 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

An eight week consultation has been launched on plans to make London Tramlink completely “cashless”. The proposal would see all existing cash ticket machines removed from tramstops with passengers asked to use Oyster or go contactless instead.

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Posted in London Trams | 2 Comments

Edinburgh Trams Inquiry public hearings start

Posted on Friday 8 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

The long awaited public hearings of the Edinburgh Trams Inquiry have now started with the first two weeks due to hear evidence from various councillors and council officials. The hearings will only be taking place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and are expected to take several months to conclude. They will be used to help Lord Hardie come to a conclusion on the project.

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Over 1300 “incidents” reported on Isle of Man’s Railways in six years

Posted on Friday 8 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

Following a recent Freedom of Information request it has been revealed that there have been 1,352 “safety related incidents” reported on Isle of Man Railway’s since October 2011. These figures include occurrences on the Manx Electric Railway, Snaefell Mountain Railway as well as the Isle of Man Steam Railway and range from incidents with road traffic through to the more major and high profile incidents.

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In Pictures: St Chad’s lift and stairs opened

Posted on Friday 8 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

For well over a year we have been following the story of the lack of access from the Midland Metro stop at St Chad’s (or Snow Hill as originally named) with the only way to get to the stop to walk along the tramway from Bull Street. As a result the stop has become fairly poorly used (even though it is close to the mainline station at Snow Hill). A lift and stairs have been under construction for some time and at the start of September they were finally opened to the public meaning you can now get down to street level and then into Snow Hill station.

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Man hit by tram in Nottingham

Posted on Friday 8 September 2017 by Gareth Prior

A man was hit by a tram close to Gregory Street tramstop at approximately 0815 on Thursday 7th September suffering serious, although not life threatening, injuries. Nottingham Express Transit are investigating the incident. The incident caused NET services were unable to run between Meadows Way West and University Boulevard for just over an hour.

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Bonus Liverpool’s Last Tram event for Birkenhead announced

Posted on Thursday 7 September 2017 by Andrew Waddington

It has been well documented that the Birkenhead heritage tramway will be holding a special event to mark 60 years since the closure of Liverpool’s tram system on Saturday 16th September. However, a more modest event has now been announced for Thursday 14th September as well – this being the actual date of the tramway closure, which it was felt should not pass by unnoticed.

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