An unexpected Balloon Bonanza for half term!

Posted on Tuesday 25 October 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Saturday 22nd October was a remarkable day for Blackpool’s Balloon cars, when an impressive seven of the type ran on a variety of duties. This included 719 making its first appearance carrying passengers this year, having previously been used for driver training and as the shop tram at last month’s anniversary event.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 6 Comments

Trawler lights up Blackpool promenade!

Posted on Monday 24 October 2016 by Andrew Waddington

On Friday 21st October, Blackpool’s illuminated Trawler 737 finally took its rightful place on illumination tour duties for the first time since completion of its recent refurbishment. Although the tram had been launched two weeks earlier, problems with its new external lights had meant that it ran with these switched off for its first public tours on 7th October, and had been confined to the workshops after this for its teething problems to be rectified.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 14 Comments

Picture in Time: Great Orme Tramway 5

Posted on Sunday 23 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

It’s 1993 and we are in Llandudno for the next instalment of our archive photo series. Of course the tramway in question is the Great Orme Tramway as we take a look at one of the lower section’s tram – no. 5.

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Posted in Great Orme Tramway, Picture in Time | 4 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Friday 21 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

We have another couple of Photo Galleries for you this week:

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Delays after points problem at Cornbrook

Posted on Friday 21 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

Passengers using Manchester Metrolink had a day to forget on Thursday 20th October with major delays after points at Cornbrook were damaged overnight by a contractors vehicle. Services were able to run through Cornbrook throughout the day but with delays as the points were having to be manually operated before a revised timetable was put into place from 1430 which saw no trams run from Cornbrook to MediaCityUK.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 1 Comment

Free trams for Hogmanay

Posted on Friday 21 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

Edinburgh Trams will be providing a free service from midnight on Saturday 31st December until 0500 on Sunday 1s January 2017 to help the thousands of revellers who attend the famous Hogmanay celebrations in the Scottish capital get home safely at the end of the event. Trams will run every 20 minutes between West End Princes Street and Edinburgh Airport. Additional staff will also be present at stops and on board trams to help passengers.

Posted in Edinburgh Trams | 3 Comments

Metrolink win Operator of the Year

Posted on Friday 21 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

A couple of weeks ago we reported on some of the winners at the Global Light Rail Awards and now further information has been released which includes confirmation that Metrolink RATP Dev walked away with the major Operator of the Year accolade whilst Blackpool have also announced they won the Vision of the Year.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Manchester Metrolink | 2 Comments

In Pictures: Sheffield tram-train construction progress

Posted on Thursday 20 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

We may still be awaiting official news on just when we might see the sight of the tram-train pilot between Sheffield and Rotherham starting but in the meantime visible progress is being made on the necessary construction works. In this latest pictorial update Mike Haddon shows the latest progress at Rotherham Parkgate.

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Picture in Time: Croydon Tramlink 2548

Posted on Wednesday 19 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

Our next trip into the archives finds us in 2000 for a view of Croydon Tramlink CR4000 2548 on the opening day of the line to Beckenham Junction.

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Posted in London Trams, Picture in Time | 1 Comment

Boat 236 gets stripped

Posted on Tuesday 18 October 2016 by Andrew Waddington

When Blackpool ‘Boat’ car 236 was overhauled for operation at Crich Tramway Village, a thorough restoration was undertaken to return the tram to its 1950s appearance without end windscreens, and with its festoon lights later being added. However, one other feature detracted somewhat from its authenticity – but the hardworking volunteers and staff in the Crich workshop have now begun work to rectify this!

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Posted in Crich Tramway Village | 6 Comments

In Pictures: Glasgow 22 continues testing at Crich

Posted on Tuesday 18 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

Glasgow 22 is approaching a return to service at Crich with extensive test running taking place before it can be cleared to rejoin the operational fleet. 22 last ran in service at the end of the 2014 season at which point it was withdrawn from service requiring workshop attention which has been taking place over the last 18 months. The overhaul has taken longer than originally envisaged and has included a lift but the tram started to run under its own power again during September. It is not expected that 22 will return to service before the end of this season but this workhorse of the Crich fleet looks set to be part of the operational fleet from the start of the 2017 season.

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Works coming to an end on the Second City Crossing

Posted on Tuesday 18 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

Work on constructing Manchester Metrolink’s Second City Crossing (2CC) is coming to an end with the majority of works set to be completed in time for Manchester’s famous Christmas markets. To this end there will be some changes for traffic access on some of the roads in the city centre from Saturday 22nd October.

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Manchester Metrolink Service Change: Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd October

Posted on Tuesday 18 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

Improvement works on the Altrincham line will see changes to Manchester Metrolink services throughout the weekend of Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd October. The Altrincham line is closed in its entirety with no services from East Didsbury, Manchester Airport or Eccles running into the city centre.

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399 206 arrives in Sheffield

Posted on Tuesday 18 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

The sixth of seven Citylink tram-trains for Stagecoach Supertram has now arrived in Sheffield. 399 206 was delivered to Nunnery Square Depot late on Monday 17th October following transportation from Stadler’s Valencia plant. The vehicle has now been unloaded and commissioning will start ahead of a full testing programme.

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Metrolink goes gold

Posted on Monday 17 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink M5000 3091 has gone gold in celebration of Team GB’s golden summer at the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games. The tram has received a special vinyl wrap livery – mainly avoiding the windows – as part of a day of celebration in Manchester which has culminated in a Heroes Parade through the city. 3091 has been chosen specifically for the livery as that is the total number of gold medals won by both Team GB and Paralympics GB during the summer.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 7 Comments

Preserved trams to run at Fleetwood docks?

Posted on Monday 17 October 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust are now reaching an advanced stage of planning a new visitor attraction in Fleetwood, as part of a major redevelopment of the town’s docks. Associated British Ports have confirmed their own plans and now the Trust have submitted their own concepts for a waterfront site in which to display, and potentially operate, trams from its collection.

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Posted in Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | 5 Comments

Big cash boost for Beamish Museum

Posted on Monday 17 October 2016 by Andrew Waddington

There is a lot of celebrating going on at Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, following the announcement that the museum had received a £10.9 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This successful bid will enable significant strides forward with the ‘Remaking Beamish’ initiative, primarily involving the creation of a 1950s themed area within the grounds of the massive open air museum site.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 16 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

We bring you another three Photo Galleries as part of our latest main site update:

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From Rigby Road to a Rugby school

Posted on Friday 14 October 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The new home of Blackpool Centenary car 643 has now been revealed, with the tram arriving at Brooke School in Rugby, which will presumably be its final destination. The tram has been undergoing an interior refurbishment at a railway maintenance facility in the Midlands for the last few months, having been sold on by its previous custodians, the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Western Train 733+734

Posted on Friday 14 October 2016 by Gareth Prior

We take another look at Blackpool’s Illuminated tram fleet in our latest visit to the archive with a view of the Western Train 733+734 back in October 1962.

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