Monthly Archives: January 2018

In Pictures: Winter work on Blackpool Vanguard 619

Posted on Friday 12 January 2018 by Andrew Waddington

Since its arrival at Heaton Park in June 2010, Blackpool Replica Vanguard 619 has been an extremely useful and popular member of the Manchester tramway’s fleet. However, a period of outside storage (although with its open sides boarded up for … Continue reading →

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Standard 147 in the works

Posted on Friday 12 January 2018 by Andrew Waddington

Since its return to Blackpool almost a year ago after a highly successful and popular loan period at Beamish Museum, not much has been seen or heard of Standard car 147. On its return it was decided to carry out … Continue reading →

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Planning application made for Douglas Promenade

Posted on Thursday 11 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

Another of those long-running sagas is that of the redevelopment of Douglas Promenade, which remains of interest to tram enthusiasts as it affects the future of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway. As reported in depth previously on these pages the … Continue reading →

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Centenary 646

Posted on Thursday 11 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of Picture in Time we are back in Blackpool – or Fleetwood if you want to be completely precise – with an image of one of the much maligned, but vital, Centenary Cars.

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Trams to be restored for Fleetwood dockyard tramway scheme?

Posted on Wednesday 10 January 2018 by Andrew Waddington

The Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust has recently announced ambitious plans to carry out major restoration work on some of its collection of ex-Blackpool trams, for operation on a brand new line at Fleetwood. This is part of a radical new … Continue reading →

Posted in Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | 7 Comments

A busy year for Beamish

Posted on Wednesday 10 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

The tramway at Beamish enjoyed a very busy 2017 with 27,550 miles covered – a figure made all the more impressive by the fact that only five trams were operational at some point in the year, including Blackpool 147 which … Continue reading →

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Call to retain Summer Hill Stables in tramway ownership

Posted on Wednesday 10 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

It is another saga which seems as if it will never end, the future of the historic Summer Hill Stables which have been the home of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway trammers for over 140 years. Ever since Douglas Borough … Continue reading →

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Contractor appointed to construct Preston’s Guild Line

Posted on Tuesday 9 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

Are trams going to run in Preston again? The on-off saga of the Guild Line has taken another turn for the better with the news that Preston Trampower Ltd have appointed Eric Wright Civil Engineering to construct the line. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Preston Trampower | 4 Comments

Picture in Time: Great Orme Tramway 4 & 5

Posted on Tuesday 9 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

We head off to North Wales for this edition of our archive photo series with a view on the Great Orme Tramway of the two trams which have operated the lower section service ever since opening in 1902.

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Crich depot re-roofed

Posted on Monday 8 January 2018 by Andrew Waddington

The project to improve the main tram depots at Crich Tramway Village is coming along very nicely indeed, with the new roof now in place over the entire complex comprising Depots 2, 3 & 4. This work was actually completed … Continue reading →

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‘Winter Gold’ heritage service extends to Starr Gate

Posted on Monday 8 January 2018 by Andrew Waddington

In a welcome development, Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours have announced that their first two ‘Gold’ operating weekends of 2018 will feature a heritage tram service along New South Promenade. From 1020 until 1620 on each day, there will be a … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 2 Comments

In Pictures: Manchester Metrolink T68s in store

Posted on Monday 8 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

It will be four years since the last T68s ran in service on Manchester Metrolink in 2018 but despite that period there are still four (including one T68A) which are stored at Trafford Depot. Shortly before Christmas Kevin James went … Continue reading →

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Petition launched to support Blackpool Tramway extension to Poulton

Posted on Sunday 7 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

Could another extension of the Blackpool Tramway follow that due to open in 2019 to Blackpool North Station? It could if a petition recently launched has its way with a plea to commission a study into extending the tramway from … Continue reading →

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Increase in passengers for Luas

Posted on Sunday 7 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

2017 has seen another increase in passengers for Dublin’s Luas network with 37.6 million passenger journeys recorded over the 12 months. This was an increase of 10.26% of figures from 2016.

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Picture in Time: Midland Metro 01

Posted on Saturday 6 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

We travel back in time to the year 2000 for this edition of Picture in Time with the Midland Metro system the focus of our attention.

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Custom House DLR station to reopen

Posted on Saturday 6 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

After an 11 month closure the Docklands Light Railway station at Custom House is set to reopen to passengers on Monday 8th January. The station has been closed since 3rd February 2017 to allow for vital modernisation work and to … Continue reading →

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New crossing at Crumpsall

Posted on Saturday 6 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

The improvement works at Crumpsall stop on the Manchester Metrolink line to Bury have been continuing over the past few weeks with a new pedestrian crossing opening to passengers on Wednesday 3rd January. This new crossing replaces the old footbridge … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Brush cars bring 2017 to a close for the heritage fleet

Posted on Friday 5 January 2018 by Andrew Waddington

The last public operation by the heritage trams in Blackpool consisted of three ‘Santa Special’ running days on Saturdays 9th, 16th & 23rd December. However, that wasn’t quite the end of the year for the heritage fleet as on 30th … Continue reading →

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Continued growth for Edinburgh Trams

Posted on Friday 5 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

The new higher frequency timetable introduced on Edinburgh Trams during 2017 has helped to contribute to a 19% increase in passenger numbers over the past 12 months. 6.6 million passenger journeys were recorded in 2017 – an increase of more … Continue reading →

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Where are they now? Bradford tram in Lancashire

Posted on Friday 5 January 2018 by Gareth Prior

As is well known when many of the UK’s original tram systems closed they sold off their redundant trams for further use with many ending up as holiday homes and sheds. One of these is believed to be a 1902 … Continue reading →

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