Sheffield 264 progress report

Little has been heard about the progress made on the major overhaul of Sheffield 264 at Beamish Museum for some time, but recently an update has been provided on this project by the Museum’s Keeper of Transport, Paul Jarman, on his excellent online blog. Although a lot of work remains to be completed, this shows that the aim of 264 re-entering service at the museum this year is still very much on the cards with the tram looking most impressive.

The tramcar is currently divided into three main sections – upper deck, lower deck and truck. Most of the work undertaken so far has been focussed on the lower deck, which has been stripped of all paint revealing the bare wood beneath. One damaged panel has been replaced, with others now being primed in grey – the first traces of fresh paint have also been applied to the window frames. Other body work, including the preparation of beading, is also in hand and an electrical control board (which is normally hidden underneath the bench seating) has been refurbished. It is intended to re-install this item during the process of reassembling the tram. The motors and controllers have already been overhauled too, and await re-fitting, although the rest of the truck has yet to be tackled. The top deck remains largely untouched for now, but as this was built in the 1980s when the car was last overhauled, it should not require too much work compared with the bottom half.

It is still hoped that Sheffield 264 will be completed for the summer, which should take considerable pressure off the rest of the operating fleet at Beamish and help to compensate for the recent withdrawal of Sunderland 101. In the meantime, Grimsby & Immingham 26 remains available on a restricted basis, but as soon as 264 returns to traffic it is planned that this car will receive new tyres, ahead of further body work and a repaint into its original Gateshead livery, expected next year. All of this should ensure that there will be plenty of interest for tram fans at Beamish in the next few years!

A recent view of Sheffield 264's lower deck - minus its truck - under attention in the main workshop space for large vehicles at Beamish Museum, where it has resided for just over a year. (Photo courtesy of the Beamish Transport & Industry Blog)

 

This entry was posted in Beamish Tramway. Bookmark the permalink.

1 Response to Sheffield 264 progress report

  1. stuart cooke says:

    Brilliant news , surprised to hear it”s so close to re-entering service .

Comments are closed.