As expected, Blackpool & Fleetwood ‘Rack’ 2 has now taken up residence in the Great Exhibition Hall at Crich Tramway Village. This tram has been a popular member of the running fleet at Crich almost constantly since the commencement of electric tram operation there in 1964, but was withdrawn last year and is now likely to endure a lengthy period of inactivity. The tram has taken the place of Newcastle 102 which was a temporary addition to the static exhibition last year, and which now will presumably remain stored in a less visible area of the museum.
The move of car 2 to the Exhibition Hall is arguably a good decision, as it makes the tram much more visible to visitors and ensures that one of the oldest electric cars in the national collection is appropriately shown off, whilst also representing a tramcar type that was previously unrepresented in the ‘Century of Trams’ display. If this is to be a short term measure whilst 2 awaits its turn for workshop attention (it is understood that the car has worn tyres and is also well overdue for its eight-yearly overhaul), it could be seen as a welcome one. However, concerns are being expressed because a new interpretive panel has been produced detailing the history of the tram. The design of this follows the typical house style for the Exhibition Hall, whereas labels used on trams stored in the running sheds will be in a different design. This therefore gives the impression that ‘Rack’ 2 will probably be a static exhibit for the forseeable future – which would be a terrible waste of one of the museum’s most popular trams, especially as it was extensively rebuilt with a brand new underframe fitted in 1998, much more recently than many other operational trams at Crich last received this level of work.
It has also been noticed that the new interpretive panels refers to the car as ‘Blackpool 2’ which is technically inaccurate, as is it is of course normally referred to as Blackpool & Fleetwood 2 as it appears in the livery of the Blackpool & Fleetwood Electric Tramroad Company, who were the owners of this tram and others like it when new, and were a seperate entity from Blackpool Corporation who were responsible for the town and promenade routes in Blackpool itself. This may seem a rather petty criticism, but the confusion is compounded by the fact that another Blackpool 2 still exists, in the form of a humble works car which, remarkably, is also owned by the Tramway Museum Society! Although now stored in a heavily stripped condition at Clay Cross, this tram is still a part of the national collection and makes ‘Rack’ 2‘s apparent identity crisis all the more bizarre. It has been suggested that the shortened name for the tram is to fit in with the house style of labelling in the Exhibition Hall, but for a designated museum with a responsibility to educate its visitors about its exhibits this does seem a rather questionable justification.
Hopefully one day in the not too distant future, Blackpool & Fleetwood 2 will return to service and continue its lengthy operating career but for now, it seems that the tram’s advertised farewell trip last October may have been its last for quite some time and with numerous other trams awaiting workshop capacity and funding at Crich, it remains to be seen when 2 will receive the attention it so richly deserves.
The sad sight of Blackpool & Fleetwood 2 in the Exhibition Hall at Crich, surrounded by trams which have not turned a wheel in passenger service for decades. Also visible in the foreground is the new board detailing its history. (Photo courtesy of Crich Tramway Village)
I dunno, first 869 gets marooned in the exhibition hall, now this. Terrible.
869 is in the works now being overhauled though and was only ever intended to be a temporary addition to the exhibition. No such assurance on Rack 2 yet…
It could be worse if it was stuck in Clay Cross.
Why do museums like Crich and Glasgow have to put displays in front of the exhibits so the public cannot photograph?
You can take a photo of it from a different angle. It is also their job to inform the public about its history, not just have it stuffed in a hall with no information.
Think the way people respond to (or often lack of) articles in 2015 quite telling. Rather than anger it is met with indifference which in all honesty should scare a place more. Anger can sometimes be create passion that can be harnessed. Even hatred at times can licit a response to fight it. You denounce it. You disarm it. Indifference elicits no response. If people out their have stopped caring becoming largely indifferent it in itself would be very significant.
Maybe there’s bigger things in life than a sign?
Maybe there are, but to some of us it feels like a summary of a bigger picture. I don’t dispute that there are MANY hard working people at Crich who make the museum a better place, but when a designated national museum can’t even put a tram’s correct title on the interpretive panel used to educate the public about its history (which is surely a big part of a museum’s role), then I think we have a problem!
There has barely been any news from Crich so far this year which I think is why there are so few comments.
Chris, what are you talking about?
Making a wider point that compared to 2014 Crich articles generate far less comment and debate. I suggest that is a result of indifference. People starting to the future elsewhere. People in the past had pinned their hopes on turning Crich around i suggest a growing numbers increasingly indifferent and wonder whether the national model should remain. This goes far beyond a sign or one tram been placed on static.
Whether Rack 2 is in the Exhibition Hall temporarily of for the long term we don’t know, so to write her off completely as ‘Stuffed & Mounted’ is, I feel, a bit premature… Personally I would support some rotation of the operating fleet and a short lay-off for 2, if it allows something else the workshop time and a turn in service. My only quibble is the usual lack of communication from the Crich authorities on the permanency or otherwise of her withdrawal and/or timescales for a return to service. You just need to contrast the silence with the open communication from Beamish where we know what is planned for each and every tram in the fleet and roughly when they will re-enter service…
As regards the display board, if it is intended Rack 2 will be in the Exhibition for more than a few weeks then a display board should be produced, but the error in the title really isn’t good for the curatorial reputation… You can imagine the uproar if 331 was described as a “London City Council” tram or Paisley 68/Glasgow 1068 labelled as “Glasgow 68”…
Why do Crich trams need this major overhall mentioned in the article every 8 years? Before they ever turn a wheel at crich they are rebuilt to as new condition (869 was rebuilt TWICE!) After entering service it takes a Crich tram a year to rack up the sort of milage a proper in-service tram would accumulate in a week! So it’s equivalent to an overhaul every 8 weeks!
Is their restoration and maintenance really so bad they can’t give a vehicle a service life of more than 8 weeks?
regarding what Paul D said in his last paragraph, I think the Crich thought process goes something like this:
Is it from London? No
Is it from Leeds? No
Then does it matter? No
Well there’s one definite flaw in your last point there Franklyn – Leeds 602!
To be fair to Crich, in this case is it far more than the rigid “8 year overhaul” regardless. Rack 2 undeniably does need new tyres – anyone with even basic knowledge who examined it last year would agree there wasn’t much metal left in the flanges (and if I recall one end was noticable more worn than the other)
With regard to your supposed “thought process”; that would be the same Crich that also regularly get accused of running “too many Blackpool Trams” or “too many Glasgow cars”??
Ta for that Paul. Personally I think Crich runs far too many trams. Be far cheaper on the track if we got a bus or two.
Seems like a very sensible suggestion Phil. As part of a transition to wider tourist attraction dropping the national status certainly buses could be a very useful connection to the railway station. Reduced Operating/Opening Days & smaller operational pool. Perhaps worth suggesting at future AGM
BUSES? At Crich! Sorry, but no. Maybe heritage buses running from the site to the train station but not on the site itself. And as for reduced opening days and smaller operating pool, isn’t this the exact sort of situation Crich are trying to avoid? If anything, they need a bigger operating pool – I’ve noticed that certain trams run a lot more than others.
I vaguely remember a comment from a Crich workshop volunteer on here or another tram site about the eight-year overhauls that those had to do with the fact that lubricants have a limited shelf life and that bearings needed to be cleaned and newly lubricated. So the eight-year overhauls do not mean that the entire tram is taken down to the last nut and bolt, but just the bits that need doing. I might be wrong here, but some tramcars at Crich had this eight-year overhaul without anyone really noticing because it was done in one winter break.
Yeah, pretty much. The lighter, more runny bits that make up grease evaporate/fall off/whatever, leaving gunge that doesn’t really do anything. In addition, tram trucks get filthy-general dirt and cast iron dust off the brake shoes, which causes rust and wear. Then there’s bits that don’t need doing one overhaul, but do the next, such as tyre turning. As I understand it, 8 years is planned around as a rough guide, I believe it is a common standard on railways. This gives the workshop management something to plan and budget around. Around and beyond this point the decision whether to run or not is done individually. Hence 1068, 74, 7, I think maybe 812 and/or 22 as well as others are still running.
(This is only odd bits I’ve picked up over the years, I may have some details wrong)
Dad worked at Eastleigh works in the 80’s, and remembers some bright spark deciding that a load of lifting jacks should be scrapped because “We’ve not used them for years”. Not long after, the EMUs they fitted started coming in for their 8 year lift…
In fact, I have a suggestion for Andrew and Gareth. Have you thought of asking Crich for an interview with someone from the workshop management, explaining the whys and hows of the maintenaince program? I’m sure it’d be of great interest to the technically minded.
Smaller opeerrating pool? Seriously? Surely part of the attraction is the number of vehicles available? This allows the cars to rest as well whilst in the pool and doesn’t hammer a small pool of operational cars – look at the problems encountered recently at Heaton Park where a small pool operating all the time causes more mechanical failures and a rush to get cars back. If crich had about 8 – 10 cars only it would soon become stale.
I have to agree with this. As I noted earlier, the more the merrier!
By 2020 I reckon they’ll have about 30 operating trams.
Vintage buses would (and do on special occasions) look good in and add to the street scene. But apart from the short section between the town terminus and the Bowes-Lyon bridge there is no road surface for them to run on! I suppose they could get some Manchester area car drivers to visit and make some wrong turns to make things a bit more interesting!
Naughty but true Ken.
There will be an opportunity to see vintage buses (from the London Bus Museum, Brooklands) operating alongside the trams at Crich, and to ride on them, during the “Classic London” event in June. Classic London taxis are also planned to be involved, but their drivers will have been fully briefed.
Thanks for this information Gordon – sounds like a good event and although I’m not really that interested in buses, it should add a nice touch to the proceedings to have the buses actually in service alongside the trams. Might have to come along for that one!
T4D, you are right about the 8 year overhaul and the lifespan of the lubricants used [it may have been me who made comment]. It’s only the mechanical bits [trucks and current collectors] that are checked and fresh lubrication applied. Included in the overhaul are UAT [that’s Ultrasonic Axle Test] which detected the cracks in 167, 345 and 869’s axles during the overhauls. The trucks are stripped down to determine what wear has taken place and any parts replaced/overhauled.
Any work on the bodies are as required during the 8 year overhaul, as our restorations are designed for a 30 year life. Also remember that useage alone does not deteriorate the condition of the vehicle, the atmosphere at Crich is very damp during the winter months and dampness doesn’t help on static vehicles. Hope this clarifies matters