Sunday 18th December marked the end of another highly successful operating season for Manchester’s Heaton Park Tramway, with the final passenger services of 2011 operating in the park on this day. What could have been a fairly ordinary day was made interesting for two reasons: firstly, the visit of a group of enthusiasts for the day who had also visited Birkenhead the day before; and secondly, because of snow!
At one point it was feared that the tramway’s year would end with a whimper as an overnight snowfall threatened closure, but happily the snow was not too severe to prevent trams from operating and Stockport 5 did a good job of clearing the worst of the snow and ice from the rails, with its powerful motors coming in very useful. This tram then became the main service car for the day – a rather brave choice considering the harsh weather conditions – but the unusual sight of an open top tram running through the snow-covered park brought some extra Christmas cheer to visitors, some of whom simply couldn’t resist climbing upstairs for a very bracing ride! However, Manchester 765 also worked a few trips for the visiting party of enthusiasts and the opportunity was also taken to pose both trams together on a few occasions. Heaton Park 7 was also standing on the siding adjacent to the tram depot, no doubt feeling rather chilly!
Meanwhile, inside the relative warmth of the depot, work continued to progress on commissioning Blackpool Brush Railcoach 623, ready for its much-anticipated return to service. A low trolley tower has now been prepared for fitting and was being painted on this day, whilst weatherproofing work on the roof has also continued. The car is then expected to receive a very thorough internal clean before entering service, hopefully in the early part of 2012.
It is certainly bizarre to think that Stockport 5 has missed out on many baking hot days in Blackpool simply because it wasn’t part of the core operating fleet, yet now it is at Heaton Park it has been running in the snow! Hopefully the fortunes of this tram have now permanently changed for the better and it will continue to be a regular performer at the park during 2012.