As the operating season progresses, the number of trams being made available for use at Crich Tramway Village has continued to increase. So far this year, records show that a very credible eighteen tramcars have run in passenger service at the museum, with London United Tramways 159 being the most recent to re-enter service following a winter lay-off.
The trams which have carried passengers thus far in 2015 are: Chesterfield 7, Blackpool 40, LUT 159, Blackpool 166, Blackpool 167, Leeds 180, Blackpool 236, Oporto 273, MET 331, Leeds 345, Leeds 399, Sheffield 510, Blackpool 630, Blackpool 762, Glasgow 812, Glasgow 1068, London Transport 1622 and Berlin 223 006-4. Of particular note is Blackpool Jubilee 762 which received some further adjustments during the commissioning process, and duly managed two consecutive days of trouble-free service, so hopefully this tram can now settle down into more regular and reliable service after experiencing some minor teething troubles following its launch last September.
On normal running days either two or three trams are used to maintain a basic service, although on a number of occasions one of them has been swapped over for another tram in order to provide some added interest for visitors. Another welcome development has seen posts made on the attraction’s Facebook and Twitter pages online almost daily, with a list of trams in service on that day provided. Whilst accepting that this is aimed at a wider audience, it would be even better however if the tone of writing used was a little less patronising, as a decent number of enthusiasts will surely be reading the information supplied. Recent posts have implored people to visit Crich on a warm and sunny day to sample an ice cream, followed by a list of three all enclosed trams in service, and the overall tone being portrayed seems to be creating the impression of a sort of Thomas the Tank Engine type world of sunshine and smiles. As for the trams themselves; Glasgow 1068 has been referred to by museum representatives as ‘Paisley 1068’ a number of times – of course this tram was numbered 68 when it was part of the Paisley District Tramways fleet and was only renumbered once it was claimed by Glasgow Corporation. Recently Metropolitan 331 has been referred to as ‘London 331’, a style of simplification not unlike Blackpool & Fleetwood 2 being labelled ‘Blackpool 2’ in the Exhibition Hall. Does this really matter? Perhaps not, but as an accredited national museum, staff at Crich have previously been keen to emphasise that the museum’s role is to inform and educate its visitors, rather than simply to provide an entertaining day out. Such labels do little to enhance the museum’s credibility and suggest that there is little desire to encourage visitors to learn about the trams they are riding on. Maybe the next step will be to advise the public that they come to see and ride on ‘Tommy the Toastrack’ and ‘Larry the London Tram’, whilst the workshop and curatorial departments continue to strive for accuracy and authenticity undeterred by this apparent dumbing-down?
It is indeed disturbing that accuracy of labelling is not considered important any more, when this is a fundamental duty of a museum to document accurately all exhibits. The fake-up of a Blackpool Balloon as a Sunderland tram at Beamish was one of the first signs of the way things might be going, changing the museum function to that of the theme park.
The stated long term aim with the balloon tram was always to rebuild the ends to represent the long lost Sunderland Streamliners. The gubbins of the tram is essentially the same! Painting it up is just a stop gap.
Although I agree on the comments regarding the labelling, the “fake-up” of the Blackpool Balloon I believe is not in the same catagory. The purists may be shocked about this, but to have something to represent “what-could-have-been” generates more interest. After all, there are many other Balloons preserved in various Blackpool liveries.
The rail preservation movement is much more open to this sort of thing. I remember when one of the cl40’s at Bury was painted in large logo livery (which they never carried); the vast majority of enthusiasts welcomed this as a welcome change, and only a very very few purists voiced their shock at such a repaint! For me this is not a sign of moving the musuem function to that of a theme park.
I agree absolutely. It is a known fact that Beamish plan to modify 703/101 to represent a Sunderland car when time, money and workshop space permit. What is wrong with giving the tram the appropriate livery in the short term, especially when as Peter says there are numerous balloons in Blackpool condition already. To say that it makes Beamish into a theme park is nonsense.
Funny isn’t it how some of the most vociferous critics of painting 703 as Sunderland 101, also praised the painting of Boat 602 in an equally fictitious red livery…
A case of double standards from a small Blackpool-centric minority perhaps?
Personally I support both those as one-off repaints portraying plausible ‘might have been’ scenarios.
With regard to Crich misidentifying trams, the information board for B&F 2 is clearly curatorial cock-up and really aught to be corrected. The Facebook and Twitter ‘simplification’ is more transient and less crucial. It may be as simple as they are being done by a coms/media person less versed in the intricacies of the operators and history of the trams…
As I have recounted before on here and elsewhere. I painted my bus in Manchester Streamline livery to give those never to have seen it the chance to experience it. The type of vehicle concerned a Crossley were going to be ordered by Manchester and presumably in the same livery, however a change of manager swept it all away. The only other vehicle that could authentically wear the livery is also in our depot but is years away from being fully restored. So the choice was not to bother and wait until said vehicle was restored or paint my own bus. Most have accepted the reasons but a couple of pedantics have never been able to accept the concept of “what might have been” despite copious explanations from myself and others. I agree with the Beamish situation in respect of the pseudo Sunderland tram and not deprive those that remember such trams a chance to see a tram as near as damn it to the original. In my case if I wait until Manchester 129 is restored then everyone who remembered Manchester Streamline livery would be dead. I do remember Crich painting a Blackpool Standard in Manchester colours some years ago now for a Howard Spring play on television. Very nice it looked too and now of course the tram came to no harm and is happy trundling around as a Blackpool tram again.