We are back in Manchester for our latest Picture in Time image and we have now reached 1012 in our quest to feature all of the original T68s. Today we bring you two images, both taken in April 1992.
1012 was delivered to Manchester on 24th January 1992 and had the honour of forming the very first passenger carrying service from Victoria to Bury on the opening day – 6th April 1992. After that claim to fame there wasn’t much that the tram would be able to do in the rest of its operating career to match that and out of all the T68s it was one of those which just carried on with its daily business without too much of a fuss. It spent two months at Wolverton Works from March 2004 for refurbishment works (although it was only away for a couple of months it would be until July that it returned to service) and then five years later it received further attention – this time in house – as part of the T68X Universal Running modifications project. It managed to survive in service until the last day of 2013 (31st December in case you were wondering) and was then loaded onto the back of a lorry on 10th October 2014. It’s destination was Booths of Rotherham where it was scrapped.
Our two photos today were taken on 27th April 1992 – the first day of cross city centre operations with the G-Mex to Victoria section opening – and show the tram running through the city centre although not in service. There also appears to be some curious tape attached the bodysides at one end.
Both Photographs by Ralph Oakes-Garnett
Is there an ice cream van in the first picture? Is it Market Street?
Yes it is Market Street the building behind is Debenhams, interestingly there is no Market Street Tram stop!
There wasn’t a Market Street stop as we know it now. In those days there were two single stops, one on High Street for trams heading to Altrincham and Piccadilly and for those running in the opposite direction one was built on the pavement of Market Street, outside what was then Lewis’s department store, (now Primark).