Over a year has now passed since Amsterdam 474 last turned a wheel in passenger service at the East Anglia Transport Museum. The single-deck tram is currently stored awaiting workshop attention, most notably repairs to a motor defect. However, help is now at hand thanks to the generosity of the Irish National Transport Museum who have recently donated some tramcar parts which will hopefully help to get 474 back on the road.
The museum had been home to an unused truck from an Amsterdam snow plough tram, and plans have been made over the last two years for it to be transferred to England to potentially benefit 474, as the only tram from this system to reside here in the UK. The Irish museum were increasingly keen to transfer ownership of the truck to the East Anglia Transport Museum, and negotiations culminated in it being transported to secure storage near Carlton Colville towards the end of 2015. The truck arrived with a number of other items including a set of resistance banks, metal rigging brackets and motors, all of which were moved onto pallets before the truck itself was maneuvered into the required position. Even so, the truck turned out to be surprisingly heavy and the task of dragging it along a small lane using a fork-lift truck was not an especially easy one! However, after a bit of clever thinking the truck was soon moved into a safe place where it can now be assessed to determine which parts are likely to be of use to its new owners. Although many parts, both of the truck and the accompanying items, are heavily corroded the tyres are in very good condition – unlike 474‘s – so these will no doubt come in very useful. Hopefully this will help to speed up the process of returning the car to an operable condition, and as the only tram at East Anglia capable of carrying wheelchairs its return to use cannot come too soon for the museum.
It’s very good to hear that number 474 is a step nearer to running again. There are not many opportunities to ride a typical continental tram in this country. Having had the chance to ride on sister car 465 through the streets of Amsterdam last year, I am sure 474 will be a crowd puller when it is able to run again. What would be the chances of it being lent to a longer line, say Beamish or even Blackpool?
Why? Its too small a capacity to be of any use and for a loan there needs to be a reason in order to finance it. I’d love to see it go playing but sadly I couldn’t see it happening.