Less than a week after it arrived at Crich Tramway Village for the first time ever, Oporto C65 left Crich for good early on the afternoon of Monday 12th September. The coal tram is bound for Beamish Museum, having been officially handed over to that organisation where it is expected that it will be returned to running order.
The display of C65 on the depot fan at Crich was the highlight of ‘Tram Day’ on Saturday 10th September, when it was displayed alongside fellow Oporto trams 9 and 273 as well as a huge variety of works vehicles over the course of the day. This was just a one-off opportunity to see it at the museum though; just two days later, it was loaded up and set off on a low loader for its next, much longer, journey to the North East.
Hopefully this unusual tram can now enjoy a more promising future with its new owners, whilst also freeing up space in the accommodation of the Tramway Museum Society for other vehicles, such as Bournemouth 85 which is expected to join the national collection imminently.
12th September was also a notable day at Crich because of the welcome return to service of Blackpool Brush Railcoach 630. This tram has been out of action since late last season with braking issues, but following remedial attention it made a surprise appearance on test at the end of the day on the aforementioned ‘Tram Day’. This obviously went well, enabling 630 to resume its operational career a couple of days later. 2016 has been a fairly quiet year for the Brush cars with sister 623 on restricted use at Manchester whilst it awaits workshop attention, and Blackpool’s sole operational Brush car 631 has also seen relatively little use so far this year. With its modern headlights and saloon heaters, 630‘s return to use should be appreciated by volunteer crews at Crich as summer turns to autumn.
And we had only just got to know you! Oporto C65 is seen turning out of Crich Tramway Village onto the main road, with the lorry that would transport it to its new home at Beamish. (Photo courtesy of Crich Tramway Village)