Sunday 2nd April will see a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Manchester Transport Museum Society at the Heaton Park Tramway with up to four trams hoped to be in service alongside a selection of currently stored trams on display at locations on the tramway.
The Manchester Transport Museum Society was established in 1967 as the Manchester Transport Historical Collection. Before the Heaton Park Tramway came into being their first major project was the restoration of Manchester 765 which had been rescued from close to Huddersfield. Initial work took place at Crich before further work was undertaken in Manchester. The tram then returned to Crich to operate for a couple of years. Attention was soon turned to operating 765 in its home city once again and the former tramway siding in Heaton Park was identified and Manchester City Council approached to bring this plan to life. With the former shelter converted into a depot and the tracks unearthed the tramway was officially opened at Easter 1980 – and the rest is history. Over the past 37 years the tramway has gone from strength to strength having been extended and a second depot built in recent years whilst the number of trams on site has significantly multiplied.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the MTMS an event will be held at Heaton Park on Sunday 2nd April with trams running between 1100 and 1700. It is now confirmed that (subject to the usual caveats) the two tram service from 1100-1300 will be operated by Hull 96 and Manchester 765, with the three trams in action between 1300 and 1600 being Blackpool 619, Manchester 765 and Blackpool Brush 623 (its first passenger journeys since 2015 and back for a limited return only) and then for the final hour it will be a two car service again with 623 being joined by Hull 96. Subject to engineering assessments it is hoped that four different trams will run on the day. As well as the trams in service there will be a selection of stored trams on display around the tramway.
* We are pleased to confirm that subject to unforeseen circumstances British Trams Online will be providing our first LIVE coverage of 2017 from the event (the first time we have provided this service from Heaton Park in about 4 years!). As always this will be provided on Facebook – but don’t forget you don’t have to be a member of Facebook as this is available without logging in.