Another visit to Manchester is on the cards for the latest instalment of Picture in Time and we feature another of the T68s in the early days of the system.
Having been delivered to Manchester on 13th February 1992 this is T68 1016 on 20th July 1992 – the day that the full first phase of Metrolink was completed with the line through Piccadilly Gardens to Piccadilly Station was opened to the public. By this time 1016 had been in service for over three months having been used on the first day of services on 6th April 1992. It remained in service until 10th February 2014 when it was withdrawn and in the intervening years it had been to Wolverton Works twice – firstly for standard refurbishment works and the second for repairs to derailment damage. After withdrawal the tram was stored in Manchester for a short period before it embarked on a road journey on 21st August 2014 – this trip was not to be to the scrapman though as it was one of the lucky T68s selected for the UK Tram test fleet at Long Marston and this is where 1016 remains to this day.
In this view we see 1016 with a service for Altrincham on 20th July 1992.
Photograph by Ralph Oakes-Garnett