The tramway at Beamish enjoyed a very busy 2017 with 27,550 miles covered – a figure made all the more impressive by the fact that only five trams were operational at some point in the year, including Blackpool 147 which returned home in early March. The figures have been revealed on Beamish Transport Online which also reveal that since they started to keep records in 2002 trams have covered 331,775 miles!
The highest mileage tram was Sheffield 264 which managed an impressive 7,650 miles throughout 2017 closely followed by Oporto 196 at 6,725, Newcastle 114 at 6,225 miles and Sunderland 16 at 6,125 miles. Blackpool 147 also managed 825 miles at the start of the year before it was returned to Blackpool.
The figures for Newcastle 114 were the highest open topper mileage in a year at Beamish whilst Oporto 196 has the highest mileage since 2002 at 64,025 miles. It just goes to show just how many times in a year each trams has to go round the circuit at Beamish!
2017 saw the fleet having to be managed at times during the season with Sunderland 16’s tyres requiring attention which meant it was kept back earlier in the season to ensure its availability during Halloween and Christmas events. Oporto 196 also spent a planned four weeks out of service in November for works attention.
As for 2018 it is hoped that Blackpool 31 will be returned to service in the first half of the year and once it does Sunderland 16 will be lifted for attention. 16 is not expected to run in service beyond mid-January in preparation for this work to take place. Work is also continuing on Gateshead 10’s extensive overhaul with a view to this alsoreturning to service in the future.
* Full details of the mileage and a commentary on each tram can be found on Beamish Transport Online.