With further significant progress on the depot refurbishment works at Crich Tramway Village, yet another major shunting operation took place at the home of the National Tramway Museum on Saturday 20th January. Depot 4 now appears to be completed, enabling it to be filled with trams, whilst Depot 3 has now been emptied to allow the new wall insulation to be installed.
The day began early, despite some heavy snow falls, with Johannesburg 60 having the honour of being the first tram to be placed in the revamped Depot 4. It was moved into the far corner of the building, with Glasgow 1282 and London Transport 1622 later going in front of it on road 12 – as this track is only accessible via the traverser, it is generally home to trams that are not considered serviceable, as is the case with this trio.
Another non-operational tram, Glasgow 812, was next to be moved, going from road 8 to road 10, with Chesterfield 7 and Blackpool 166 both put in front of it. Road 11 was filled by Southampton 45, Sheffield 330 and Oporto 273, listed in order from the back wall. Of note, 273 was moved from the workshop to free up space there along with Sheffield 510, which is currently awaiting the fitting of a new panel. Both trams have been temporarily evicted to free up space for trams in the running fleet to be commissioned, with Metropolitan 331 and Liverpool 869 currently under attention. Also in the workshop is Leeds 180 which is being re-wired, as well as the long-term resident, London County Council 1.
With the ongoing depot works at an advanced stage, many of the volunteers and staff at Crich are no doubt now looking forward to a time when they no longer have to move trams around between depot tracks in the freezing cold, but its all in a good cause and all the effort will be worth it when the fleet are safely housed in a much improved, insulated environment!
With thanks to Peter Whiteley for providing information relating to the trams that were shunted on this day, and to Dean Sharp for the images published below.
A tram which hasn't carried passengers since 2012 but has had quite a few airings in recent months - Johnannesburg 60 is shown outside the depot yard being pushed back towards its usual position on road 12.
A peek inside Depot 4 from a novel angle as Blackpool 166 escapes the snow and is driven inside. Just about visible is the new inner wall separating Depots 3 & 4 - to the left of Chestefield 7 in this picture.
Still retaining wartime livery modifications, Glasgow 812 is pushed through the depot gates by the Blackpool locomotive - from which this scene was captured.
Southampton 45 takes its turn to be shunted back into the depots. (All photos by Dean Sharp)