There are often complaints in Blackpool when the tram service is split in two when special events take place on the Tower Headland but that by no means the only tramway which sees curtailed services at times during the year. Probably the tramway which sees the most of this type of disruption is Edinburgh Trams with trams from the Airport terminating at West End-Princes Street when various events happen on Princes Street itself. One such occasion was for a few hours during the afternoon of Sunday 14th July as captured in these images from Roy Calderwood.
277 has just departed from West End-Princes Street as it starts its journey back to the Airport in this shot. It is using the crossover which is situated on the Haymarket side of this stop. In the central reservation an Edinburgh Trams van is to be found whilst this scene also contains plenty else of interest. The church in the background is the former St George’s West, now the Charlotte Chapel with a statue of former Prime Minister William Gladstone just standing above the tram. The pink figure is of Scottish cartoon character “Oor Wullie” and is part of a trail of these figures across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen and raising money for children’s hospitals. A similar trail of Elmer the Elephant is taking place this summer around the Tyne and Wear Metro network.
Also on the crossover here we see 273 on its way to the Airport. Services were curtailed at West End-Princes Street for a few hours during a Jazz and Blues Festival carnival.
254 stands at West End-Princes Street having just terminated with a service from the Airport. It will soon return to the Airport using the crossover to gain the correct track. (All Photographs by Roy Calderwood, 14th July 2019)