An unexpected, and unwelcome development at Crich Tramway Village has seen Southampton 45 withdrawn from service and placed on static display inside the Great Exhibition Hall. 45 has always been a very popular tram in the fleet, mostly due to it being the preservation of this tram which started the ball rolling for what was to become the National Tramway Museum.
Southampton 45 has provided invaluable service for many years, and indeed for the last few years it has been the only open-topped double decker available for regular service in the operating fleet. However, this has inevitably taken its toll and the car has now been sidelined as it was felt that the condition of its bodywork and paintwork were deteriorating considerably. Several years ago, some remedial work was done to prevent its body from drooping, but it was accepted that the tram was starting to show its age and therefore it is now looking in need of some further attention. Therefore, on 2nd March, it was moved into the Exhibition Hall to replace Glasgow 1068, which was moved across to the workshop, presumably in preparation for its planned visit to Beamish next month. It is expected (although not yet officially confirmed) that 1068 will take 45‘s place in the running fleet once it returns home, with the expected entry into service of LUT 159 later this year giving a further boost to the museum’s open top fleet. It would therefore seem that, thankfully, fears that no open top deck rides would be available at Crich for the forseeable future have been unfounded.
It remains to be seen when – or indeed, if 45 will pass through the workshops but it is expected to sit idle throughout 2013. If its lay-off is destined to be a lengthy one, then perhaps the opportunity could be taken to create a special display, explaining 45‘s special place in the national collection to visitors. It is understood that 45‘s condition is not too severe and that it could be returned to service reasonably easily, however with a long line of trams awaiting overhauls and understandable budget cuts due to falling visitor numbers, the Southampton tram could well have run its last journey for quite some time.