We take a look at another tram which has changed a lot over the past 15 years today. It is Leeds 345 which was in the midst of a major restoration in 2004 and is now firmly operational.
We start off in 2004 and we find Leeds 345 as a single deck tram in the workshop at Crich! The restoration of 345 had started two years earlier in 2002 and it would be a further two years before it would enter service with the upper deck structure being kept separately on a truck whilst work concentrated on the lower deck. Good progress on the external structure was being made but there was still a great deal of work to be done before it could return to action.
To 2019 now and Leeds 345 looks every inch a stunning example of what comes out of the conservation workshop at Crich – and its now a double-decker once more! Having entered service in 2006 it spent a period out of use from 2010 before again returning to operational use in 2012 and has remained active ever since. We see the tram on 22nd September at Glory Mine.
Both Photographs by Gareth Prior