Heaton Park Tramway get ready for a new season

Over the past few weeks we have seen various heritage tramways get back up and running for another season and one of the next to welcome its first passengers for 2022 will be the Heaton Park Tramway – and they will be starting things off with a party! The first trams of the year will be running on Sunday 3rd April with a much delayed special event to celebrate their 40th birthday with it being titled 40th(+2) Birthday.

But before we reach that date there is much work which has been taking place at the tramway to get everything ready. This has included general maintenance and commissioning of the trams. Hull 96 was the first tram to start the commissioning process and has since been followed by Blackpool 623 and Manchester 765 to have a good going over to make sure that everything is working safely and as it should.

During the commissioning work there has also been a bit of tram movement with the two Wootton Tramway vehicles – the miniature tramway acquired by the Manchester Transport Museum Society last year – transported along the line from Middleton Road Depot to Lakeside Depot.

On top of the commissioning work there has been some general maintenance tasks taking place on the trams over the winter. Manchester 765 and Stockport 5 have had their floors painted whilst Blackpool 623 has seen its floor cleaned (as they can’t be painted because of the type of material) and has also had attention to its exterior paintwork. Other work on 5 has seen its staircases receiving a coat of floor paint too. The trams have also received a thorough interior clean all in preparation for the new season.

And that’s not where the prep work ends either as over the winter Lakeside Depot has had some work undertaken including concreting which now means there is a full floor right the way across the second depot on the tramway.

  • The Heaton Park Tramway reopens on Sunday 3rd April.
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