As with most of the rest of the country the Crich Tramway Village have made plans to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and although they aren’t quite what was initially planned they are still going ahead to commemorate this incredibly rare occasion. A new display has been created in the Octagon building at Wakebridge with help from pupils at Crich Junior School which includes some photos from the Crich archives of trams decorated for previous Jubilees and Coronations.
The original plan had been that one of the horse trams displayed in the Great Exhibition Hall would be decorated to commemorate the Jubilee with pupils from Crich Junior School helping to make some paper flowers and banners to go on the tram and horse. Other trams in the Exhibition Hall would also have been decorated with flags and bunting and volunteers in the Workshop had also restored some illuminated signs they had in storage, including a crown, to be displayed.
Unfortunately, with the safety issues causing the Great Exhibition Hall to be closed until further notice (along with the depots and with no trams able to run at all) these plans are no longer able to happen. But not to be perturbed, Crich changed track and decided to use the Octagon building at Wakebridge for a display celebrating royal events of days gone by.
- The display at Crich will remain open at the Octagon for the next few weeks. Crich remains on limited opening with the depots and exhibition hall out of bounds whilst repairs are undertaken on the overhead. Reduced admission is available during this period with no trams operating. More details at https://www.tramway.co.uk/plan-your-visit/tickets/.
Can we know what the safety issues are, or have I missed something?
Weeks after this happened there’s still no one prepared to say much. Instead the silence is deafening. Though very serious, these aren’t matters of state, or even state security? Fear of bad PR maybe? Why the continued secrecy after all thee weeks?
I really don’t know what your expecting them to say. When Blackpool had the 272/T2 fire (one that plenty predicted would happen) don’t recall people demanding explanations & detail. Indeed vast majority to this day have no idea the reason the likes of 230 sat languishing in depot is because of that incident. Given they subject to prohibition notice (presumably means external investigation) think they been pretty open via press.
I had been told that it relates to “dangerous” overhead and trackwork outside the depots, which of course, would fit, as they will get maximum usage and therefore wear and tear.
But it is what I was TOLD, not necessarily the truth.
But that’s the problem here.
It’s that the longer the secretiveness carries on, the more that the “rumour machine” will create what it wants to create, if nothing else, to “fill the gap of facts” as it were.
And in time, it might start to vastly exceed the actual reasons and do far more lasting damage than if they’d just stop being so damn arrogant and ignorant and just let the people who keep them in business, knowing just what is actually wrong.
I’d suggest it’s FAR better to admit you’ve got a bit of iffy track that will be fixed by such a date etc, than to let others make up stuff that can be far more inventive, more potentially lastingly damaging and usually basically untrue.
Human nature sadly will do just that and the longer they stay silent, the more it will happen and cause at the very least, mischief and more probably, lasting damage.
I was a driver on the day the ORR visited. All I know is that when returning my tram to the depot at the end of the day I had to do it with the trolley tied down coasting into the yard and then being pushed into the depot. As far as I am aware the problem relates to traction poles holding up the overhead, nothing to do with the track. There, you know as much as I do.