Modern preserved tram for the scrapman?

When the fleet of Midland Metro T69s were sold at e-auction in 2018, several examples were saved including one which was due to preserved by Birmingham Museums. But now after four years of storage at Long Marston it appears that 11, still in its Birmingham Corporation inspired livery, is about to be scrapped as it has been seen on a low loader close to Sims Metal UK in Newport – a location well known for the scrapping of UK rail vehicles.

Presuming that the tram being seen on a low loader – operated by Reid Freight – so close to Sims Metal means what it appears to mean, its not clear what has changed in the apparent preserved status of 11. It was announced as being preserved with much fan-fare at the time of the e-auction with it being selected mainly because it carried the name Teresa Stewart, who was the first (and to date only) female leader of Birmingham City Council.

It was due to be preserved by Birmingham Museums but as they had no space at the time it was sent to Long Marston for storage, arriving in Warwickshire on 8th March 2016. And there it has remained for the past six years – until now it would appear.

There were/are three other Midland Metro T69s at Long Marston: 07, 10 and 16. Of these 10 was recently treated to a British Transport Police repaint for Rail Live whilst 16 was still believed to be owned by West Midlands Metro and 07 was owned by UK Tram for test purposes. The status of these three is unknown.

Could this be the undignified end of the T69?

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12 Responses to Modern preserved tram for the scrapman?

  1. Andy walters says:

    Personally I feel like we’re been robbed of what was a very favorite Tram , not only to us local tram enthusiasts but also to the local people and the WM staff who drove her and worked on her .
    They knew that tram had a special sparkle from the other T69 Trams
    The museum left it too long and so it seems to late ,and oddly they never gave US the enthusiasts a chance to help with any part of it
    I can tell you now there would a few from WM metro staff and local enthusiasts only too willing to chip in and clean and help to look after the old girl .
    If the museum didn’t have the room , why didn’t they just have half of the tram ? Just one front section . Or even if push really comes to desperation measures just the cab end .
    The rest of the T69s were sold at
    £1000 each
    Even with transportation to a museum it wouldn’t have cost alot .

    NO some one must have decided it just wasn’t worth the cost or the trouble and maybe a pile of bricks costing three times the amount or something equivalent would be better spent ! That’s normally they way things go .

  2. Nigel Pennick says:

    When it comes to national heritage, trams are not part of museum curators’ awareness. Hence trams (and indeed all transport relics) are considered of specialist interest rather than being seen as part of wider social history. Consequently, outside tram or transport museums, they are deemed as not worthy of consideration as historic artifacts. The museum world is often skewed towards artistic relics, and trams, being utilitarian, find no place among similarly historic items.

  3. Andy says:

    I’d like to know where the thing that used to be known as “The National Tramway Museum” is at the moment? Is it not their main reason for being to preserve our NATIONAL transport heritage? They have taken in various cars from overseas in recent years, while letting many historically important British examples take their chances with smaller organisations or even private individuals.

    No wonder they changed their name!

    • Anonymous says:

      Andy – where do you expect them to put it? The last modern tram they had was scrapped due to vandalism. they couldn’t even take a Blackpool Centenary!

    • Andrew says:

      Is it just me or has there been a lot more ‘Crich bashing’ on this site and elsewhere recently? Yes OK, the place is far from perfect but considering the issues facing other places I find it odd how many people seem to be ripping into the TMS of late (or is it a distraction technique of sorts?). Yes, the museum could certainly do with at least one 2nd generation tram but realistically a new depot would be needed as it simply won’t fit on the current tramway – even a Blackpool Centenary car was too wide for the existing depots! There will be plenty of opportunities for Crich to acquire a 2nd generation tram in the future, indeed its been hinted a few times that they’re likely to take one from Nottingham eventually.

      As for the T69, its a crying shame if 11 is scrapped but preserving such large vehicles is a major challenge for most organisations. Perhaps it would be better for local museums to try and preserve one from their own system rather than expect a single museum to take multiple examples.

      • Big G says:

        Would depot accomodation be a neccessary requirement, at least in the early stages of preservation? Second gen trams mostly appear to be stabled in the open.

      • Paul says:

        The NET Incentro makes far more sense for Crich in many ways:
        1. The ‘local’ 2nd gen system.
        2. Narrower bodied cars (2.4m vs 2.5m for a Blackpool Centenary; 2.55 for a T69; 2.65m for a Blackpool Flexity, Sheffield Siemens-Duewag Supertram, or Metrolink T68)
        3. Built locally at Derby (the last to date British built trams for a UK system)

  4. Big G says:

    The ‘last modern tram’ that you refer to was only a partial mock-up, and even that presented accomodation problems. More importantly, one modern tram is already well on the way to preservation and, if you are looking for one to be kept at Crich in the future, there is one currently in service elsewhere with a much better claim. As with first generation trams, you can’t keep them all!

  5. Anonymous says:

    Big G would you care to elaborate rather than being so cryptic? A T69 is the only car small enough for Crich to even hope to accommadate (which theby can’t). Its a shame all the save it brigade couldnt have sorted a second gen crich somewhere. There are 2 preserved cars I know of – 1007 in store and the one at Crewe. Both Manchester.

  6. Richard says:

    Has it definitely been confirmed that it has been scrapped?

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