What is believed to the sole surviving tram of a once 30 strong fleet in Carlisle is set to be moved to a new location in the city to allow for a start to be made on a restoration by Workington Transport Heritage Trust who purchased the tram for £50 back in 2005. It is planned that the tram – believed to one of a batch of eight double deckers constructed in 1912 – will be cosmetically restored and put on display somewhere within Carlisle.
The tram is currently stored in a building at Carlisle College but due to redevelopment work it needs to be moved from there and Virgin Trains have kindly offered an area at the
city’s Railway Station for the tram to be stored and eventually restored to something approaching its former glory. The remaining section of the body is just the lower saloon so a considerable amount of restoration will be needed and the Trust are hoping to raise £12,000 to allow this to take place.
Philip Tuer, co-ordinator at the Trust, said: “We should be able to restore the main seating area relatively easily, it is the rest of it that is going to take an awful lot of work. We will probably look to places like Portugal for other elements like the upper section, staircases and bogie.”
The Trust believe that the tram is one of the eight double deck trams built in 1912 by UEC but there are no visible clues on the tram to suggest which one it may be. Numbered 1-8 these trams were enclosed double deckers seating 50 with Brill 21E trucks. These trams remained in use until the tramway was closed in 1931.
* You can find out more about the Workington Transport Heritage Trust on their website at http://www.wtht.co.uk/