Last night we brought you an update from winter maintenance at the Seaton Tramway and tonight we turn our attention to the Crich Tramway Village where they too are getting ready for a new operating season. The workshop team have been busy on readying various trams for a return to action whilst out on the mainline there has been attention to the all important infrastructure.
We start off in the workshops where over the winter period the overhaul of Blackpool Standard 40 has been completed. The tram missed the 2022 season having been withdrawn at the end of the previous season and during this work it has been lifted and following this it has now been returned to its trucks.
Other trams to have passed through the workshops so far in the closed period have been Newcastle 102 (which is approaching a return to service for the first time in over 20 years), Blackpool 166 (collision repairs) and London County Council 106 (collision repairs). The major restoration of London County Council 1 also continues to make good progress (with the hop that this may be able to undergo testing and an entry into service later this year) and the commissioning of trams for the 2023 season will also soon get underway.
Away from the trams and contractor Pod-Trak have been on site to perform an inspection of the overhead. The in-house engineering team will also be starting to clean and prepare the tram track in the coming weeks.
Graeme Wigglesworth, Engineering Manager at Crich Tramway Village, said: “We’re delighted with the progress made on the trams which required maintenance and repairs over the winter, and the overhead line and track will be ready to test the tramcars prior to the new season opening. We hope people will enjoy riding on these trams again as well as the others in our collection.”
- The Crich Tramway Village will be reopening to the public on Saturday 11th For the spring season (which runs until Thursday 13th July) it will be open Saturdays to Thursdays with Fridays remaining a closed day, expect for Bank Holidays and School Holidays.
A scene we will hopefully see regularly in the near future. Newcastle 102 just outside the depot entrance. (Photograph by Peter Whiteley)
Contractors from Pod-Trak inspecting the overhead at Town End.
More overhead inspection. This time alongside the depot fence. (Photographs x2 courtesy of Crich Tramway Village)