If you’ve been waiting for your tram fix at the home of the National Tramway Museum at Crich you’ll have to be a bit more patient as its been announced that the first trams won’t be running for an additional week. But whilst we do wait to see the museum open once again after its winter shutdown it can also be revealed the trams that should be running at some point during the 2024 season.
The Crich Tramway Village was originally due to open for the first time for 2024 on Saturday 9th March but this has now been pushed back by seven days until Saturday 16th March. In the press release confirming this slight delay the reason given is surrounding road closures and installation works which make access to the museum more difficult.
Dr Mike Galer, General Manager at Crich Tramway Village, said: “We have had a lot of challenges with ongoing works and road closures around Crich, and our main aim is to ensure the health, safety and ease of access for our teams and visitors.
We are very sorry to disappoint our visitors who had planned to attend during the original opening week, but we believe that the delay of one week to our opening, will provide a much better experience for all concerned.”
It is hoped that some of the road closures affecting access will be lifted by 16th March which will allow the museum to open its gates once more to the public.
Its also been confirmed that up to 20 passenger electric trams are set to included as part of the demonstration fleet for 2024. As always the list given below is subject to the usual caveats of successful commissioning and we are grateful to Peter Bird, Rolling Stock Engineer at Crich Tramway Village, for providing this information to us.
There are two categories of trams for the demonstration fleet – those expected to be the mainstays of the fleet and those which are on the list but is still to be confirmed as its dependent on the completion of work before they can be fully commissioned.
The main list includes:
Glasgow 22
Blackpool & Fleetwood 40
Blackpool 40
Sheffield 74
Newcastle 102
Blackpool 166
Blackpool 167
Leeds 180
Blackpool 236
Oporto 273
Metropolitan Electric Tramways 331
Leeds 399
Sheffield 510
Blackpool 630
Liverpool 869
London Transport 1622
Then the “to be confirmed” trams are:
London County Council 1
Chesterfield 7
London County Council 106
London United Tramways 159
In addition works vehicles Cardiff 131 and the Blackpool Electric Locomotive will also be available.
Of course, there could be some trams which haven’t run for a long-time in preservation (if indeed at all!) with the hoped for and anticipated return to service of Newcastle 102 (last ran 2000) and London County Council 1 (last ran 1957 – in Leeds!). The list above also offers the prospect of some trams which ended 2023 out of use as being back in service. If even some of this happens it looks like 2024 could be another great year for Crich!
- Crich Tramway Village now opens from Saturday 16th March. During the spring season (16th March to 25th July) the museum is Saturday to Thursday every week plus Fridays 29th March, 5th April, 12th April and 31st May. Weekends sees opening times of 1000-1730 (last admission 1600) and weekdays is 1000-1630 (last admission 1500).
Thanks to all involved for sharing the list of planned operational trams – let us all hope that the issues experienced last year won’t happen again and we will be able to enjoy this wonderful large and varied selection of trams running!
I’m concerned by the notable absence of Berlin 3006 from the list though, does anyone know what’s wrong with it? Obviously as the Access Tram it will be much missed if it can’t run this year. Also I’m surprised LCC 106 is “to be confirmed”, as I was under the impression its repairs had been completed late last season.
These points aside, there is much to be happy about on these lists – aside from the obvious, the welcome return to service of Box 40 and London Transport 1622 will be very welcome, fingers crossed. I also hope that Newcastle 102 gets a proper launch event, and hopefully I’ll be there as its a special tram to me.
Berlin 223 006-4 has been withdrawn from service due to the degradation of its vulcanised India rubber cabling, and other defects. There will be no accessible tram available at Crich for at least this season, presumably until Blackpool 645 can be converted and commissioned. The museum’s website states that it’s hoped that a replacement for the access tram (presumably 645) will be available in 2025.
https://www.tramway.co.uk/plan-your-visit/accessibility/
From TMS Contact # 519: –
“Berlin 3006: Further to concerns raised in recent years, and having sought advice from competent persons regarding the VIR traction cabling and the high risk of fire, the decision has been taken not to commission this tramcar. The deteriorating condition has been a concern for several years. Inspections made in 2023, when suspected asbestos was found in the resistances, highlighted the general poor condition of the traction wiring.”