Its another case of one tram out from Wednesbury and one in for the West Midlands as just a couple of days after 17 left, 37 comes back from Worksop. This latest move was on Friday 3rd May and sees 37 (the last of the Urbos3s) return to West Midlands Metro property after six months away.
37 had gone to the Harry Needle storage facility at Worksop on 2nd November 2023 and had remained stored there since whilst there is limited capacity at Wednesbury Depot during construction works.
Whereas when we saw 17 head away to Worksop earlier in the week we mentioned how it had been back and forth between various places in the UK, for 37 its trip for off-site storage was the first time it had been anywhere within the country. However, it has gone “home” to Spain when it was sent to the CAF factory in Zaragoza for repairs between 17th October 2020 and 15th June 2021.
With 37 back at Wednesbury it will receive attention to ensure all is well. Whether it will be prepared for service remains to be seen as it has recently been the case that those trams which return from Worksop then head back that way at the next exchange. Indeed the use of Urbos3s in service has been a rare sight recently – Friday 3rd May saw two in use (35 and 36) which is thought to be the first time since the Easter trackworks.
37 comes back to Wednesbury.
On the final approach as the tram comes back to the West Midlands Metro after six months away. (Both Photographs by Andy Walters, 3rd May 2024)