Article updated 28/7/24 with photos and video link.
Newcastle 102 has carried its first normal passengers since 2000 with it entering service for the first time since overhaul at the Crich Tramway Village on Saturday 27th July 2024. It was a low key return to service – and sees it still running with limited capacity – with no formal ceremony or pre-publicity but it marks a significant return to action for the tram.
102’s history can be traced back to 1901 but it would not enter service until 1903 as one of the F-class of trams to be used on the Newcastle Corporation Tramways system. It entered service as a large capacity double deck open topper with capacity for 84 seated passengers and it would remain in the same condition (no later enclosing of the tram would come). The tram was finally withdrawn in 1949 and was soon acquired for preservation.
Before it would find its way to Crich it would spend time at both Bury and at the Montagu Motor Museum in Beaulieu, Hampshire (along with another TMS tram, but one which was closer to home there – Southampton 45). Restoration would not take place at Crich with it returning home to Newcastle for that to start between 1967 and 1970, and then it moved further south for the work to be completed.
In 1975 it finally arrived at Crich and was launched into service on 21st June of that year. It would spend parts of the next 25 years in service at Crich – and would also manage to fit in visits back to the northeast for a cavalcade to celebrate the opening of the Tyne and Wear Metro in 1981 and more famously a spell in service at the Gateshead Garden Festival in 1990.
Returning to Crich after that it would remain operation until 2000 when it suffered a broken axle and was confined to the Exhibition Hall and Depot awaiting this to be fixed.
Salvation would come in the form of funding from the Tramcar Sponsorship Organisation and 102 was moved into the Workshops on 30th June 2018 for work to start. This was interrupted by the pandemic but over the past few years the tram has continued to approach a return and after testing, special trips for members of the TSO it has finally been cleared for service.
It is not yet fully ready for service as part of its continued commissioning process it will run with limited capacity for now but it does add a much needed additional open tram at Crich as we enter the school summer holidays when you would hope the weather might be a bit better and lend itself to non-enclosed trams! So far this year the open tram flag has mainly been waved by Blackpool 236 with Blackpool 166 also seeing some use.
- Video from Steven Hughes of 102’s first day (plus other sights at the museum) is available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/_o1RpINVue8?si=HpWU3w9EHmK_lAIz.
102 heading back down to Town End with a load of passengers on board – most of whom probably have very little idea it was last used in 2000 (in fact many on board wouldn’t have been born then!).
The stunning 102 sits at Town End terminus showing the high quality external work completed on the tram. (Both Photographs by Steven Hughes, 27th July 2024)
Why is it running with limitred capacity? What’s the number of passengers got to do with the commissioning process? Surely it’s about stuff like do the brakes work (do they lap correctly)? Does the controller select all the notches? etc. I’d have thought it’s either fine for service or it’s not. One or the other. I’ve never heard of a tram half enterings ervice before on any system.
It was mainly to check that passenger loads were not going to cause issues with the axles, as we didn’t want a full-scale return to service only for it to not be operational after having trained all drivers on it. Later in the day it did run at full capacity, with all seats taken.
It’s running in limited capacity while the running gear beds in due to the weight on the gradients. You will see in the video it is struggling a little on gradients. Having said that, the few trips I witnessed during the busy afternoon it still has a fairly good load onboard. The last trip it operated was almost empty, but then so was the museum in general. (See video link above)
It ran with limited loads for the first few runs and then reverted to full capacity.
The text in the report is incorrect, it is it fully commissioned and available for service and has joined the operational fleet. We would NEVER allow a part comissioned tram to run when the musuem is open (hence LCC1 testing is always after the museum is closed).
The reason for the partial loading was its a slow tram and slow to load and unload so the reduction in capacity was simply to prevent it holding up the service which would have resulted in other trams being held up (eg at Wakebridge). By dinner time with 5 trams out we realised it was not going to be a significant problem and it carried full loads for the rest of the day.