Now that Beamish is out of the busy summer school holiday season, the transport team is taking the opportunity to give some attention to the tram fleet with paintwork being seen to as well as a few other pieces of maintenance.
Both Sunderland 16 and Newcastle 114 are currently out of service in the depot receiving some work to their paintwork. For 16 – which should be back in service in October – it is having the waist and decency panels stripped, repaired and then repainted. With it being the only fully enclosed double decker in the tram fleet at Beamish it will soon prove its worth in the autumn and winter months when its back in use.
Meanwhile, Newcastle 114 is out of service with a faulty controller which has now been removed to be sent to a contractor to investigate further before it is fully repaired. As the tram is out of use the chance is also being taken for it to see some attention to its paintwork as well.
The main focus of the winter tram-wise though will be the ongoing overhaul of Gateshead 10. Whilst externally the tram is starting to look more or less completed – lining and lettering to be added – and much of the work to the interior is now also more or less finished, it does still require some mechanical work. This includes the assembly of the bogies which was paused whilst parts were awaited.
And an update on the trams at Beamish wouldn’t be complete without mention of the newest addition – Lisbon 730. New brake components are being manufactured to allow these to be fully renewed before it enters service again.
A look inside the depot showing Sunderland 16 with protective sheeting over the areas where it is receiving repairs and paintwork attention. Lisbon 730 is alongside.
With trams out of service and a limited operational fleet, Beamish continues to rely on buses to transport visitors to the museum – both those which are permanent residents and others which visit for a shorter period of time. There are also a couple of buses off the road and so the museum has former Rawtenstall Corporation Leyland Titan 18 RTC822 on loan until the end of the October half term holiday. It carries a Scout of Preston livery. (Both Photographs by Trevor Hall, 17th September 2024)