Once again, weekends in December up until Christmas have seen the East Anglia Transport Museum throw open their doors again for “Ride the Lights”. This provides one of the few opportunities in their operating season where you can enjoy the delights of the museum after dark and to add to the spectacle there is plenty of additional lighting including the expected Christmas lights. Bryan Grint provides this pictorial look at the event on Saturday 14th December 2024.
On this day it was a standard two tram service with Blackpool Marton VAMBAC 11 joined by London Transport 1858 in service. They were joined by resident trolleybuses Hastings 34 and Belfast 246.
If you’ve missed the first two weekends of “Ride the Lights” then don’t fret! You have one further weekend to experience it with the museum opening again on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd December. Doors open at 1500 and the museum remains open until 1900 on both evenings. Following that the museum is open on New Year’s Day between 1200 and 1630, which also includes a free vintage bus service to Lowestoft.
11 departs from Chapel Road – complete with driver in Santa hat! Hastings trolleybus 34 waits at the stop.
The sky starts to go red as Blackpool 11 returns and finds London Transport 1858 waiting for it.
The Lowestoft tram body was not immune to Christmas either with lights added whilst more lights are seen in the grassed area in front of it.
11 runs along Tramway Avenue just before turning into the woods with more lights on the right.
Not tram related but the resident steam roller also got into the Christmas spirit.
Blackpool 634 was not in use but was stabled at the front of the depot. Blackpool 159 and Sheffield are behind and the top deck of Glasgow 488 can just be viewed at the very rear.
Christmas decorations on board 1858 as it waits at Chapel Road with Hastings trolleybus 34 for company.
1858 in the background at Chapel Road as we take a look at some more of the lights. (All Photographs by Bryan Grint, 14th December 2024)