The next topic of “Picture in Time” sees us go with a more modern theme as we view pictures from one of our light rail system – the Midland Metro. Pictures will be featured of the original T69 trams.
And we start with the second numbered of those T69s, 02, with a shot of it below taken at Jewellery Quarter on 22nd April 2004. By this time the Midland Metro network was almost five years old, with the first passenger services having launched on 30th May 1999.
When it opened the service was run by a fleet of 16 T69 trams which had been built in Italy by Ansaldo Breda. At the time of their construction fully low-floor trams were not readily available and so they only had 60% low floor space with the remainder requiring passengers to climb a couple of steps to access. Although the overall capacity of the trams was lower than the CAF replacements (156 v 210), the T69s actually have two more seats. All were withdrawn with 02 the second to run its last in December 2009. It was subsequently moved for storage at Long Marston in October 2014 and has now been scrapped.
Photograph by Gareth Prior, 22nd April 2004