As previously announced, Crich Tramway Village will be open to the public on Saturday 1st February to allow enthusiasts to witness some unusual shunting movements, with several trams due to be moved in and out of the Exhibition Hall. In addition to the previously confirmed Edinburgh 35 and Leicester 76, details have now been released on which trams are expected to appear in daylight on this day.
The main focus of the shunt will be to return Leicester 76 to its normal place inside the Exhibition Hall, which has been temporarily occupied by Johannesburg 60 since last September’s Enthusiasts Day. Another temporary exhibit, Liverpool 869, will also be extracted with Edinburgh 35 set to take its place following some cosmetic attention over winter. Neither 35 or 76 is likely to appear outside again for a considerable amount of time, so anyone wishing to see and photograph these trams is urged to consider visiting.
In order to release the trams mentioned above, it is expected that both Hill of Howth 10 and Brussels snow broom 96 will also be moved. Neither of these trams come out of the Exhibition Hall very often, so again their appearances will be well worth seeing. Two horse cars, Chesterfield 8 and Leeds 107, are also expected to be shunted. It is possible that other trams may also move, but this is likely to be dependent on available time and weather conditions. However, eight non-operational cars emerging into daylight is pretty good by anyone’s standards and hopefully will encourage some hardy souls to make a winter visit to Crich.
Please note that all listed tramcars are subject to change, and neither Crich Tramway Village or British Trams Online can be held responsible for any changes of plan. No tram rides will be available on 1st February, but there will be no charge for admission, making this a good opportunity to see some elusive trams in daylight.