Fresh from the news that Blackpool & Fleetwood 2, Southampton 45 and Oporto 273 have all rejoined the operating fleet at Crich Tramway Village for the 2014 season, comes another surprise comeback for a once regular workhorse at this museum. Sheffield 330 was a member of the works car fleet for many years but following the restoration of Cardiff 131, it was replaced in its role as the main railgrinder/water car and the car has been largely inactive since, apart from the 2012 season due its replacement being at Blackpool for part of the year.
Now, 330 is set for a return to prominence in connection with the ‘Best of Sheffield’ event, which is being held at the museum later this month to mark the return to service of Sheffield 510 following major workshop attention. The tram is expected to operate during the event, which runs from Saturday 17th to Friday 23rd May, and should be posed for display in the depot yard when it is not out on the main line. No confirmation has been given as to whether visitors will be invited to ride on the works car, but hopefully this will happen as when 330 last ran in 2012 its appearance in passenger service at that year’s Enthusiasts Event was extremely popular. It is expected that the tram will run at irregular intervals between the service cars, and with the first two days of the weekend being more enthusiast-orientated this seems the best chance of seeing it out.
It is widely accepted that, having operated at Crich for well over forty years, 330 is now in a rather tired condition but the fact that it continues to make occasional appearances for events like this is certainly very welcome, and its use should provide extra incentive for tram enthusiasts to attend the Sheffield event.
A full preview of the ‘Best of Sheffield’ event at Crich will appear on this website within the next few days, so if you are planning a visit be sure to check back for an idea of what is likely to be happening!
Sheffield railgrinder 330 in action at the 2012 Enthusiasts Weekend, pictured here at Glory Mine in the company of a much more modern tramway works vehicle, London Tramlink 058. (Photo by Andrew Waddington)
I hope we will get the chance to ride on this tram
Nice to hear this car will be out and about, if only for a brief time, and I regret I won’t be there to see it.
Now that 330’s works function has been replaced by another, would this not now be the time to consider the possibility of 330’s long-term future as an open-balcony (with replica top deck) two-motor hand-braked Bradford double-decker once more, rather than a work car?
This is a type Crich traditionally has relied on as the backbone of its operating fleet and a few more would be a strategic asset.
Apart from the costs (and raising the money to meet them), are there curatorial concerns at Crich about leaving the car as it is?
Best not mention Crich curatorial policy not try to understand it given the hoo-ha it is generating on other sites. Surprised the story about Leeds 602 hasnt been reported here yet where debate is thankfully usually more reasonable.
Now that’s an enigmatic reply, at least for me, as I cannot say I’ve heard of any public debate re Crich curatorial policy (surely an internal matter anyway?), nor anything on Leeds 602, a terrific car I and many other surviving wrinklies have known off and on ever since it went into service more than 60 years ago. Can you amplify these comments on a public forum without risking the raising of someone’s hackles?
A. D. Young
A piece on Leeds 602 will appear on this website in due course after we catch up with a backlog, as I’ve had a few real life dramas this week which has affected my ability to report on some developments straight away, and we also want to see some official clarification from the TMS.