Manchester Metrolink T68 1008 became the fifth T68/T68A to leave the north-west for scrapping when it departed on the back of a low loader at 0915 on Friday 16th May. It has been expected that the LRV would depart the previous day but the low loader had not arrived and so the movement was delayed by a day. The heavily graffitied vehicle had spent time in the workshops at Trafford Depot before departure where it was stripped of any reusable and useful parts before the Allelys low loader arrived to take it on its final journey to Booths in Rotherham where it is likely now to be well on the way to becoming a collection of scrap metal. It is expected that 1019 will be the next LRV to be scrapped and its departure could be as early as the start of next week.
A series of images showing 1008 as it departs Manchester for the very last time. (All Photos: Steve Kemp)
It’s a sad fact that as the new M5000s keep coming depot space must be becoming critical. Metrolink need to review their security at the depot though; they are lucky if graffiti is all that is ein the minds of their unwelcome visitors
I saw 1008 at Lofthouse interchange moving from the M62 to the M1 at about 11.15am. If anyone does come across one of these movements on the motorway be careful when passing it. The tail end of the trailer was oscillating about 4′ in each direction when it was doing 55 on the M62.
Hi Jamie
Did you consider stopping at a motorway phone and reporting this.
It was obious a hazard to other road users
Fortunately it then went into the 50 mph roadworks which stretch most of the way to Rotherham so i flet that things would be OK for most of the rest of the way. I might well make some phone calls during the week.
If you notice from the photo’s that the low loader is reversing all the way out of the depot and down warwick road,not a ideal situation.And as regards security,i’am afraid that cost money.It wont be long before the vacant spaces left by the T68s are taken up by new M5000.There are stabling berths at old Trafford for eighty vehicles.Surely they will have to employ more security staff at that stage.
Yes security costs money, but does it cost more or less than removing graffiti from / replacing stolen parts on / repairing vandalism to operational vehicles? Not to mention the disruption to services and loss of revenue as happened the other week when about 5 double sets had to be taken out of service after receiving attention from these lowlifes.
I think that rather than employing more security staff they need to address the issue of how the trespassers are gaining access to the trams, which I have heard is by walking along the track from the main line. Surely it shouldn’t be beyond their abilities to rig up some sort of intruder alarm system linked to the control centre?
Hi Ken
Were you not aware that Old Trafford Depot has gates where the tram enters, wether they are only opened for trams, that may be questionable.
They need to consider the cost of electric fence verses cost of cleaning trams and having ithem out of service, such electric fences are common place at Salford Quays
Yes you are dead right Ken.But for some reason metrolink/tfgm does not put any priority on this.Old Trafford depot is ringed with camera’s,but they still get in.The ideal thing would be electric fences armed patrols and machine gun towers.If it was a private firm I think it would be different.But when its run by accountants from tfgm,who were not that concerned about 2001 being of the road for five years and the amount of lost revenue that added up to.
1019 tram have left Trafford depot this Morning (Wednesday) heading off to Scrap yard in Rotherham.
Latest news is that 1007 is to be preserved by the MTMS at Heaton Park! Also another T68 is to be preserved by another, as yet unnamed, organisation, I would guess MOSI or the Manchester Transport Museum.
I put this on a response last week, but it was deemed it needed to be moderated out!
The news was embargoed at that time. There are some things which the organisations involved do not wish to be revealed until a certain date and we will always try and respect this even if comments are made on the subject.
I can appreciate that, it’s just it’s been well known in certain circles for a number of that 1007 was going to Heaton Park. It’s been a particularly badly kept secret. Likewise, it’s been reported in a number of places already! In these days of the Web, embargoes rarely work!
True, but this website likes to respect the wishes of various organisations and individuals. We have a good relationship with many preservation groups, tramway operators etc. and don’t want to jeopardise that by publishing sensitive information before they want us to. There have been complaints in the past about this and we are keen to avoid this happening again.
It was indeed offered to the MTMS some time ago and tentatively accepted, however it was not a ‘done deal’ until very recently, hence the desire to keep it under wraps so as not to disappoint if it should fall through.
There are still a number of hurdles to overcome like where to store it, how to display it, and yes in the long term, could it be made operable without destroying the current infrastructure.
Thankfully there are a number of younger local members in the MTMS who recognise the significance of the class and the will power is there to do something positive with it when no one else seems willing to take on the challenge…
I wouldn’t have thought that GMTS would want one as they already have ‘1000’
I think GMTS have enough problems restoring the existing collection of buses and like many places these days have lost a number of hands on members. There has not been a new project that has reached fruition for a number of years now. I realise how time consuming it is with one large vehicle.
Forgive my ignorance here and apologies if I’m digressing from the main topic, but what is the significance of 1000? Isn’t it just a shell? I’ve not seen the ‘vehicle’ so I can’t comment on it too much but has/was it ever fitted out internally or indeed had any form of running gear fitted? If its only ‘claim to fame’ was that it showcased the proposed design of the T68’s, it seems to me to be a bit of a white elephant.
1000 is infact only half a tram and has never had any mechanical or electrical gear fitted. It was only ever intended as a design show piece and never has and never could operate. It is however a historic artifact in its own right and from a static display point of view is low maintenance and takes up half the space of the real thing!