As briefly reported yesterday on British Trams Online, London Transport 1 entered the workshop at Crich Tramway Village on Saturday 14th June, ready for work to commence on the major restoration of the tram which is being funded by the London County Council Tramways Trust. The end result will see the car restored to its original blue and white livery as London County Council 1, and allow it to carry passengers for the first time since entering preservation, although this will be several years away.
Car 1 has been stored at the back of the depots at Crich since last September, when it was extracted from the Exhibition Hall for a starring role in last year’s Enthusiasts Day, to give visitors one last chance to see and photograph the tram outside in its current condition. On June 14th it was finally shunted in the workshop by the Blackpool electric locomotive and now stands at the rear of track 3, waiting for initial dismantling and investigative work to begin. This will also reverse a few minor modifications carried out on the tram after it was sold to Leeds, which included replacement of the windscreens, cutting away a section of panelling around the bogies to help with clearance on tight curves, and also the replacement of one of its upper deck side windows with a sliding window instead of the correct half-drop opening window unit.
Coverage of LCC 1‘s restoration will be provided on the Crich Tramway Village website, with periodic updates also available here, and we look forward to seeing the Crich workshop team work their magic on this tram!
The tram was placed alongside another ‘modern’ London tram, Metropolitan 331, on arrival in the workshop. This tram is shortly to be lifted so that the extent of damage caused by a derailment incident which occured at Glory Mine last summer can be fully assessed; this will allow the work required to return it to service to be costed. Hopefully this will mean that 331 will be running again soon, as it is certainly one of the most distinctive trams in the operational fleet at Crich and its return would surely be much appreciated by many enthusiasts.
With thanks to Peter Whiteley for helping with the above facts and for providing the accompanying images.
London Transport 1 moves through the depot gates for the last time before its thorough restoration begins.
A rare view of LT 1 outside the confines of the depot yard, and almost on the main line in fact! Some of the alterations made in Leeds, such as the mis-matched upper deck windows, can clearly be seen in this view.
Extreme contrasts in 1930s double deck trams with the heavily modernised Blackpool 'Balloon' 711 meeting London Transport 1 for the first time.
Finally, car 1 in the workshop where it is now expected to reside for a number of years as it is completely rebuilt. Alongside is MET 331, and in the foreground some of the remains of North Metropolitan horse car 184 can also be seen. (All photos by Peter Whiteley)
Wonderful news!
Has 712 returned to service following it’s mishap at “Beside the Seaside”?
711, not 712.
I don’t think it has run in service since, but was apparently driven around the depot yard under its own power on Saturday 14th so it would appear that it has been repaired.
About time, do you think I will live long enough to have a ride, they say it will take 5 years, fingers crossed.
711 has moved under its own power. The next stage is to check it through the overhead at Town end before it’s released into service. It’s also had its 1st ‘A’ exam as well. Apologies but cannot remember when the Town End check is happening
What’s an ‘A’ exam?
Thought this item was about No.1 not 711 !
It seems that the Balloon has hijacked LCC 1’s thread! It doesn’t bode well if there is more interest in a modernised Balloon car than the next major restoration at Crich! 😉
To be fair I think sometimes people have some information that they think might be interesting to readers but can’t easily find a relevant thread to add it to Jim. At least it’s info about the same museum!