The three trams of the Southampton Tram Project will again be on public display as the Southampton Maritime Festival returns on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd August. As with the previous Festival in 2013 the workshop the project share with the Dunkirk Little Ships Association will be open to visitors throughout the Festival which takes place between 1030 and 1800 on both days.
The Southampton Tram Project have three trams in their collection, two from the city and one from a bit further afield. The two Southampton cars are no. 11 and no. 38 with the restoration on the former far more advanced than the latter with approximately 80% of the restoration work having been completed. 11 is a domed roof double decker, a type which was built specifically to be able to run under the Bargate arch in Southampton City Centre, the same reason that Crich’s no.45 is of a low design. 11 has been painted in the standard red and white livery and seating is installed on the lower deck with the stairs also in situ although the upper deck has not yet seen seating put into place. A number of window panes also remained to be installed during a visit at last year’s Festival (which took place in early May). 38 remains unrestored and is a long-term project with most attention being concentrated on 11 at the moment.
The third and final tram of the collection is Lisbon 715 which it is said could run tomorrow, if there was some 900mm track in Southampton that is! This tram is completed in the standard Lisbon yellow livery.
Tickets in advance for the event cost £5 for adults, £4.50 for senior citizens and £1 for children and can be booked online via the Southampton Maritime Festival website at http://southamptonmaritimefestival.com/. Obviously as the name suggests the trams are just a small part of the festival with a large number of boats due to attend including HMS Medussa (Harbour defence ship) and ST Challenge (Dunkirk little ship). In addition there will be other vintage vehicles on site and buses from the Southampton & District Transport Heritage Trust will be running not only shuttle buses from the city centre to the festival but also tours of the local area. There will also be live entertainment including an appearance from the X Factor’s Kingsland Road. The Festival takes place at Ocean Terminal, Dockgate 4.