Final preparations for ‘Electric 50’ at Crich

With just a few days to go before the biggest heritage tram event of 2014 – ‘Electric 50’ at the Crich Tramway Village, for anyone who’s been living in a cave for the last few months – anticipation for this spectacular weekend event has now reached fever pitch. At Crich, preparations for the event are now pretty much completed with trams being readied for service and souvenir items arriving to be sold to eager visitors keen to purchase a memento of the occasion.

All eyes have been on Newcastle 114 since its arrival from Beamish Museum as a special guest tram for the event on Monday 8th September. The same day as it arrived, various items such as the trolley mast and pole, lifeguards and upper deck lighting which had been removed for its long road journey, had been re-fitted. On Wednesday 10th, 114 was taken out for a trial run before the museum had opened to the public, ahead of its expected passenger debut on Friday 12th September as part of a planned warm-up event featuring all three of the visiting cars in service together. This was the first time that 114 had run outside the North East of England since it ended its working life in Sheffield, having been sold for further service there after withdrawal in Newcastle, which will make its appearance alongside the similar Sheffield 74 (which is effectively the same type of tram but with an enclosed top deck) over the weekend especially appropriate. The reunion of Newcastle 102 with 114 for the first time in preservation should also provide one of the event’s highlights.

Slightly less exciting than 114‘s Derbyshire debut, was the return to service of Blackpool 167 on Tuesday 9th September, representing its first day of use at Crich in 2014 – although of course it has been heavily used at both Beamish and Blackpool this year. Like 114, 167 is scheduled to operate on both days of the main event and is sure to be popular having been absent from the museum for seven months.

Meanwhile the retail department at Crich have received some souvenir items for the ‘Electric 50’ event. A special brochure providing a brief history of the museum as well as profiles on all 25 trams which are due to operate over the weekend, and lists of the two cavalcades in order of appearance, will be on sale from both the main gift shop and the admissions area for a bargain price of just £4. For those who prefer something a bit more refreshing, the Red Lion will be selling a special pack of commemorate ale to mark fifty years of electric tram operation at Crich, with three bottles of beer, each featuring a different label design.

Here at British Trams Online we are also getting quite excited for the weekend’s festivities and we will be providing live coverage of both days on our Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/BritishTramsOnline.  You don’t have to be a registered Facebook member to access this content so if you can’t attend why not join us online instead? In the following week we will be providing a detailed account of everything that happens over the course of the weekend at Crich, with an extensive photo gallery to follow later.

We make no apologies for publishing another picture of Newcastle 114 on our news page! Here the tram is seen in fine sunshine at Town End terminus on its first test run at Crich, on 10th September. (Photo courtesy of Crich Tramway Village)

 

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