Stop by Stop Blackpool Tramway: Tower

Posted on Thursday 1 April 2021 by Gareth Prior

This edition of “Stop by Stop” sees our northbound journey on the Blackpool Tramway reach the busy stop at Tower.

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Railcam launches new webcam on the Seaton Tramway!

Posted on Wednesday 31 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Have you ever been there sitting at home thinking I’d really like to see watch some trams from comfort of my sofa? Well, if you have from Monday 5th April you’ll be able to as the Seaton Tramway have partnered with established website Railcam to provide a webcam at Riverside Depot which will allow you to keep an eye on tram movements on the tramway, both of trams shunting at the depot as well as running past on the mainline. This is the first heritage tramway to be included on Railcam and will not only be on their website but also on the Seaton Tramway website.

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3124 arrives in Manchester

Posted on Wednesday 31 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

The delivery of the current batch of M5000s for Manchester Metrolink has been a little erratic so far with the expected one every three-four weeks as mentioned in the original press release only having been met once at the very start of the deliveries. And now its got even more erratic as 3124 – the fourth of the batch to be delivered – arrived at Queens Road Depot on a Tuesday instead of the usual Saturday! Continue reading →

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Still Standing! Ansdell tram shelter

Posted on Wednesday 31 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

We take a second trip to a surviving structure on the former Lytham St Annes tramway system for this edition of “Still Standing!” and its another former shelter.

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Heaton Park tramway sets reopening date

Posted on Tuesday 30 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

As we all continue to look ahead to a time when restrictions are eased further, the Heaton Park Tramway have confirmed that they are planning to resume passenger services from Saturday 5th June. This date will allow the volunteers at the tramway to get everything prepared to welcome passengers back onto the tramway for what will be the first operation since Lightopia and the first “normal” running since last March!

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Tram fault causes Edinburgh Trams delays

Posted on Tuesday 30 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Edinburgh Trams services in the city centre were suspended for a time on Monday 29th March after a fault on one of the trams. The fault couldn’t be immediately repaired which meant that trams were only able to run from the Airport to West End from approximately 1530 until early evening. Its not know what the fault with the tram was or even which tram was involved (although suspicions lead towards 253 having the fault!) but there was ticket acceptance in place with Lothian Buses to allow passengers to complete their journeys further into the city centre.

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Picture in Time: Tyne and Wear Metro 4001

Posted on Tuesday 30 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of “Picture in Time” we are again off to the Tyne and Wear Metro with a view of prototype Metrocar 4001.

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Wrexham Museum consider options for last remaining Wrexham trams

Posted on Monday 29 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Last March we ran one of our “Lost Trams” series on two Wrexham tram bodies which are at Bersham Colliery where they have been stored in the open for around 16 years. Now, 12 months on and Wrexham Museum are starting to consider various options for their future – which could include restoring them cosmetically, donating them to another more specialist museum or doing nothing.

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Metrolink suspended through St Peter’s Square after protests

Posted on Monday 29 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink services had to be suspended for a time on Saturday 27th March after a group protesting against the Police and Crime Bill blocked the tram tracks. 18 protestors were arrested after being removed from the tracks at the end of what was described as a “largely peaceful” protest. Continue reading →

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 713

Posted on Monday 29 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

The summer of 1976 is well known as being a warm one and this latest edition of “Picture in Time” illustrates that was still the case in early September.

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Trams in Video: Blackpool’s Flexity2 trams

Posted on Sunday 28 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

We’ve now become very used to the Bombardier built Flexity2 trams running along Blackpool Promenade but there was a time not too long ago when they were new and in this edition of “Trams in Video” we see the launch of the first of the trams – 001 – complete with dry ice and a modern violin group! We doubt the original trams were launched to such a fan fare!

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Stourbridge Shuttle wins inaugural World Cup of Trams

Posted on Sunday 28 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Its not a line which gets mentioned a great deal but the Stourbridge Shuttle – which runs between Stoubridge and Stourbridge Junction – using two Parry People Mover vehicles – is celebrating after winning the very first World Cup of Trams. After three weeks of voting the Shuttle beat off competition from across the UK with the final seeing it winning more votes on Twitter than the Best Stop which was the Library stop on the West Midlands Metro.

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Lockdown Walks: Manchester Metrolink 3085

Posted on Sunday 28 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Its time for another “Lockdown Walk” as we venture out onto Manchester Metrolink’s East Manchester line out to Ashton-under-Lyne.

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In Pictures: Covid-19 changes on the Tyne and Wear Metro

Posted on Sunday 28 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

As people get ready for further easing of restrictions and start to travel more often, transport operators in the UK have been seeking to reassure them about how safe it is to travel on board their services. As with the period of more relaxed restrictions in 2020 there is enhanced cleaning on board vehicles and at stops/stations along with the compulsory wearing of masks on board (unless exempt). Another common change has been the closure of certain sections of the vehicles, usually those seats immediately adjacent to the driver’s cab. We saw this change on systems such as Blackpool, Edinburgh and Nottingham last year and a similar closure has also been introduced on the Tyne and Wear Metro.

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More support in Scotland for light rail

Posted on Saturday 27 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Edinburgh Trams and the Glasgow Subway are to be given a further £7.5 million in government funding to help support both systems while they continue to experience a significant fall in revenue as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This funding follows swiftly on from the UK Government support for English systems outside of London and now means that the Scottish Government have provided £28.5 million since the start of the pandemic.

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What’s New on British Trams Online? 27th March 2021

Posted on Saturday 27 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Two Photo Galleries this week, one which is different to our normal offerings as it features a monorail in the USA while the other is on more familiar ground in the West Midlands:

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Around the World in Trams: Freiburg 288

Posted on Saturday 27 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

“Around the World in Trams” now moves into Germany as for the next few weeks we take a look at some of the trams which operate in the city of Freiburg.

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Lockdown Walks: Edinburgh Trams 266

Posted on Saturday 27 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Today we take another trip to Edinburgh for one of our “Lockdown Walks” as we continue to take a look at some of the historic buildings which surround the tramway.

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Leeds 345 celebrates its centenary

Posted on Friday 26 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

With the heyday of the British tram being in the early years of the 20th century there are plenty of significant anniversaries which have celebrated over recent years and the latest tram in the Crich Tramway Village collection to reach a major milestone in 2021 is Leeds 345 which will be 100 years old on 27th March. Now restored to operational condition and a popular member of the running fleet at the museum it hasn’t always been so, indeed it only ran for the first time in Derbyshire in 2006 despite originally arriving at Crich in December 1959.

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TfL funding package from the DfT extended

Posted on Friday 26 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

It has been confirmed that the current funding package between Transport for London and the Department for Transport has been extended until 18th May 2021. The package had originally been due to end on 31st March 2021 but with the continued restrictions on public transport still in place it has been agreed the package should be extended upon which a further review will take place.

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