Picture in Time: Glasgow 1297

Posted on Thursday 3 October 2019 by Gareth Prior

We carry on taking a look at Crich’s 1973 Transport Extravaganza for this week’s Picture in Time with Glasgow 1297 the tram seen in the picture.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum, Picture in Time | 1 Comment

Motor problem sidelines Standard 143

Posted on Wednesday 2 October 2019 by Gareth Prior

It was going to be the star of the September Spectacular weekend in Blackpool having been launched at the start of the week but in the end the Fylde Transport Trust’s Standard 143 ended up being a static exhibit after a motor problem meant it was unable to run under its own power. However, despite only being on static display at North Pier/Tower it still turned heads giving a foretaste of what is to come when the tram does finally run in service.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Fylde Transport Trust | 3 Comments

In Preview: Wirral Bus & Tram Show

Posted on Wednesday 2 October 2019 by Gareth Prior

A busy three weeks of tram events come to an end on Sunday 6th October with the annual Wirral Bus and Tram Show taking place in Birkenhead – with five trams due to be in service during the day, including a special service between Pacific Road yard and Woodside Ferry.

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Work underway to demolish old South Shields station

Posted on Wednesday 2 October 2019 by Gareth Prior

Work to demolish the first Tyne and Wear Metro station to have closed permanently since the network opened in 1980 at South Shields has started. The station closed to passengers on 8th July to make way for a brand new transport interchange which opened in August and now contractors have started to the painstaking task of demolishing the old structure in full.

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In Pictures: 33 goes blue and enters service – but still not the end of magenta

Posted on Tuesday 1 October 2019 by Gareth Prior

Sometimes we just get a bit carried away with the excitement of new liveries and forget about a tram which hasn’t been seen in action for a while. And that is precisely what has happened on the West Midlands Metro as our report last week that just 33 remained in magenta was actually wrong – 22 also retains the old livery, although it hasn’t been seen in service since 2nd September, and is now seemingly being prepared for the fitting of batteries. And in the meantime, 33 – which was still in magenta last week – has now received the full blue livery vinyls and has also entered service for the first with batteries.

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TfGM and KAM step in to help Heaton Park

Posted on Tuesday 1 October 2019 by Gareth Prior

It has been said that in adversity you see who your friends are and that is exactly the situation for the Heaton Park Tramway. As we reported last week the tramway had been hit by theft of overhead wire which had caused all operations to be ceased indefinitely whilst the damage was surveyed and an action plan was put in place to rectify it. Now on top of the crowd funding launched, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Keolis Amey Metrolink (KAM) have stepped in to provide assistance in replacing the overhead.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool OMO 5

Posted on Tuesday 1 October 2019 by Gareth Prior

We leap forward from the 1970s to the 1990s for the next few weeks worth of Blackpool Picture in Time images and start off with a photo of OMO 5.

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Punctuality and reliability down on Metrolink again

Posted on Monday 30 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

The Manchester Metrolink performance figures for the four weeks between 21st July and 17th August are out and for the second successive period there has been a small decrease in both punctuality and reliability across the network.

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Isle of Man Railways continue to review options for Ramsey

Posted on Monday 30 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

For the past couple of years all Manx Electric Railway services to Ramsey have been forced into terminating short of the old station site due to a combination of the poor state of the track (although it can still be used on a limited basis, mainly for the stabling of trams during busy period) and also plans to redevelop the area into a major transport interchange for the town. After previous plans were refused permission Isle of Man Railways have been continuing to review their options with the latest update in local media suggesting this will be concluded within the next few months.

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Around the World in Trams: Toden Arakawa 8806

Posted on Sunday 29 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

A trip out to Japan for today’s edition of our worldwide tram series.

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In Pictures: Three refurbished NET Incentros now in service

Posted on Sunday 29 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

There are now three of the 15 strong class of Nottingham Express Transit’s Bombardier Incentro trams which have gone through their second refurbishment and have returned to service sporting the revised livery, along with the mechanical overhaul and internal changes. 203, 204 and 205 have all been treated so far with the remaining 12 trams to also enjoy this work over the coming months – it was originally stated it would be completed by the end of the year but the speed in which these first few have been done may suggest it will be a little longer before all are done.

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In Pictures: Cornbrook receives a makeover

Posted on Sunday 29 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

As part of the continued improvement of the Manchester Metrolink some of the busier stops are enjoying a makeover with Shudehill having already gone through this work. Attention has now turned towards the important interchange at Cornbrook which, because of its vital role allowing passengers to change between routes, will not see an extended closure over a number of weeks as per Shudehill. Included amongst the works will be an extended and enhanced canopy roof providing a better waiting environment for passengers. In the recent closure of the line (the weekend of 20th/21st September) a start was made on the preparation work for the new canopies as seen in the below photos from Steve Hyde.

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Picture in Time: Docklands Light Railway 64

Posted on Saturday 28 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

We head to the Docklands Light Railway again for this edition of Picture in Time with a view taken some 24 years ago.

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In Pictures: Southampton Tram Project update

Posted on Saturday 28 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

Earlier this month the Southampton Tram Project had to cancel their planned open day in their workshop situated adjacent to one of the Cruise Terminals in the city because of access problems but unperturbed by this cancellation (and having already booked to stay in the city), British Trams Online reader Robert Blackburn contacted the group directly and was kindly given a private behind the scenes tour and update by Nigel Smith. The following report and photos are from Robert giving an update on recent progress and the future.

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In Pictures: More old track found in Sheffield

Posted on Saturday 28 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

As work around Sheffield City Centre continues yet more old tram track has been discovered, some 60 years since it was last on the surface in use for its original purpose. When many towns and cities abandoned their tramway rather than rip up the old track they remained in situ and were then covered not only for ease but also to strengthen the new road surface and judging by the amount of track found in Sheffield recently they did that a lot!

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FTT approach their target to fund overhaul of Coronation 304’s compressor

Posted on Friday 27 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

The Fylde Transport Trust are an organisation who don’t seem to want the grass to grow under their feet as no sooner have they seen the launch of one of their trams into service (Standard 143 if you missed the news!) then they are continuing with plans to help another one back onto the tracks. That tram is one of the ever popular Coronation Cars, 304 – the only one still fitted with its original VAMBAC equipment.

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Posted in Fylde Transport Trust | 1 Comment

In Pictures: Supertram 110 loses its adverts

Posted on Friday 27 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

Although not a full advertising livery, Stagecoach Supertram 110 had been carrying side and window adverts for Sheffield College since October 2018 but has now been spotted in full fleet livery with these now having been removed. The tram was still running with the adverts on 20th September but by 23rd September they had been removed. Ryan Hartley captured the below image for us.

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Volunteer Recruitment Day at Seaton Tramway

Posted on Friday 27 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

Have you ever wanted to volunteer at the Seaton Tramway but not known how to go about it? Well, if you have why not pop along to the new Seaton terminus on Wednesday 2nd October for a special Volunteer Recruitment Day.

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In Pictures: 25 leaves just 33 in magenta on West Midlands Metro

Posted on Thursday 26 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

There are now no trams available for service on the West Midlands Metro featuring magenta in their livery with 25 the latest to receive the full blue vinyls – complete with adverts for OLA. The tram first ran in service on Monday 23rd September as a peak extra before it was then allocated to service the following day.

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Revised service announced for Nottingham’s Goose Fair

Posted on Thursday 26 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

The annual Goose Fair in Nottingham will again be taking place on The Forest recreation ground between 2nd and 6th October with this being a very busy period for Nottingham Express Transit, necessitating a slightly revised service operating to ensure everyone can get to enjoy all the fun of the fair.

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