Standard 143’s restoration in the final stages

Posted on Thursday 19 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

On Monday 23rd September a tram is set to be returned to service in Blackpool, some 62 years since it last carried passengers. That tram is Standard 143 which is coming to the end of its extensive restoration with the final few jobs being completed at Blackpool Transport’s Rigby Road Depot ahead of its big return.

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Have Hitachi been unsuccessful in their bid to build new Metro trains?

Posted on Thursday 19 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

Reports on the BBC have suggested that local train builder Hitachi – local as in they have a factory in the north east at Newton Aycliffe – have been unsuccessful in their bid to build the new trains for the Tyne and Wear Metro but Nexus have denied they have made a decision yet. The new trains are set to be introduced on the network from the end of 2021 with three companies in the running to supply the fleet of 42 vehicles: Hitachi, Stadler and CAF.

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Picture in Time: Glasgow 1100 and 1297

Posted on Thursday 19 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

Another trip to Crich for this latest edition of Picture in Time as we take a look at the 1973 Grand Transport Extravaganza.

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See inside the tram depot at Summerlee for Doors Open Day

Posted on Wednesday 18 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

On Saturday 21st September the annual Doors Open Days will be taking place across Scotland and this year Summerlee – The Museum of Scottish Industrial Life will be taking part, which include the chance to see behind the scenes in the tram depot and to see latest progress on the restoration of Glasgow 1245.

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In Pictures: 269 makes it three AMEX trams in Edinburgh

Posted on Wednesday 18 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

We previously brought you news that there were two trams in Edinburgh advertising American Express and now there is a third! Following hot on the heels of 264 and 270, 269 has also seen the adverts applied and as with the other two trams the adverts are identical extoling the virtues of an American Express credit card with suggestions where you can use them in Edinburgh.

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In Pictures: Blackpool Boats in action during Muni Heritage Weekend

Posted on Tuesday 17 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

They may be 5,151 miles away from home but the San Francisco Blackpool Boats were both in action over the Muni Heritage Weekend on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th September with the more long-standing resident 228 in service on both days whilst newer arrival 233 only put in an appearance on the Saturday. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world but it would appear that Blackpool Boat Cars are popular anywhere with both cars proving popular in a well organised event which saw many historic streetcars and trolleys from around the world in action during the two days. Stephen Cobb visited and the below photos show the Boats (and newly found friends!) in action.

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In Pictures: Blue continues its West Midlands Metro takeover

Posted on Tuesday 17 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

The end is nigh! The end of the magenta livery on West Midlands Metro that is! There are now only two trams in the full magenta, silver and white livery with a further two Urbos3s having now been spotted in the all over blue livery – 26 (which has run in service) and 22 (which has yet to run in the blue).

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Engineering Car 754

Posted on Tuesday 17 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

We have a lot to be grateful for to various transport undertakings across the country as if they hadn’t converted earlier passenger trams into works cars there may be several types of tram we now enjoy which had been confined to the history books. One such example comes from Blackpool and at the time of the feature of today’s Picture in Time edition was Engineering Car 754.

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In Preview: Crich 60 – Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September

Posted on Monday 16 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

We finally reach that busy period of major tram events with Crich’s the first to take place over the weekend of Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September. Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the discovery and adopting of the site in Crich as the home of what we now know as the Crich Tramway Village (well, officially anyway) this two day event is due to see 13 passenger trams running each day – including Blackpool & Fleetwood Box 40 – plus the Barnsley bus will be in operation both days. As always with events such as this at Crich there will also be photo line-ups which will include Gateshead 5 plus a Leeds (Saturday) and Sheffield (Sunday) line-up.

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In Pictures: Edinburgh Trams from above

Posted on Monday 16 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

It’s not often that we take a look a tram in Edinburgh from above with the opportunities to do so fairly limited but in this short article that is exactly what we do as we see all the various equipment located on the roof of one of the CAF trams operating in the Scottish capital. Roy Calderwood captured the following images.

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Around the World in Trams: Amsterdam 662

Posted on Sunday 15 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

For the next few weeks it will be more a case of “odds and sods” for our worldwide tram picture series as we take a look at trams from various different systems, starting off with a historic image from Amsterdam.

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Standard 143 work continues

Posted on Sunday 15 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

The launch of Blackpool Standard 143 is now a little over a week away and with this in mind the past week has seen some good progress made on the tram’s restoration with it now to be found in the Rigby Road Paint Shop.

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In Pictures: Views around Southend

Posted on Sunday 15 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

We reported earlier in 2019 that the current trains running on the Southend Pier Railway are set to be replaced in the next few years with the Council planning to fund new vehicles to run along the mile long railway on the Pier. But before they go they are still running and in this article we take a look at it operating as well as taking a quick look at the Southend Cliff Lift, a second survivor in the Essex coastal town.We reported earlier in 2019 that the current trains running on the Southend Pier Railway are set to be replaced in the next few years with the Council planning to fund new vehicles to run along the mile long railway on the Pier. But before they go they are still running and in this article we take a look at it operating as well as taking a quick look at the Southend Cliff Lift, a second survivor in the Essex coastal town.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 15 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

There are a trio of Photo Galleries now added to the site:

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Jasper Carrot to have tram named after him on West Midlands Metro

Posted on Saturday 14 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

The West Midlands Combined Authority have confirmed that as part of the opening of the Birmingham Westside extension later this year they will be naming a tram after comedian Jasper Carrot. He will be recognised thanks to charity work over the years and his connection to the city as well as being one of the country’s most popular comedians during the 1970s and 1980s.

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Picture in Time: Docklands Light Railway 06

Posted on Saturday 14 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

Its another change of scene for our modern tramway/light rail edition of Picture in Time as we move back down to London for the next few weeks and feature different liveries as carried on the Docklands Light Railway over the years.

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Metro proves popular during the Great North Run

Posted on Saturday 14 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

90,000 passengers were carried on the Tyne and Wear Metro on Sunday 8th September as visitors flocked towards the annual Great North Run, over a weekend which also saw international Rugby Union come to St James’ Park and the Tour of Britain take place in a bumper period of sport for the region. This passenger figure was more than seen in 2018 and showed how crucial the Metro is to the public transport offering in the region.

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In Video: New Glory Mine layout at Crich

Posted on Saturday 14 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

We’ve written a lot and shown photos a fair bit of the new layout at Glory Mine but what’s better than both those? Video of course! The new layout now means that trams have a short additional section of track to run onto before the trolley is reversed and they make their way back to the main museum site at Crich whilst the old siding has been disconnected and extra hard standing has been provided to aid the turning of the trolley. Martin Miller paid a recent visit and shot the following video which he has kindly shared with us.

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Bulk of Wolverhampton City Centre extension works to be completed by November

Posted on Friday 13 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

Whilst the track laying of the West Midlands Metro line to Wolverhampton Railway Station (except for the last section to the station which has to wait for other redevelopment work to take place first) has been finished for a number of months there has remained some areas of “finishing works” which have been ongoing with the distinctive Midland Metro Alliance barriers in place along Piper’s Row but now an end is in sight with the news that all works should be completed by November 2019.

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In Pictures: Centenary 647 gets a lick of paint at NELSAM

Posted on Friday 13 September 2019 by Gareth Prior

When we head to the northeast on these pages it is usually Beamish that we feature but this time we head to Sunderland instead for a trip to the North East Land, Sea and Air Museum (NELSAM) which is home to the collection of the North East Electrical Traction Trust (NEETT). The trams in their collection mainly consist of trams disposed of by Blackpool post-2011 and are stored inside a purpose built depot where some work has recently been undertaken on one of the trams. Trevor Hall visited as shown below.

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