September Review – Isle of Man: No.19 – Tunnel Cars in service

Posted on Wednesday 19 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

Often used on the main service in addition to the Winter Saloons there remain four Tunnel Cars available for service and they are all in regular operation today on the Manx Electric Railway.

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In Pictures: The new 399 202 enters service

Posted on Tuesday 18 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

They say a week is a long time in politics, well it seems that a day is a long time on tramways as no sooner had we reported about the creation of an all new Citylink tram-train in Sheffield than it enters service on Stagecoach Supertram! The new 399 202 has got the tram-train wheel profiles and was used for the first time in service on the Tram-Train service between Cathedral and Rotherham Parkgate on Tuesday 18th December.

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Google Pay trial launched on West Midlands Metro

Posted on Tuesday 18 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

Passengers on the West Midlands Metro are to become the first public transport users in the UK to be able to buy and save a ticket on their smartphone using Google Pay. The first 500 passengers signing up to the new Swift Mobile travel app – initially available as one day, one week and four week passes – will be able to use Google Pay to start with before it is extended across the tram network during 2019.

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September Review – Blackpool: No. 9 – Boat 600

Posted on Tuesday 18 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

For most of 2018 there was only one open tram available in Blackpool and with a very warm and sunny summer it was regularly used when available for service. The tram in question was Boat 600 and it was that tram which we feature below today.

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September Review – Isle of Man: No. 18 – Douglas Bay Horse Tramway

Posted on Tuesday 18 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

Of course the Isle of Man isn’t just about the Manx Electric Railway and although it was the 125th Anniversary of the Manx Electric Railway that was being celebrated we can’t resist the opportunity to feature some of the other tramways on the island. Today’s feature looks at some of the trams of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway.

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In Pictures: When two becomes one

Posted on Monday 17 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

Over the years Stagecoach Supertram seems to have been affected by accident damaged trams more than many other systems to the extent that there are currently four Siemens-Duewag trams running in mixed formations with sections made from other trams. And now it has been confirmed that a fifth tram on Supertram (and presumably in the long-run six) will run with sections from two separate vehicles as a result of the recent collisions involving Tram-Trains.

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Public screening of Manchester’s tramway history in January

Posted on Monday 17 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

There will be a unique opportunity on Wednesday 16th January 2019 to take a look at footage of Manchester’s original tram network to mark the 70th anniversary of the closure of the system in January 1949. Tickets for this event are free but you do need reserve your space for the screening which will take place at the Manchester Central Library.

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September Review – Crich: No. 9 – Liverpool 869

Posted on Monday 17 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

Another one of the operational tram fleet at Crich is Liverpool 869, and it is that very tram which we feature in photos today.

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September Review – Isle of Man: No. 17 – More Crossbench action

Posted on Monday 17 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

The Crossbench Car on the Manx Electric Railway is always a popular choice on a warm sunny day, or indeed even if it isn’t quite as warm and sunny! And it is those Crossbench Cars that we feature in today’s retrospective of the September 2018 Manx Electric Railway 125th Anniversary events.

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Progress made on Railcoach 279’s restoration

Posted on Sunday 16 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

It has been a busy few days in Blackpool what with Coronation 304 out on test plus updates on some other projects in the Rigby Road workshops but that isn’t where it stops as the Fylde Transport Trust have also released an update on the restoration of Railcoach 279. Another tram which saw its restoration stall in 2012, work on 279 has resumed in 2018 thanks to the reinvigoration of the renamed Fylde Transport Trust.

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September Review – Blackpool: No. 8 – Balloon 718

Posted on Sunday 16 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

The only one of four of the Balloon Cars which were rebuilt at the end of the 1990s and early part of the 21st century with flat fronts to be currently operational is 718. Now carrying a Green and Cream livery this tram is still officially a B fleet Balloon but is solely used on heritage tram tours and is a very popular choice on illumination tours in the autumn months.

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Tyne and Wear Metro performance down

Posted on Sunday 16 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

Whereas Manchester Metrolink’s performance stats are put online for all to see if you want to know how the service is performing on the Tyne and Wear Metro you need to go to the system as the only way they announce it is posters at stations! The latest statistics released are for the period from 14th October to 10th November and its not good news for regular travellers as only 68% of trains arrived on time – a fall from both the previous period and also the same time in 2017.

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September Review – Isle of Man: No. 16 – Down at Derby Castle Sheds

Posted on Sunday 16 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

Derby Castle Sheds have been the home of the Manx Electric Railway for 125 years. Much expanded from the original 1893 building they are now home to the vast majority of the surviving MER fleet with only Laxey Car Sheds also still in use. Not only can you find operational trams but also several stored vehicles and in recent years you have even been able to find horse trams under works attention. In this article we take a look at some images taken of MER vehicles at the car sheds.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 16 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

There are another two Photo Galleries for you this week; both coming from the northwest of England:

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In Pictures: The other side of 276’s advert

Posted on Saturday 15 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

We’ve previously featured 276 – or Rudolph as it prefers to be known at the moment – and its new Hogmanay and Christmas advert on these pages but only one side of the tram (the side which was all about Hogmanay) but now we bring you images of Rudolph and his Christmas adverts. Once more the standard Edinburgh Trams design is carried with sections three and five of the tram having full height adverts whilst the remainder of the tram just carries roof height ads. Photos from Roy Calderwood.

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September Review – Crich: No. 8 – Anniversary line-ups

Posted on Saturday 15 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

With the theme for 2018’s Simply Trams being anniversaries and birthdays there were a number of photo line-ups on that theme with several of the collection being lucky enough to be celebrating significant anniversaries.

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Department of Infrastructure fined £18,000 for Snaefell runaway incident

Posted on Saturday 15 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

Isle of Man’s Department of Infrastructure has been fined £18,000 plus costs after admitting to five health and safety breaches regarding the August 2017 incident which saw a tram run out of control down the mountain, overshooting the stop at Bungalow. At a recent court case the DoI admitted to the breaches which related to the safety of the crew and passengers – but none of these charges related to the braking system.

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September Review – Isle of Man: No. 15 – Another look at some of the MER trailers

Posted on Saturday 15 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

For the second time in this series we concentrate on the trailers performing a valuable service to MER.

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A busy time in Rigby Road workshops

Posted on Friday 14 December 2018 by Gareth Prior

We reported earlier this week about how Coronation 304 was out on test but that is not all that has been happening in the Rigby Road workshops with the main focus of attention now being Standard 143 – another tram owned by the Fylde Transpot Trust – whilst a return to action beckons for Balloon 707 with Bolton 66 also due some workshop attention over the off season.

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In Pictures: Glasgow 812 sees the daylight at Crich

Posted on Friday 14 December 2018 by Andrew Waddington

Glasgow 812 may have been a popular member of the Crich Tramway Village operational fleet for many years, but for some time now the enclosed Glasgow ‘Standard’ car has been out of service, awaiting its turn in the workshops for a well-due overhaul. This has made any chance to see the tram outside the depots quite a novelty of late, hence we feature a rare shunt move for the car on 1st December, captured by Peter Whiteley.

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