Event Review: MER goes back to its beginnings and 1975

Posted on Sunday 30 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Days five and six of the 125th Anniversary events saw the Manx Electric Railway look back with Wednesday 5th seeing Groudle shuttle with the original trams 1 and 2 (plus 3!) in action whilst Thursday 6th it was back to 1975. Read on for a full review.

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In Pictures: Grimsby & Immingham 26 under overhaul

Posted on Saturday 29 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Having been withdrawn from service for a start to be made on its overhaul in January 2016 Grimsby & Immingham 26 – or Gateshead 10 as it will be again once the work is completed – is still under attention at Beamish with the tram currently lifted at the very rear of the tram depot. The work to return the car to service still has quite some way to go and it isn’t expected that 10 will be back in action for the foreseeable future.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Standard 159

Posted on Saturday 29 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Today Picture in Time heads off to East Anglia for a view of a long standing member of the operational tram fleet – Blackpool Standard 159.

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RAIB release results of investigation into Supertram speeding incident

Posted on Saturday 29 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

The RAIB have concluded that a driver of a tram in Sheffield who approached Middlewood terminus on 19th July 2018 at a too high a speed – causing injuries to two passengers and a door to open slightly – had lost awareness of where he was on the line as they release their latest investigation report. The tram was travelling at over double the permitted line speed on the curve leading to the terminus when the incident happened.

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In Pictures: New location of fleet numbers on Edinburgh Trams

Posted on Friday 28 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Ever since Edinburgh Trams started applying adverts there has been the issue of the fact the adverts have covered the main fleet number, making identification of the trams in the traditional three quarter photo difficult. However, in recent months some trams have started to receive their fleet number in a new position just over the destination screen, although still a relatively small size which tests the eyesight to identify the trams still. The below photos from Trevor Hall show the evolution of the fleet number position.

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Is the future of Supertram in doubt?

Posted on Friday 28 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Since 1994 Sheffield has enjoyed the benefits of a tramway following the start of service on the Supertram network but the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) have now warned that unless £230 million worth of funding can be secured the whole system may have to close permanently. The warning has come as part of a new consultation asking residents, businesses and visitors to the area for their views on what they see as the best future for the network.

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Day of celebrations to mark last use of historic horse tramway alignment

Posted on Thursday 27 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Sunday 21st October will be a historic day for the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway as it is due to be the last day the current full double track alignment between Derby Castle and the Sea Terminal will be in use. To celebrate the fact – although the Department of Infrastructure are celebrating “new beginnings” rather than looking back – there will a series of special events on the last day – including a premium priced final service with double decker 18.

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In Pictures: Progress on North Station extension

Posted on Thursday 27 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Work to extend the Blackpool Tramway the short distance up Talbot Road to Blackpool North Railway Station is continuing with the first new track now in situ although there is also still evidence of some of the old tram track which has been uncovered in preparing the surface for the laying of new track. The below photos show the situation as at Monday 24th September.

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Picture in Time: Docklands Light Railway 96+01

Posted on Thursday 27 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

A trip to London’s Docklands for this edition of Picture in Time with an image of two of the B2K units in service back in 2004.

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In Pictures: Metrolink Trafford Park line construction progress

Posted on Wednesday 26 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Work on constructing the Manchester Metrolink extension to Trafford Park is continuing at a good pace with various worksites along the length of the line. We reported earlier this month on the installation of a bridge across the Bridgewater Canal and a timelapse video of this is now available from TfGM. In this pictorial we take a look at progress across the line, which is due to open in 2020 with services running from Trafford Centre to Crumpsall. Steve Hyde with the photos.

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Douglas Bay Horse Tramway to end 2018 season early

Posted on Wednesday 26 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

It has been confirmed that the 2018 operating season on the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway will end earlier than planned with the last trams now due to run on Sunday 21st October. It had originally been planned that trams would continue running for a further two weeks but because of the start of the Prom development works the date has been changed. The 2019 season is still scheduled to start on Thursday 25th April although this could be subject to change.

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Event Review: Anniversary Spectacular – Blackpool Tramway, 22nd & 23rd September

Posted on Tuesday 25 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

The biggest event for Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours each year takes place on the third weekend of September – the Anniversary Spectacular. As usual the 2018 event saw an intensive tram service – including non-timetabled specials – across the whole of the tramway plus depot tours, trams on display at Rigby Road Depot and for those so inclined free bus tours around the local area. Read on to find out more of what happened over the weekend…

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In Pictures: Chesterfield 8 enjoys a day out

Posted on Tuesday 25 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Saturday 22nd September saw a rare trip away from Crich for horse drawn tram Chesterfield 8 when it visited Nottingham for the day to help celebrate the 140th anniversary of Nottingham City Transport. A special event was held in Old Market Square with a number of historic vehicles on display – this was 140 years to the week since the very first horse drawn tram ran in Nottingham.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Belle 731

Posted on Tuesday 25 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

We head back into the archives for today’s Picture in Time image with a view of the very first illuminated feature car built to carry passengers – the Blackpool Belle.

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Shadow running underway on Tram-Train pilot

Posted on Monday 24 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Full shadow running of the UK Tram-Train pilot between Sheffield and Rotherham has now commenced, bringing the start of services ever closer (hopefully!) As on all new lines the standard service due to operate is being operated without passengers to iron out any issues which may be experienced once the public are let loose. This stage is likely to last several weeks and will then be followed by an official start of services – understandably, given the high profile issues with the introduction of the pilot, there has been no public mention of just when the service may start.

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In Pictures: Another look at Ipswich Transport Museum

Posted on Monday 24 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

The Ipswich Transport Museum is the home to two trams – one electric tram from the city’s tram system and a horse car from Cambridge. We have featured both trams extensively over the past year or so and here again we see the duo including the latest progress on the cosmetic restoration of the Cambridge Street Tramways horse tram.

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In Pictures: Summerlee Tramway in action

Posted on Sunday 23 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

In this article we take a quick look at the trams of Summerlee with images taken during a visit on Saturday 15th September. On this day most services were in the hands of the open topper Lanarkshire 53 with Dusseldorf 392 also out of the shed. To complete the picture we also see Glasgow 1017, not in use, but stabled at the very front of the depot. Photos courtesy of Trevor Hall.

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In Pictures: The old Birmingham Snow Hill terminus

Posted on Sunday 23 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

On Saturday 24th October 2015 the last Midland Metro (as it was then called) services ran into the original Birmingham Snow Hill terminus with the city centre extension soon connected and trams finally running into the city centre. The closure of the stop would also allow a fourth platform to be used by national rail services through Snow Hill. Fast forward almost three years and what has changed at Snow Hill? Well, not a lot if these photos from Ken Jones are anything to go by!

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Picture in Time: Seaton Tramway 7

Posted on Saturday 22 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Today we are off to Devon for our latest delve into the archives – the photo features the only tram still at Seaton withdrawn from service, no. 7.

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Metrolink performance increases

Posted on Saturday 22 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

The latest set of performance figures from Manchester Metrolink have shown an increase in both punctuality and reliability. In the case of punctuality it is the highest figure since these states started to be released at the start of the year whilst reliability is also up although not quick at its highest level.

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