Power outage causes Metrolink disruption

Posted on Saturday 21 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

On Wednesday 18th April there were some changes to Manchester Metrolink services after a non-tram power supply outage affecting the area around Victoria station. The Electricity North West power cut saw services during the morning rush hour affected with Metrolink apologising for the inconvenience caused to passengers.

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T69s start to head for scrap

Posted on Saturday 21 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

We’ve known it was happening since the results of the e-auction were announced earlier this year but the movement of the ex-Midland Metro T69s for scrap has started. 13 of the 16 strong class of trams have been sold to Booths of Rotherham – who also won the contract to scrap the Manchester Metrolink T68s and T68As – and will now be moved from their storage location of Long Marston for this work to take place.

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Halle 902 to move to Blackpool!

Posted on Friday 20 April 2018 by Andrew Waddington

In one of the more bizarre news stories of the recent past, it has been announced that Halle 902 is set to move from Crich Tramway Village to Blackpool, for storage and occasional display at Rigby Road. The move is primarily to free up depot space at Crich, in order to assist with future projects and vehicle display.

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In Pictures: Batteries fully charged – 18 enters service!

Posted on Friday 20 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

Friday 20th April was a momentous day on Midland Metro as the very first battery operated tram ran in passenger service following the successful completion of testing and driver training. 18 was used in passenger service throughout the day and for part of each journey on the current line it is planned to operate it by its batteries, even though all the line is powered for overhead.

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DLR strike suspended at eleventh hour

Posted on Thursday 19 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

The proposed four day strike on the Docklands Light Railway due to start on Friday 20th April and set to cause massive disruption for this Sunday’s London Marathon has been suspended after “significant progress” was made in talks at ACAS between KeolisAmeyDocklands and the RMT. A normal service will now operate on all four days.

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Picture in Time: Great Orme Tramway 5

Posted on Thursday 19 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

Back to North Wales for another view of the Great Orme Tramway today as Picture in Time continues.

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More batteries now included on Midland Metro

Posted on Wednesday 18 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

Following on from the installation of batteries on Urbos3 18 the remainder of the Midland Metro tram fleet is now to be so fitted, although unlike 18 it won’t be necessary for them to be returned to Spain with the work instead taking place at Wednesbury Depot. With the apparent end of successful testing for 18 – although that tram still awaits a return to service – work has now commenced on fitting the batteries to 31.

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Another disruptive strike for the DLR on the way

Posted on Tuesday 17 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

The next strike in the ongoing dispute between KeolisAmeyDocklands and members of the RM union is due to start on Friday 20th April and last for four days – severely affecting the service planned for the London Marathon, one of the busiest days of the year for the DLR.

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Around the World in Trams: Nagasaki 1201

Posted on Tuesday 17 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

We move out of Europe briefly for this week’s worldwide tram image with the photo coming from Nagasaki in Japan.

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In Pictures: LCC 1 restoration progresses

Posted on Monday 16 April 2018 by Andrew Waddington

The ongoing reconstruction of London County Council 1 – more popularly known as ‘Bluebird’ – in the Crich workshops remains ongoing. In recent weeks and months, significant progress has been and the car is now looking much more like a tram again! Some photos have been provided by the London County Council Tramway Trust’s Facebook page, showing what has been achieved recently.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 1 Comment

In Pictures: Ipswich 33 – the nooks and crannies

Posted on Monday 16 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

A tram we have featured a fair bit over the past few months has been the charming Ipswich 33 which has been cosmetically restored for display at the Ipswich Transport Museum. This time around we take a closer look at some of the finer details of the restoration which we often take for granted when trams go through the works but really make the whole thing look complete. Bryan Grint with the photos.

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In Video: Stagecoach Supertram in April

Posted on Sunday 15 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

Views of Stagecoach Supertram on the Purple route at Herdings/Leighton Road, Blue route at Malin Bridge, at the hub of the network – Cathedral, University of Sheffield and Spring Lane. The videos were filmed on Wednesday 4th April and includes three of the Citylink tram-trains: 399 202, 399 203 and 399 204. Video courtesy of Martin Miller.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 15 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

This week over on the main website we have a small selection of photos from the Sussex Coast:

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 726

Posted on Saturday 14 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

In this instalment of Picture in Time we are back in Blackpool as we take a look at the highest numbered of the iconic Balloon Cars to be built, now numbered 726.

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Punctuality and reliability up on Metrolink

Posted on Saturday 14 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

No sooner had we reported on the first two sets of performance data from Manchester Metrolink than the next period has been released with both punctuality and reliability on the increase.

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In Pictures: Works starts in earnest on Wolverhampton extension

Posted on Friday 13 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

As we’ve mentioned before the next phase of work to extend Midland Metro is now underway in Wolverhampton City Centre with roads now closed and bus services diverted to allow the work to take place. In this pictorial update we take a look at the first signs of progress in allowing trams to penetrate the city centre on their way to the railway station in 2020. Andy Walters with the photos.

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Transdev wins at Irish Logistics & Transport Awards

Posted on Friday 13 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

Transdev – operators of Luas – have been named as Passenger Transport Operator of the Year at the Irish Logistics & Transport Awards. The company were praised for their focus on safety, efficiency and customer experience. The high standard of service had certified the company as ISO compliant with an emphasis on leadership, innovation and risk analysis.

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Overhead brought down at Colyford (**updated**)

Posted on Thursday 12 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

You often hear about lorries hitting railway bridges and causing major delays to services but on Thursday 12th April a similar story occurred on the Seaton Tramway with a lorry causing damage to the overhead at Colyford road crossing. The lorry – which had a digger on the back causing it to be over height for the road – brought the wires down shortly before midday bringing a premature end to the day’s service.

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In Pictures: New advert for Metrolink 3069

Posted on Thursday 12 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

It seems to have been a while since we last saw a new vinyl wrap livery on Manchester Metrolink but that situation has changed with 3069 recently having an advert for Slater Menswear applied.

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Picture in Time: Glasgow 1245 & Blackpool 159

Posted on Thursday 12 April 2018 by Gareth Prior

The early years of the East Anglia Transport Museum feature in this instalment of our archive photo series.

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