Luas Cross City line to open 9th December

Posted on Friday 24 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

The much anticipated Cross City line on Dublin’s Luas network will open to the public at 1400 on Saturday 9th December. The 5.9km extension has been under construction since June 2013 and will, for the first time, provide an interchange between the Red and Green lines on the network.

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Disruptions to trams and buses in Blackpool

Posted on Thursday 23 November 2017 by Andrew Waddington

With the off-peak winter season now in full swing on the Blackpool tramway, some signs of disruption have started to appear. This has also extended to road traffic, as preparations for the much-anticipated extension of the tramway up Talbot Road to North Station are now getting started.

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Hole in the wall at Crich

Posted on Thursday 23 November 2017 by Andrew Waddington

As part of the current depot refurbishment work taking place at Crich Tramway Village, a large hole has recently appeared in the back wall of Depot 2. Whilst this part of the main running sheds is completely devoid of trams, the opportunity was taken to remove and replace an elderly generator which had been in situ for 43 years!

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Record breaking year for Isle of Man Railways

Posted on Thursday 23 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

Despite a year that might be described as difficult especially in respect of the Snaefell Mountain Railway, Isle of Man Transport have announced that 2017 saw record passenger numbers carried across the four railways and tramways they operate. The Isle of Man Steam Railway, Manx Electric Railway, Snaefell Mountain Railway and Douglas Bay Horse Tramway saw a combined 13% increase in passengers.

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In Pictures: Blackpool Brush 625

Posted on Thursday 23 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

With the 80th anniversary year of the Blackpool Brush Railcoach starting to come to an end we take a look at another of the surviving class members in our latest delve into the archives. This time around we land in 2004 for a view of 625.

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In Pictures: The other side of Edinburgh 276 – Hogmanay

Posted on Wednesday 22 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

A few days ago we featured the latest adverts to be carried on a tram in Edinburgh with 276 receiving vinyls for Christmas 2017. However, that was just one side of the tram as on the other side the advert is for Hogmanay 2018 with more local schoolchildren artwork used on the vinyls in telling people they can take the tram to the major celebrations taking place in the city centre, which will also feature free trams throughout the night.

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In Pictures: Excellent progress on Bilston Road works

Posted on Wednesday 22 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

With work on replacing the track along Bilston Road now approaching an end – the road is due to be opened to the public again from Saturday 2nd December with a hoped for return of trams 10 days later – excellent progress has been noted on this major project. Slightly ahead of schedule – it was originally not due to be completed until mid-December – all sleepers have now been laid with the majority of remaining work being finishing of the road surface and the connection of the old and new tracks at Priestfield. This latest update comes from the camera of Andy Walters.

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More preparations for Blackpool Brush 298 restoration

Posted on Tuesday 21 November 2017 by Andrew Waddington

Whilst the events being held in Blackpool this year to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the town’s Brush Railcoach class have been greatly enjoyed, one thing that has definitely been missed is a Brush car in original ‘Art Deco’ condition. Sadly at present, none of the class are restored in anything like original condition – but that is something which the Tramway Museum Society are keen to address.

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Brierley Hill Metro extension gets funding

Posted on Tuesday 21 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

Trams could be running to Brierley Hill from 2023 after confirmation of £250 million worth of funding which will enable the extension from Wednesbury to be constructed. The money will be coming from the Transforming Cities Fund which was given to the West Midlands for transport infrastructure with Mayor Andy Street confirming it would be used towards the Midland Metro extension.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Marton VAMBAC 11

Posted on Tuesday 21 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

An image from the 1970s is the feature of today’s edition of Picture in Time as we head to the early days of the East Anglia Transport Museum with a look at the unique Blackpool Marton VAMBAC 11.

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In Pictures: East Anglia Transport Museum

Posted on Monday 20 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

Of all the operating museum tramways in the UK one of the least covered on these pages is probably the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville. After the excitement of 2016 when London County Council 106 became the first short-term loan tram to run at the museum, 2017 has been a far calmer year for the tramway although it has continued to operate on a regular basis with popular trams Blackpool 159 and London Transport 1858 often in service. For this pictorial we actually go back in time until 2015 for some views of the two aforementioned trams along with a trolleybus. Bryan Grint is the photographer.

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Blackpool’s Brush cars on parade!

Posted on Monday 20 November 2017 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours have announced an unexpected but very welcome late addition to this year’s events celebrating 80 years of the Brush Railcoach class – a parade featuring all of the serviceable members of the type! This will start the day on Sunday 26th November, as part of the final enhanced ‘Gold’ weekend of operation for 2017.

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In Pictures: Edinburgh Trams 276 goes all Christmassy

Posted on Sunday 19 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a tram in standard fleet livery in Edinburgh now with just nine of the 27 strong class of CAF trams carrying the house colours. The latest tram to receive special vinyls is 276 which is publicising Edinburgh’s Christmas 2017 with various pieces of artwork designed by local schoolchildren adorning the side of the tram.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 19 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

There are another couple of Photo Galleries which have now been added as this week’s main site update:

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Picture in Time: Manchester Metrolink 1026

Posted on Saturday 18 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

The last of the original T68 trams to be delivered to Manchester is the main feature of this edition of Picture in Time. It is 1026 and we catch up with the tram in 2005.

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In Pictures: Crumpsall Metrolink stop in transition

Posted on Saturday 18 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

Work is continuing at Crumpsall which will see it transformed to allow trams from the Trafford Park line to terminate without getting in the way of the 10 trams an hour which currently run through to Bury. So far work has been concentrating on the current platform infrastructure with new passenger ramps being constructed ahead of a new platform face being added for the terminating services. Mike Haddon with the pictures.

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Midland Metro on track to return to Wolverhampton in December

Posted on Friday 17 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

It may have appeared to the naked eye that progress on the track replacement along Bilston Road has been slow but it has now been confirmed that an end is in sight for the completion of the project. Subject to testing it is planned that a full service will resume between Priestfield and Wolverhampton St George’s on Sunday 10th December.

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New DLR trains procurement continues

Posted on Friday 17 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

There are changes afoot in the rolling stock of the Docklands Light Railway with the search for a builder for 43 new trains – due to be introduced in 2022 – stepping up a gear. Transport for London have asked four bidders to submit bids in the next stage of the procurement with a decision on who will be selected to build the trains set to be announced in autumn 2018.

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Free trams in Edinburgh for Hogmanay

Posted on Friday 17 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

There will again be free late-night trams in Edinburgh for Hogmanay with a special tram service running every 20 minutes between midnight on 31st December and 0500 on 1st January from West End Princes Street to Edinburgh Airport. This service will enable the public to enjoy a packed programme of celebrations and then get home afterwards safely.

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In Pictures: Glasgow 1245 restoration continues at Summerlee

Posted on Thursday 16 November 2017 by Gareth Prior

Another low-key tram restoration currently underway can be found at Summerlee where members of the Summerlee Transport Group are heavily involved in returning Glasgow Coronation Car 1245 to the rails. Last time we reported on the tram’s restoration we saw it become a double decker once again and the past year has seen further progress on its restoration.

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