Testing starts on Second City Crossing

Posted on Thursday 1 December 2016 by Gareth Prior

The early hours of Thursday 1st December saw the first gauging run on Manchester Metrolink’s Second City Crossing with M5000 pair 3004 and 3021 in use to officially become the first trams to run on the section of the 2CC from St Peter’s Square.

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MER prepares for 2017

Posted on Thursday 1 December 2016 by Gareth Prior

No sooner had the 2016 season on the Manx Electric Railway finished then attention was turned to preparing both the fleet and infrastructure for 2017. It is planned that this winter will see a number of repaints with some trams having new looks whilst two trailers stored for a number of years will be prepared to return to service whilst track relaying is also underway along with the long expected demolition of Ramsey Car Shed and Good Shed.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Centenary 646

Posted on Thursday 1 December 2016 by Gareth Prior

Our archive photo series is back with another helping from Blackpool. This time around we are taking a look at Centenary 646 in the early 1990s.

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British Trams Online Advent Calendars 2016

Posted on Wednesday 30 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

Yes, its that time of the year once again as we bring you our Advent Calendars. No chocolate for you behind each window but we do have 48 more photos of tram waiting for you in the lead up to Christmas. As in the past few years we have two Advent Calendars for you – Traditional Trams and Modern Trams and you can find the link to both by going to http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/advent.html. We will tend to upload the next image the night before so please so sneaky peeks before the day!

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Glasgow 1017 returns to service

Posted on Wednesday 30 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

Late in 2015 one of the stalwarts of the tram fleet at the Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, Glasgow 1017, had to be withdrawn from service with a fractured axle box leaving Dusseldorf 392 to provide the majority of services along the short operating fleet. Now after the completion of repairs 1017 has returned to service which will allow the German tram to take a well earned break.

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Posted in Summerlee Museum Tramway | 1 Comment

Brush car 621 left out in the cold (** updated with photos**)

Posted on Wednesday 30 November 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Whilst the expansion of the tram fleet at Beamish Museum has been a generally positive development, it has placed great pressure on the available depot space. The recent addition of Oporto C65 to the ranks following its transfer from the national collection has meant that insufficient space is available to house all of the museum’s trams and buses undercover, leaving Blackpool Brush Railcoach 621 outside again.

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Picture in Time: Seaton Tramway 16

Posted on Tuesday 29 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

Today Picture in Time is in Devon for an image from the Seaton Tramway featuring one of the trams which has been given a new lease of life following a rebuild from its original identity as Bournemouth Corporation Tramways 106. It is of course Seaton 16.

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British Trams Online Tram of the Year 2016

Posted on Sunday 27 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

As we approach the end of another year we start to turn our attention towards celebrating what has gone on over the past 12 months and we all know what that means don’t we? Yes it’s time for the British Trams Online Tram of the Year contest! As always the contest starts with the nominations process and we are now seeking your nominations in four categories: Tram (traditional) of the Year, Tram (modern) of the Year, Tramway of the Year and Event of the Year. Nominations will remain open until Saturday 3rd December.

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Posted in Tram of the Year | 18 Comments

In Pictures: Tramlink 2550 back in fleet livery

Posted on Sunday 27 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

London Tramlink CR4000 2550 is now operating in standard fleet livery again following the removal of the yellow based Tramlink Safety vinyls. The tram was moved into the workshops during November for the removal of the special livery and is now operating in the Lime Green, Blue and White Tramlink house colours once again.

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In Pictures: Edinburgh Transport Group unveil commemorative plaque

Posted on Sunday 27 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

The Edinburgh Transport Group have unveiled a plaque and information panel at the former Braids tram terminus on Comiston Road, Edinburgh to mark the restoration of the former 1930s tram shelter and to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the closure of the last of the Edinburgh Corporation Tramway route on 16th November 1956. The panel gives a brief history of Edinburgh’s tramways as well as the shelter itself and was unveiled on 19th November.

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Blackpool Brush car 637 under threat

Posted on Sunday 27 November 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The future of Blackpool Brush Railcoach 637 is currently in some doubt after its private owner was given notice that a new home must be found for the tram after Christmas. 637 is at present stored at a compound on the Fleetwood docks along with many of the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust’s trams, but the FHLT have now informed its owner that it must be removed in the near future.

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Picture in Time: Docklands Light Railway 04

Posted on Saturday 26 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

We are off to London for today’s Picture in Time as we take a look at one of the original trains which operated on the Docklands Light Railway.

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Blackpool tramway extension gets Council approval

Posted on Saturday 26 November 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Its more good news for the proposed extension of the Blackpool tramway up Talbot Road to North Station – which has been approved by local Councillors at their latest meeting held on November 23rd. This is in spite of some serious opposition from the Conservative Party, which is quite a turnaround as the project was actually a key feature of their local election manifesto only last year!

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 11 Comments

Tram-train pilot delayed to 2018?

Posted on Friday 25 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

The much delayed Tram-Train pilot which will eventually see services running between Sheffield City Centre and Rotherham Parkgate has been delayed even further with the BBC reporting that the first public services will not operate until Summer 2018. This will be some three years after it had originally been hoped that services would run and means that the extra time Network Rail needed from the last opening date announcement (early 2017) will amount to 18 months.

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Posted in South Yorkshire Supertram | 9 Comments

Preston Trampower approved – but not for passengers

Posted on Friday 25 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

After much delay and continued refusal by Preston City Council approval has finally been given for a tram line in the city although if anyone wanted to ride on the line they will be disappointed as it will only be used for “training purposes, as a demonstrator for other local authorities and to raise public awareness of trams as a sustainable mode of transport”.

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Tram-Trains for Glasgow Airport?

Posted on Friday 25 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

Plans for a tram-train service to link Glasgow City Centre with the Airport are once again on the table with local councils set to discuss the plans further. Almost exactly a year since we last reported on the story the plans are now set to be discussed further before it is passed to Glasgow City Region cabinet in December.

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Edinburgh Airport tram passenger numbers down

Posted on Friday 25 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

A new report by the Airport Operators Association has shown that just 8% of all journeys taken to Edinburgh Airport are made by tram – a fall by 2% since the figures were last reviewed. Meanwhile 25% of journeys were made by bus, probably not that surprising considering bus fares from Edinburgh City Centre are £1 cheaper than those on the tram.

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Fallen tree causes East Didsbury disruption

Posted on Friday 25 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

The first major storm of the autumn caused problems for Manchester Metrolink with a fallen tree damaging the overhead lines at Withington on the East Didsbury line. The tree was reported as being down during the early evening on Monday 21st November and caused the East Didsbury line to be suspended for the remainder of the evening and delays were also experienced the following morning. The tree was removed and the overhead was repaired to allow a full service to resume on Tuesday 22nd November.

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New fare to be introduced on Nottingham Express Transit

Posted on Friday 25 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

Passengers wishing to travel short distances within Nottingham City Centre will be able to take advantage of a new £1 short hop fare from Sunday 27th November. Any single journey between Nottingham Station and Nottingham Trent University will cost just £1, a significant saving on the previous lowest single fare of £1.70. On the same date the limit for all child tickets will be increased from 16 to 18.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 713

Posted on Thursday 24 November 2016 by Gareth Prior

We head back over 40 years to Blackpool for our latest edition of Picture in Time and feature one of the iconic Balloon Cars – 713.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Picture in Time | 4 Comments