Old tram tracks discovered in Nottingham

Posted on Friday 12 August 2016 by Gareth Prior

During recent construction works in Nottingham City Centre on Station Street workmen discovered some tram tracks from the original Corporation Tramway. Two tracks side by side curving from Station Street into Carrington Street were found as this photo from Bob Gell shows.

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Track replacement works for NET

Posted on Friday 12 August 2016 by Gareth Prior

Sunday 28th August will see track replacement works take place on Nottingham Express Transit in the David Lane and Cinderhill areas causing a revised service to operate. All services from Clifton South and Toton Lane will only run as far as Wilkinson Street with a replacement bus service running from there to Phoenix Park calling at all stops including Bulwell. Passengers for Hucknall should change at Bulwell for a shuttle tram.

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It must be August…Tramlink closures for track relaying

Posted on Friday 12 August 2016 by Gareth Prior

As has become tradition recently August has arrived and London Tramlink services through central Croydon have been suspended to allow for track replacement works to take place. The disruption started from late on Friday 5th August and will be continuing through until Tuesday 16th August. Throughout this period no trams were able to travel along Addiscombe Road between East Croydon and Sandilands with, at various times other sections of the tramway also closed.

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Late night trams for Edinburgh Festival

Posted on Friday 12 August 2016 by Gareth Prior

Extra tram services will run on Edinburgh Trams for the majority of August to aid passengers travelling back from events including the Festival and Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The special timetable started operation on 5th August and will be in use until 29th August with Saturdays seeing a new 0035 departure from York Place to Edinburgh Airport.

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NET delays after protest

Posted on Friday 12 August 2016 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit services were severely delayed on Friday 5th August after a group of protestors blocked the tram tracks in the city centre causing the service to initially be suspended between Royal Centre and Old Market Square and then later as far as Nottingham Station. The situation continued to change as the morning progressed and eventually the Phoenix Park route was amended so trams were only running as far as Highbury Vale. The protestors laid on the tracks protesting under the Black Lives Matter banner and were also apparently planning to “shutdown Nottingham”. The protestors – four of whom have since been charged by the Police – were removed later in the morning with tram services resuming from 1115.

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A new voice for Blackpool’s trams

Posted on Tuesday 9 August 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Since their introduction into service in 2012, Blackpool’s Flexity2 tram fleet have “spoken” with the voice of Blackpool Transport’s Bryan Lindop. However, in recent weeks the recorded announcements on the trams have been updated with new voiceovers recorded by a local radio host.

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An eventful August Sunday?

Posted on Tuesday 9 August 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Two tram preservation groups hosted special events on Sunday 7th August. The North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust (NEETT) played host to their annual ‘Tram & Transport Sunday’ at their headquarters at the North East Land, Sea & Air Museum near Sunderland, whilst over in Manchester, the Heaton Park Tramway paid tribute to vintage transport from nearby Oldham.

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B Fleet Balloon car runs in service

Posted on Monday 8 August 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The small fleet of modified ‘B Fleet’ Balloon cars in Blackpool which were intended to be used on stage carriage work to supplement the core LRT service post-2012, have found themselves with an increasingly confused role of late. Latterly used on heritage tours and little else, it therefore came as a nice surprise to see car 700 make a brief appearance in ordinary service on Sunday 7th August.

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Glasgow 812 goes to war

Posted on Friday 5 August 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Preparations for the next 1940s-themed event at Crich Tramway Village, taking place from 8th to 14th August inclusive, are well underway and this has included preparing a tram in wartime guise for the occasion. Glasgow 812 has been selected, being a fairly typical British tramcar which was around during that period in history.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 31 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

We have another three Photo Galleries for you this week as part of our latest main site update:

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Details revealed for Douglas Bay Horse Tramway 140th Anniversary

Posted on Friday 29 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

We may still be midway through the Manx Heritage Transport Festival (continuing until Sunday 31st July) but already we are looking forward to the next transport event on the Isle of Man – the 140th Anniversary of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway. The anniversary will be celebrated over the weekend of Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th August and Isle of Man Railways have now revealed the plans to celebrate in style which will include intensive services, trams in the evening and a parade of all trams to round things off.

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Blackpool reveal details of next two Gold operating weekends

Posted on Friday 29 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

The next couple of months will see a further two periods of the popular Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours Gold timetable operating with outline details of both weekends now revealed. The next time the Gold timetable will be in action will be over the August Bank Holiday weekend (27th to 29th August) with the standard timetable in use and this will be followed by the Anniversary Spectacular (24th and 25th September) which will also include depot tours, rare trams on display and vintage bus tours.

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Metrolink set to return to MediaCityUK

Posted on Friday 29 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink Services to MediaCityUK are set to return from Monday 1st August – subject to the successful completion of testing and commissioning of the new rails. Metrolink services on the Eccles line have not been running since 26th June with the first major rail replacement programme on the Phase Two line taking place but with this work now sufficiently progressed it is possible for trams to get as far as MediaCityUK again.

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In Pictures: Metrolink 3117 enters service

Posted on Friday 29 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

The latest M500 to enter service on Manchester Metrolink is 3117 with these pictures showing the tram in action on Saturday 23rd July, believed to be its first day in service since completing mileage accumulation. On this day the tram was used on the Piccadilly to Shaw & Crompton service. Photos by Steve Kemp.

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Edinburgh Trams service frequency increases

Posted on Friday 29 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

Edinburgh Trams services in the morning and evening peak will now run every 5 minutes following a successful – and unpublicised – trial earlier in July. The new timetable was officially introduced from 26th July and will see trams running every 5 minutes between 0730 and 0930 and 1630 and 1830 – an extra three return journeys in both peaks.

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Astrotrams arrive in Manchester

Posted on Friday 29 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

The past week has seen a number of trams on Manchester Metrolink transformed into Astrotrams as part of the City of Science Festival. Externally the trams don’t look very different with just small window vinyls saying #astrotram but internally it is a different story! The ceilings of the trams have been filled with astronomy facts and interactive triggers and customers who download the free SciMan app can play augmented reality videos, bringing science to life. Passengers at stops have also been treated to intergalactic facts from Professor Brian Cox.

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Midland Metro Birmingham City Centre closure for engineering works

Posted on Friday 29 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

Just two months after the much delayed opening of the Midland Metro Birmingham City Centre extension to Grand Central (New Street Station) there are to be three weekends of closures for engineering works! No details of just what engineering works are needed after such a short period of time seem to have been released but over the weekends of 30th/31st July, 6th/7th August and on Sunday 14th August all trams will terminate at Snow Hill with passengers wanting the City Centre told to walk once again.

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Farewell to the Fylde for Centenary 643

Posted on Tuesday 26 July 2016 by Andrew Waddington

As expected, Blackpool Centenary car 643 has now departed the storage yard in Fleetwood where it has resided for the last few years, having been sold to a learning disability school in the Midlands for further use. The tram left the Fleetwood docks on Friday 22nd July bound for a railway maintenance facility, also believed to be in the Midlands although its exact whereabouts have not been revealed.

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In Pictures: Blackpool Standard 40 launched back into service

Posted on Tuesday 26 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

Blackpool Standard 40 was officially relaunched into service on Tuesday 26th July with special guest Bryan Lindop and Bob Mason from Blackpool Transport on hand to celebrate the return of this ever popular tram at the home of the National Tramway Museum – Crich Tramway Village.

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Book Review: ‘Regional Tramways – Yorkshire and North East of England’ by Peter Waller

Posted on Monday 25 July 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The above title (which is admittedly a bit of a mouthful!) is the second in a new series of volumes describing tramways in Great Britain, primarily those which existed between the years of 1945 and 1962. The style of presentation is, as one might expect, similar to the Scotland title which was reviewed a little while ago here: http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/news/?p=14721

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