Collision on Metrolink

Posted on Friday 1 July 2016 by Gareth Prior

Saturday 25th June saw yet another collision on Manchester Metrolink between a van and a tram. This time the incident happened on Hollyhedge Road at approximately 1925 whilst the van was reversing into a driveway. The tram involved was 3065 which suffered some damage as did the van but fortunately there were no reported injuries. Services on the Airport line were suspended between Robinswood Road and Roundthorn for just over 30 minutes.

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North Station extension clears another hurdle

Posted on Wednesday 29 June 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The plan to build an extension of the Blackpool tramway running up Talbot Road to North Station has been approved at a full council meeting held on the evening of Wednesday 29th June. 26 councillors voted in favour of the extension being constructed, with just 11 opposing it. It was mostly the Labour party who ensured that the outcome was a positive one, with just one Conservative voting in favour of the proposals!

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 6 Comments

A future for the Douglas Horse Tramway?

Posted on Wednesday 29 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

When the Douglas Horse Tramway resumed operation for the 2015 season it was known that the arrangement for Isle of Man Railways to run the service was only on the table for one season and that the long term future of the tramway was still very much up in the air. Over the past few months discussions have been ongoing between interested parties over securing a more long-term future for the tramway and to this end a proposal will be put to Tynwald next month which would see the Department of Infrastructure take permanent control of the line, in whatever form the line may take.

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Posted in Douglas Bay Horse Tramway | 2 Comments

Third tram-train arrives in Sheffield

Posted on Wednesday 29 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

There are now three of the even tram-trains in the UK with 399 203 being delivered to Nunnery Square Depot in the early hours of Tuesday 28th June. The vehicle was then unloaded during the day before it finally touched Supertram metals in the early afternoon.

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LCC 1 returns to Crich

Posted on Wednesday 29 June 2016 by Andrew Waddington

On the morning of Wednesday 29th June, the body frame of London County Council 1 was returned to Crich Tramway Village. This follows a six week period undergoing expert attention by Garmendale Engineering’s workshop premises at Ilkeston, and represents a huge leap forwards in this massive restoration project.

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The Wi-Fi Flexity

Posted on Wednesday 29 June 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Flexity 008 has become the first ever Blackpool tram to offer free Wi-Fi Internet access to passengers earlier this month. Free Wi-Fi on Blackpool Transport’s buses as part of the new Palladium brand has been a great success, so much so that it is now being trialled on the trams as well with 008 the first to be so treated. Early reports suggest that the experiment has been successful and it is expected that this innovation will be rolled out across the rest of the class in the near future.

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East Anglia Transport Museum grows!

Posted on Tuesday 28 June 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville, near Lowestoft, has been successful in its goal of obtaining additional land adjacent to the museum site. This has virtually doubled the amount of land available to the museum and is therefore potentially a very exciting development for its future.

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Posted in East Anglia Transport Museum | 4 Comments

Bombardier confirm Blackpool tram order

Posted on Tuesday 28 June 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Bombardier have confirmed that they are to supply Blackpool with two more of their Flexity tramcars, with delivery expected in autumn 2017. The additional LRVs are being purchased in readiness to provide the increased service which will be needed to serve the proposed extension to North Station via Talbot Road, which it is hoped will be open by 2019. In the meantime, presumably the new trams will provide extra capacity on the existing promenade route and mean that more trams can potentially be used as specials at busy times.

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 14 Comments

New tram shelter for Sandhurst Avenue

Posted on Tuesday 28 June 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The LRT platforms on the Blackpool tramway stop at Sandhurst Avenue (near Bispham) are currently the subject of some attention which should offer an improved environment for waiting passengers. The southbound stop has been devoid of a shelter for some time after the original structure was damaged in a storm but this now looks set to be replaced.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

619 remembers the Battle of the Somme

Posted on Tuesday 28 June 2016 by Andrew Waddington

As reported previously, a series of national commemorative events to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme will be taking place in Manchester’s Heaton Park next weekend, on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd July. With the tramway already confirmed to be playing a key part in this major event, Blackpool Vanguard 619 has received new vinyls on its roof advert boards acknowledging the anniversary.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 26 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

Just  a small update for you this week but we do bring you two small Photo Galleries:

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Posted in Birkenhead Heritage Tramway, London Trams, Site News | 1 Comment

Southend Pier Railway closed for 12 weeks

Posted on Sunday 26 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

Is it a railway or is it a tramway? Either way it has been announced that the rail mounted vehicle which operates along the UK’s longest pier in Southend is to be out of action for up to 12 weeks due to essential maintenance work on the pier structure.

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Posted in Southend Pier Railway/Tramway | 2 Comments

In Pictures: Beside the Seaside at Crich

Posted on Sunday 26 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

Having firmly established itself as a major part of the special event calendar at the Crich Tramway Village, Beside the Seaside took place at the home of the National Tramway Museum between Saturday 28th May and Sunday 5th June this year. Once again Blackpool trams took centre stage of the majority of the event although at times other popular trams also saw use with fine weather at times seeing trams such as Glasgow 1068 and London County Council 106 brought out to play. In addition to the usual tram service (which on some days saw more than the standard three trams in use) there were lots of family based activities including a fun fair on site. Hazel Quarmby recorded these views for us.

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117 down, 3 to go!

Posted on Sunday 26 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

Saturday 25th June saw the latest delivery of a tram to Manchester with 3117 arriving in the usual lunchtime slot. With the delivery of the tram to Queen’s Road Depot just three more of the current order of M5000s remain to make the journey from mainland Europe and at the current rate of delivery it looks set to be August for the final arrival.

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Council executive approve Blackpool North tramway extension

Posted on Friday 24 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

Despite a delay a few weeks ago Blackpool Council’s executive have now approved plans for the extension of the tramway to North Station. The executive met this week and agreed to proceed with the plans which will now move forward to full council who will also have to agree before an application is submitted to the government for a Transport and Works Act Order.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 7 Comments

Armed forces to enjoy free travel on Metrolink

Posted on Friday 24 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

Transport for Greater Manchester have announced that members of the Armed Forces will be able to enjoy free travel on the Metrolink network during Armed Forces Day on Saturday 25th June and for every day thereafter. Any in-uniform service personnel or reservist will be able to travel for free on production of their military pass in the future whilst on Armed Forces Day any veteran will also be able to travel for free (by producing their Veteran’s badge and ID card).

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Go ahead for Wolverhampton Midland Metro extension

Posted on Wednesday 22 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

In recent years all talk of extensions to Midland Metro has been concentrated on the southern section in Birmingham but all that is set to change with government approval now given for extending the line to Wolverhampton Railway Station. Preparatory work is due to start later this year with the first passengers set to be carried in 2019.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 4 Comments

In Pictures: Simca Club UK National Meeting at Crich

Posted on Wednesday 22 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

Sunday 19th June saw another car rally take place at Crich with the Simca Club attending for their National Meeting 2016. A large number of cars were on display once again intermingling with the trams running in service. In addition to the trams in public service Blackpool 167 was in use on an Ultimate Tram Driving Experience and Cardiff 131 was on conductor training. Photos provided by Hazel Quarmby.

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Event report: Heritage trams to Starr Gate

Posted on Monday 20 June 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Once part of the Totally Transport event held annually on Blackpool’s New South Promenade, the operation of a special heritage tram service to Starr Gate has become an established part of the tramway events calendar in June. This year two days were allocated for this event, and despite some setbacks, a number of interesting ‘firsts’ ensured that an enjoyable weekend was had.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 9 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 19 June 2016 by Gareth Prior

Two more Photo Galleries for you this week as we return after a week’s break:

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