Christmas and New Year Services 2015-2016

Posted on Tuesday 22 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

Once again we bring you a round-up of the services being operated across all tram and light rail networks in the British Isles over the Christmas and New Year period. From Edinburgh in the north to Croydon in the south and from Dublin in the west to Nottingham in the east this is a complete guide to where and when you can enjoy trams over the festive period if being with the family gets just a little bit too much…

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Docklands Light Railway, Dublin Luas, Edinburgh Trams, London Trams, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Express Transit, South Yorkshire Supertram, West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

New General Manager for Edinburgh Trams

Posted on Tuesday 22 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

Lea Harrison has been announced as the new General Manager from Edinburgh Trams replacing Tom Norris who left the position earlier this year. Mr Harrison is one of three appointments to senior transport roles in Edinburgh with George Lowder MBE named new Transport for Edinburgh Chief Executive and Richard Hall the new Managing Director at Lothian Buses.

Continue reading →

Posted in Edinburgh Trams | Comments Off on New General Manager for Edinburgh Trams

Picture in Time: Lisbon 361 and 730

Posted on Tuesday 22 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

Today Picture in Time goes continental! Obviously this website is British Trams Online so we concentrate on trams which are either British or have spent some of their life in the British Isles so the two trams we feature today can now be found in the country although at the time of these photos, taken in 1992, they were firmly still in their home city of Lisbon.

Continue reading →

Posted in Birkenhead Heritage Tramway, Black Country Living Museum, Picture in Time | 3 Comments

34 enters service and 37 starts testing on Midland Metro

Posted on Monday 21 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

There have been some more changes to the operational Midland Metro Urbos 3 fleet recently with 34 becoming the 18th of the class to enter passenger service whilst the newest of the trams – 37 – has now started testing.

Continue reading →

Posted in West Midlands Metro | 3 Comments

Edinburgh Trams passenger numbers up again

Posted on Monday 21 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

New figures released by Edinburgh Trams have shown that passenger numbers are continuing to increase with a rise of 12% when compared to this time last year. The projected total number of passenger journeys in 2015 is also 5.1 million – meaning the service is continuing to outperform targets set in the business model.

Continue reading →

Posted in Edinburgh Trams | Comments Off on Edinburgh Trams passenger numbers up again

Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 726

Posted on Monday 21 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

As a Christmas bonus we will be taking some extra trips down memory lane this week in our Picture in Time series starting off in Blackpool just over 10 years ago, 10 years which have seen major changes on this always popular tramway. The tram we take a look at today is Balloon 726.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Picture in Time | Comments Off on Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 726

In Pictures: Blackpool Santa Specials

Posted on Sunday 20 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

A successful year of Heritage Tours in Blackpool has now come to an end with the last hurrah being the third and final Santa Specials on Saturday 19th December. As with the previous two Saturdays the Western Train was in situ at North Pier with the man in the red coat ready to meet the children – before embarking on a single trip at the end of the day – whilst two trams operated a regular timetabled heritage service along the Prom with the chosen pair being Balloon 717 and Twin Car 272+T2.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | Comments Off on In Pictures: Blackpool Santa Specials

In Pictures: Llandudno & Colwyn Bay 7 out and about again

Posted on Sunday 20 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

Work has now been finished on refitting the remainder of the external rope lights to Llandudno & Colwyn Bay 7 which along with the overhaul of the 1930s generator means it now gives out the full 240 volts – allowing for some reflected light in the downstairs saloon. With the 1940s Matador still attached to the tram following the aborted Llandudno Christmas Parade a few weeks ago it was decided to go for a test run through to Colwyn Bay allowing the new look tram to be seen in public for one final time in 2015. Photographs courtesy of John Bird.

Continue reading →

Posted in Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Electric Railway Society | Comments Off on In Pictures: Llandudno & Colwyn Bay 7 out and about again

Picture in Time: Midland Metro 03

Posted on Sunday 20 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

The year is 2001 and the tram is Midland Metro T69 03 as we take another look into the archive for the latest edition of Picture in Time.

Continue reading →

Posted in Picture in Time, West Midlands Metro | Comments Off on Picture in Time: Midland Metro 03

Double whammy for NET after RTC and derailment

Posted on Friday 18 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

There were problems for Nottingham Express Transit on Thursday 17th December after a RTC on Chilwell Road which saw trams on the Beeston and Chilwell line partly suspended from around 1430 through until the end of service. Then to compound matters with an attempt being made to run a truncated service on the section through to Toton Lane a tram derailed on the crossover between Cator Lane and Bramcote Lane.

Continue reading →

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | Comments Off on Double whammy for NET after RTC and derailment

In Pictures: Crich at rest

Posted on Friday 18 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

The Crich Tramway Village may have been closed to the public since the start of November but that doesn’t mean that nothing is going on behind the scenes in preparation for the 2016 season, far from it. Obviously a lot of attention by the majority of you reading this website is on the trams but there are also some important jobs taking place on the general museum infrastructure. This has included, over the past few days, re-laying of the setts along the main museum street alongside the tramway.

Continue reading →

Posted in National Tramway Museum | 1 Comment

The cars love affair with trams continues

Posted on Friday 18 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

It seems that the love affair some cars seem to have with driving onto tram only sections across the country shows no sign of abating with both Nottingham and Manchester hit during the past few days.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Express Transit | 10 Comments

Box-ing day comes early in Blackpool!

Posted on Friday 18 December 2015 by Andrew Waddington

On Thursday 17th December, Blackpool & Fleetwood Box car 40 paid a rare winter visit to Fleetwood Ferry whilst operating an extra special public tour. Following the success of an earlier joint venture with Harry Ramsden’s, Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours once again teamed up with the famous fish and chip restaurant to offer a unique experience in the run-up to Christmas.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

New fares for Midland Metro from January

Posted on Wednesday 16 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

Normally when we receive news of fare changes it means one thing – they are rising! But the new fare structure for Midland Metro, due to be introduced from 2nd January, is a bit different as although some fares are on the increase there are also some with are decreased and in addition some brand new fares are thrown into the mix.

Continue reading →

Posted in West Midlands Metro | 4 Comments

Picture in Time: Seaton 8

Posted on Wednesday 16 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

We are in Sussex for the latest edition of Picture in Time as we take a look at the Modern Electric Tramways operation in Eastbourne ahead of its move along the south coast to Seaton. The tram in focus is no. 8 as it was in 1968.

Continue reading →

Posted in Picture in Time, Seaton Tramway | Comments Off on Picture in Time: Seaton 8

Another recruitment drive in Blackpool

Posted on Tuesday 15 December 2015 by Andrew Waddington

With ambitious plans to build on a successful 2015 with even more exciting treats for 2016, the Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours team are now recruiting volunteers to help provide an even better heritage service next season. As confirmed recently, this will include further increases to the number of running days for the historic trams whilst there will also be even more ‘gold’ event days when six or more trams will be running.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

Preserved Blackpool trams to move again?

Posted on Tuesday 15 December 2015 by Andrew Waddington

The majority of the historic Blackpool tramcars owned by the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust, along with a number of privately owned trams purchased from the aborted Merseytravel scheme, are currently stored outside in a secure compound at Fleetwood’s docks. However, this could be set to change as plans for a major redevelopment of the Wyre Dock site is advancing.

Continue reading →

Posted in Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | 2 Comments

More milestones for Sheffield 264 at Beamish

Posted on Monday 14 December 2015 by Andrew Waddington

After making its first tentative moves under power for several years, the near-complete Sheffield 264 has now begun an intensive programme of test running at Beamish Museum. The tram has been undergoing a major overhaul for the past few years but is now at the final stage of this, with a return to passenger service after an absence of more than a decade expected in the spring of 2016.

Continue reading →

Posted in Beamish Tramway | Comments Off on More milestones for Sheffield 264 at Beamish

Metrolink 3109 delivered to Queens Road

Posted on Sunday 13 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

On Saturday 12th December Manchester Metrolink welcomed the latest Bombardier built M5000 to Queens Road Depot with the delivery of 3109 in the usual lunchtime slot. As with all previous deliveries the tram arrived in the UK at Hull Docks and then made its way across the UK to Manchester on the back of a low loader. It is now expected that the next delivery of a M5000 will be after Christmas. 3108 – the previous arrival – has now also entered service being noted on the Rochdale to Ashton-under-Lyne service on Saturday 12th December.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | Comments Off on Metrolink 3109 delivered to Queens Road

In Pictures: Stagecoach Supertram 120 in service

Posted on Sunday 13 December 2015 by Gareth Prior

As we have already reported the “new” Stagecoach Supertram 120 is now in service following the completion of collision damage repairs in the Nunnery Square Depot workshops. The no, 2 end of the tram is the section which has been taken from the former 118 with a full repaint into the Cream and Blue livery commemorating the original tramway in the city. Photograph courtesy of Stuart Cooke.

Continue reading →

Posted in South Yorkshire Supertram | Comments Off on In Pictures: Stagecoach Supertram 120 in service