Boost for Midland Metro extensions

Posted on Saturday 21 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

The West Midlands has become the latest area to agree a devolution deal with the government which will see £2 billion worth of transport improvements including extensions to the current (and already planned extensions) Midland Metro network. Over the next 10 years the HS2 Connectivity Package will see a programme of transport schemes that will support the HS2 link which will arrive in the centre of Birmingham at Curzon Street.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

Bournemouth tram converted into office

Posted on Saturday 21 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

For a tramway which closed in 1936 Bournemouth Corporation Tramways has a remarkable number of surviving tram bodies (13 are known about although the majority are not exactly in sparkling condition). Most readers on this website will know about 106 which has been converted into Seaton’s no. 16 and there is also no. 85 which remains in Christchurch at the long closed Museum of Electricity. But now another tram from the then Hampshire coastal town has had some love and attention and is now in use as an office and design studio!

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Posted in General | 6 Comments

Citadis naming in Nottingham

Posted on Saturday 21 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

Another week has gone by with another naming in Nottingham of one of the newer Citadis trams. In a lower profile naming ceremony than that in Birmingham, screenwriter William Ivory peeled back the sticker to reveal his name on a tram following in the footsteps of fellow writers Alan Sillitoe and Stephen Lowe. Amongst William’s works have been Common as Muck, Made in Dagenham and Burton and Taylor.

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | 2 Comments

Llandudno 7 set to make one more appearance in 2015

Posted on Saturday 21 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

The Llandudno and Colwyn Bay Electric Railway Society’s replica tram 7 is due to make another appearance in its home town on Saturday 5th December when it will be hauled by the Matador lorry as part of the Annual Christmas Parade through the streets of Llandudno.

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Metrolink enjoys a record breaking month

Posted on Saturday 21 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

3.1 million passenger journeys were made on Manchester Metrolink during October – the most passengers ever recorded on the network in a single month. A number of major sporting events (Rugby Union World Cup, Rugby League Grand Final plus big football matches across the network) contributed to these figures as a large number of people had to be transported across Greater Manchester.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 1 Comment

Tramway to Fleetwood under threat?

Posted on Friday 20 November 2015 by Andrew Waddington

It cannot be argued that the Blackpool tramway has been a resounding success in terms of passenger numbers, with many records being broken during 2015 and October being the busiest month on the tramway for many years. It is therefore rather shocking that the local press have published a story suggesting that the line to Fleetwood may be at risk of closure, due to suggested budget cuts from Lancashire County Council.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 24 Comments

A cable car for Crich

Posted on Tuesday 17 November 2015 by Andrew Waddington

It isn’t very often that the National Tramway Museum gets the opportunity to fill a gap in its extensive collection of trams, in either technological or geographical terms – yet a new addition to the national collection actually satisfies both criteria. The Tramway Museum Society has just announced via its ‘Contact’ bulletin, that it is to acquire the remains of a Birmingham cable car, a type of tram which was used by a number of British towns (notably Matlock, providing a local connection for the museum) but which was previously unrepresented in their fleet.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 15 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 15 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

We have three more Photo Galleries for you this week plus some updates to the Events Diary and a couple of Fleet Lists:

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Picture in Time: Croydon Tramlink 2550

Posted on Sunday 15 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

Over the years several of trams in operation on Croydon (now London) Tramlink have broken free of corporate colours to receive advertising liveries. In today’s “Picture in Time” we feature one of the earlier advertising liveries as carried on 2550 in 2000-1.

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British Trams Online this winter

Posted on Sunday 15 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

We are now officially in the tramological winter (we’ve created that term now and boy are we going to use it!) which means that there will be a few changes to the content of British Trams Online over the next few months. Our regular features will be changing with Going for a Ride now having finished and Picture in Time will be reducing from a three a week series to twice weekly. During the winter you can enjoy archive images from traditional trams on a Wednesday whilst it will be the turn of modern tramways at the weekend. These will be the only regular features on our News page over the winter to allow me to concentrate on the long promised site redesign which is about six months behind schedule!

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Posted in Site News | 3 Comments

Dare we mention 2016?

Posted on Sunday 15 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

We may only just have reached the end of one operating season but already thoughts are being turned towards 2016 with several heritage tramways having announced their first special events of the year. So if you want to start making your plans for 2016 read on but if you don’t even want to think about it yet feel free to completely ignore this article for now!

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Posted in Beamish Tramway, Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, Manx Electric Railway, National Tramway Museum, Seaton Tramway | 1 Comment

In Pictures: First tram runs in Birmingham City Centre for 62 years!

Posted on Saturday 14 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

The early hours of Saturday 14th November will go down in the record books as the first time in over 62 years that a tram has run in Birmingham City Centre with 29 being taken by a Unimog along the tracks to Bull Street as the first stage in commissioning and testing ahead of the opening due on 6th December.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 6 Comments

Picture in Time: Blackpool Open Top Balloon 706 – Princess Alice

Posted on Saturday 14 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

As Princess Alice ran her last planned passenger journeys before withdrawal last weekend there seems no better tram to feature in Picture in Time than the popular open topper. Since conversion back to open top status in time for the 1985 centenary 706 has had several different looks and in this installment of Picture in Time we take a look at three of them.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Picture in Time | 4 Comments

In Pictures: TMS celebrates 60 years

Posted on Saturday 14 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

As we mentioned earlier this week the Tramway Museum Society concluded their 60th anniversary celebrations on Saturday 7th November with a private event at the Crich Tramway Village. A number of trams ran in service during the day including two which ran their last journeys before withdrawal to await overhaul – Southampton 45 and Glasgow 812. In addition to the trams a number of historic documents from the TMS archive were put on display. Hazel Quarmby was on hand to record the events of the day.

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New book: Tram Atlas Britain and Ireland

Posted on Saturday 14 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

Tram Atlas Britain and Ireland is a new book which looks at all not only the tramways and light rail systems of Britain and Ireland but also other urban rail systems. Written by Robert Schwandl the book has text in both German and English and includes numerous photos in colour. Systems covered include Midland Metro, Blackpool, Luas, Edinburgh, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Express Transit, London Tramlink, Stagecoach Supertram, Docklands Light Railway, London Underground, Tyne and Wear Metro, Merseyrail and Glasgow Subway. The book can be ordered from http://www.robert-schwandl.de/brit/ and costs EUR 19.50 (which works out as £13.79).

Posted in General | 3 Comments

Trams to return to Birmingham City Centre on 6th December

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

It has been confirmed that Midland Metro services will start operating to Bull Street in Birmingham City Centre from 6th December however in a change of plan the full extension will not now open this year with a “scaling down” of works on the remainder of the line in the lead up to Christmas following discussions with traders in the city.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

Report backs Edinburgh Trams extension along Leith Walk

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

Councillors from the City of Edinburgh Council are being urged to back plans for an extension to the city’s tram system with a vote due to take place next week. Council officials have been investigating three proposals for extensions and a new report is backing the full extension to Newhaven. Despite this recommendation local reports are suggesting it may struggle to be approved as SNP councillors are expected to vote against it due to concerns with the financial case.

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Posted in Edinburgh Trams | 1 Comment

Nottingham Express Transit extension to Derby is a priority

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

A major expansion of Nottingham Express Transit which would see it running to Derby, East Midlands Airport and the proposed HS2 station at Toton has been named as a priority project as part of devolution negotiations. The 19 local councils in the N2D2 region (Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire) have agreed that this is one of the major projects needed in the region although at this stage there is no firm commitment or indeed any exact plans to achieve this.

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Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | 5 Comments

Heaton Park get ready for their Autumn Gala

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

The last major event of 2015 takes place at the Heaton Park Tramway on Sunday 15th November with their annual Autumn Gala where you will have the chance to ride on four different trams along with various unique photo opportunities.

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NET Citadis 228 named

Posted on Friday 13 November 2015 by Gareth Prior

The latest Nottingham Express Transit Citadis to receive a name has been 228 which was named Local Armed Forces Heroes in a ceremony at Toton Lane on Remembrance Day, 11th November. The name was chosen as a tribute to servicemen and women who gave their lives in the two World Wars and more recent conflicts.

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