In Pictures: Blackpool Rocks Manchester – Heaton Park

Posted on Thursday 13 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

As we reported earlier this week another successful event took place at the Heaton Park Tramway over the weekend of Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August. Blackpool Rocks Manchester was a joint event between several heritage transport organisations in Greater Manchester with the tramway putting on a show with their collection of Blackpool trams. Steve Kemp visited the park on the first day of the event and these images give a brief taste of what was on offer tram wise…

Continue reading →

Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | Comments Off on In Pictures: Blackpool Rocks Manchester – Heaton Park

In Pictures: Supertram rail replacement works continue

Posted on Thursday 13 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

Stagecoach Supertram’s rail replacement works are starting to come towards a close with 90% of the work now completed. All rail replacement work is due to be finished before the end of August and during the first week of the month attention turned to White Lane with Birley Lane the latest stop to become a temporary terminus. These photos from Stuart Cooke show both the work underway to replace the track and also some unusual moves from the trams.

Continue reading →

Posted in South Yorkshire Supertram | 1 Comment

In Pictures: Middleton Road Paint Shop!

Posted on Thursday 13 August 2015 by Andrew Waddington

The original tram depot at the Heaton Park Tramway is currently resembling a Paint Shop, with two trams currently occupying the building which are being transformed in appearance. The long-running project, Hull 96, has recently been joined by Blackpool 280 which of course is being repainted as 680 before going back to Blackpool for a minimum two year stay.

Continue reading →

Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | Comments Off on In Pictures: Middleton Road Paint Shop!

Going for a ride…

Posted on Thursday 13 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

Once again here is your one stop guide to just when and where you can go and enjoy a ride on a traditional tram in the British Isles over the next week or so. You may not realise it when you step out of your front door but we are now in the middle of the summer holidays and traditionally this means a quieter spell of special events for the majority of the tramways featured in this article. This week you can take a tram ride with a superhero on the Birkenhead Heritage Tramway (Saturday 15th August) and a little further into the month Sheffield 15 will be back out running at Crich (Tuesday 18th and Thursday 20th August). And, of course, traditional trams can still be seen running in 13 different locations with a friendly welcome for anyone who fancies going for a ride…

Continue reading →

Posted in Going for a ride | Comments Off on Going for a ride…

Trams & Chips

Posted on Thursday 13 August 2015 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours are offering a unique new experience on Wednesday 30th September, by teaming up with the world-famous fish & chip shop Harry Ramsdens for an illuminations tour with a difference! This brand is of course no stranger to Blackpool with their most popular restaurant in the UK sited on the promenade, directly opposite the southbound heritage tram stop.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 2 Comments

Metrolink to resume services through St Peter’s Square

Posted on Wednesday 12 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink will resume services through St Peter’s Square from Friday 28th August following the completion of the first stage of the major transformation works. The past two months have seen all services through this key area of the network cancelled following the start of the works in connection with the Second City Crossing but with the first part of these now completed it will be possible for trams to once again pass through although they will still not be stopping for a further year.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 5 Comments

‘HMS Blackpool’ on driver training

Posted on Tuesday 11 August 2015 by Andrew Waddington

The sight of heritage and ‘B Fleet’ trams on driver training duties in Blackpool has become an increasingly common one of late, presumably as efforts intensify to increase the number of staff trained on these trams in time for the illuminations season. One working of particular note was the use of the illuminated Warship 736 ‘HMS Blackpool’ on Monday 10th August.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 2 Comments

Midland Metro T69s: End of an era **Updated**

Posted on Tuesday 11 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

There will be a tinge of sadness in the West Midlands on Friday 14th August when the last ever public passenger runs of the T69 trams takes place. After months of rumour and false starts it has now been decided that enough Urbos 3s are available for service and the time has come for the original – and lets be honest troublesome – T69s to be fully withdrawn from service.

Continue reading →

Posted in West Midlands Metro | 3 Comments

Trams & Planes

Posted on Tuesday 11 August 2015 by Andrew Waddington

The recent week-long 1940s event at Crich Tramway Village featured a special appearance by an unusual visitor: a Spitfire aircraft, which was prominently displayed at Town End for the whole week. Co-incidentally while this event was in full swing, another Spitfire could also be seen alongside the tram tracks on Blackpool promenade, with the plane on static display close to the Tower over the weekend of 8th & 9th August for the annual summer air show.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, National Tramway Museum | 3 Comments

Picture in Time: Blackpool Conduit car 4

Posted on Tuesday 11 August 2015 by Andrew Waddington

For today’s ‘Picture in Time’ image we head once again to Manchester, however rather than the familiar Heaton Park Tramway or the Metrolink system, our destination this time is the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry. For a number of years this was home to the oldest electric tram in Great Britain, Blackpool 4, and this tram is the star of this feature.

Continue reading →

Posted in Picture in Time | 1 Comment

Blackpool rocks Heaton Park!

Posted on Monday 10 August 2015 by Andrew Waddington

On the weekend of 8th & 9th August, a number of heritage organisations in Manchester hosted a joint event celebrating the city’s love affair with the seaside resort of Blackpool. Naturally, such an event provided the perfect opportunity for the Heaton Park Tramway to showcase its impressive collection of historic Blackpool trams, of which three ran on both days with two others on display outside the Lakeside Depot.

Continue reading →

Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 1 Comment

This week on British Trams Online…

Posted on Sunday 9 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

This week we bring you a couple more Photo Galleries as we start another trilogy, this time from the Isle of Man:

Continue reading →

Posted in Site News | Comments Off on This week on British Trams Online…

A brief introduction to…Douglas Horse Tramway

Posted on Sunday 9 August 2015 by admin

The first in a new irregular series we take a look at the Douglas Horse Tramway with a brief history of the line and a description of the current operations of the tramway. Words by Ken Jones.

Continue reading →

Posted in Douglas Bay Horse Tramway | 10 Comments

Picture in Time: Croydon Tramlink CR4000s

Posted on Sunday 9 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

It’s a Picture in Time with a difference today as we are also appealing for information about these photos as Bob James is attempting to identify the two Croydon Tramlink CR4000s taken in these photos.

Continue reading →

Posted in London Trams, Picture in Time | Comments Off on Picture in Time: Croydon Tramlink CR4000s

Picture in Time: Blackpool Boat 607

Posted on Friday 7 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

Continuing our theme of Blackpool Boat Cars we head back to the northwest coast today for a view of 607 – this time when it was in between spells at Crich in 1993.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Picture in Time | Comments Off on Picture in Time: Blackpool Boat 607

Preparations start for Pleasure Beach tram display changeover

Posted on Friday 7 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

Having spent three Illumination seasons alongside Pleasure Beach loop Brush Railcoach 290 is being prepared for a move before the 2015 Illumination season which will see it replaced by Centenary Car 641. It had originally been expected that 290 would end up in the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust’s compound in Wyre Dock but it is now known that it will be moved to Rigby Road Depot for further storage.

Continue reading →

Posted in Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | Comments Off on Preparations start for Pleasure Beach tram display changeover

NET Citadis named after Nurse of the Year

Posted on Friday 7 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

Six of Nottingham Express Transit’s Citadis trams are now carrying names following the naming of 220 Kim Helm this week. As you may remember Kim was named as Nottingham’s Nurse of the Year earlier this year and one of the prizes of this is to see her name on the side of one of a tram in Nottingham.

Continue reading →

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | Comments Off on NET Citadis named after Nurse of the Year

Going for a ride…

Posted on Thursday 6 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

Another week, another round-up of when and where you can go for a ride on a traditional tram in the British Isles over the next seven days or so. Highlights this week include the conclusion of the WW2 Home Front event at Crich (daily until Sunday 9th August) whilst over the weekend of Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August the Heaton Park Tramway is part of a larger event across Greater Manchester with a Blackpool theme. And don’t forget all the other places listed below who are bound to give you a warm and friendly welcome…

Continue reading →

Posted in Going for a ride | Comments Off on Going for a ride…

Balloon cars prepare for weekend events

Posted on Wednesday 5 August 2015 by Andrew Waddington

Two of the less-seen of Blackpool’s Balloon class in preservation, cars 702 and 721, have recently received a bit of TLC ahead of events this weekend being held by their respective owners, the Manchester Transport Museum Society and the North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust. Being in the best condition of the unrefurbished Balloons upon withdrawal, these two were always considered to be bargain buys and as such remain in good general condition despite both enduring periods of outside storage.

Continue reading →

Posted in Heaton Park Tramway, North Eastern Electrical Transport Trust | 1 Comment

Win tickets to preview NET Phase Two

Posted on Wednesday 5 August 2015 by Gareth Prior

Members of the public are being given the chance to win tickets for exclusive preview trips on the two new Nottingham Express Transit lines as preparations continue for the official opening later this summer. The trips will take place on Tuesday 11th (Beeston) and Wednesday 12th (Clifton) August departing from the two new termini at Toton Lane and Clifton Lane at 1100 and then heading off to Nottingham Station and then the depot.

Continue reading →

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | 2 Comments