Heritage Trams this week

Posted on Wednesday 24 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

It’s that time of the week again as we round-up just when and where you can ride on heritage trams in the UK and Isle of Man. This weekend will be your last chance to have a ride on a tram in East Anglia for 2014 with the East Anglia Transport Museum closing for the winter at the end of Sunday 28th September and then just a week later it is the highlight of the year in Birkenhead as the Wirral Tram and Bus Show takes place (Sunday 5th October). Elsewhere you can still ride a tram every day of the week at Beamish, Blackpool, Crich, Great Orme, Manx Electric Railway, Seaton, Snaefell Mountain Railway and Summerlee.

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New Blackpool tram book “Starr Gate to the Tower” set to be launched

Posted on Wednesday 24 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

A new Blackpool tram book by acclaimed writer Brian Turner is set to be launched before the launch of Balloon 701 on Friday 26th September at the Blackpool Tram Shop – providing that copies arrive there in time! Brian will be at the shop between 1530 and 1615 to sign copies before 701’s maiden trip following the completion of its repaint.

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In Pictures: London Tramlink Wimbledon branch upgrades

Posted on Wednesday 24 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

Work is now underway on the Wimbledon branch of London Tramlink to allow a further section of double track to be installed and also to change the layout at Wimbledon itself so that two trams can be there at the same time. The work at Wimbledon has seen the track from the platform beyond the buffers removed whilst land is being cleared at Beddington Lane in preparation for double tracking. Photos courtesy of Ian Buck.

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Another new Flexity advert in Blackpool

Posted on Tuesday 23 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Following on from the recent application of new side advertisements to Blackpool Flexity 006, sister car 005 has now joined it in gaining a new sponsor. This has now become the second of the Flexity2 class to receive advertising for the National Health Service, joining 008.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 6 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 21 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

A small main site update this week as I still try to sort out all of the Electric 50 photos from last weekend. But in the meantime we bring you a gallery of images from Electric Friday alongside a few Fleet List updates:

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And another T68 goes for scrap

Posted on Friday 19 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

The scrap line at Trafford Depot is really starting to look a lot smaller following the departure of another of the T68s for scrapping. 1002 is the latest example to be loaded onto the back of an Allelys low loader before departing early on Friday 19th September – the 15th to leave for those keeping count.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 1 Comment

Newcastle 114 goes back to Beamish

Posted on Friday 19 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

A short but sweet visit to Crich Tramway Village for Newcastle 114 came to an end on Friday 19th September, when the tram departed for its usual home at Beamish, the Living Museum of the North. The tram had been borrowed for last weekend’s ‘Electric 50’ event and featured prominently in most of the key events, including being displayed alongside fellow survivor from the same city, Newcastle 102.

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In Pictures: Daytime testing and driver training commences on Manchester Airport line

Posted on Friday 19 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

The build-up to the opening of the latest instalment of the expansion of Manchester Metrolink is continuing with the start of daytime test running and driver training on the Airport extension. Testing commenced on Monday 15th September and Steve Hyde was there to capture a few images which we can now share with you on British Trams Online.

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In Pictures: Midland Metro rail replacement works

Posted on Friday 19 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

The work to replace the track between The Royal and Wolverhampton St George’s is now well underway with a concentration at the moment at The Royal end of the worksite to allow this to completed so that trams can run as far as here as soon as possible. Currently the rail is being replaced within the stop where a new crossover will be installed to allow trams to be turned here more easily than at present in case of disruption along Bilston Road.

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Woodlands Road stop prepares to say goodbye

Posted on Friday 19 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

The end is nigh for the Metrolink stop at Woodlands Road with workmen set to move onto the site to start demolition work. Woodlands Road was closed to all Metrolink services in December 2013 after a TfGM survey had shown it to be one of the least used stops on the network and there was also concerns raised about the security at the stop. Despite a small local campaign the stop was officially closed after a period of consultation with two new stops at Abraham Moss and Queens Road having recently been built to cater for local traffic. Work to demolish the stop (which will include the removal of the platforms, staircase and access ramps) should start in October with a completion date set for November.

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 3 Comments

Heritage Trams this week

Posted on Thursday 18 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

After the excitement of last weekend’s Electric 50 event at Crich we enter a bit of a lull with specific tram events but that doesn’t mean there is nothing happening! Beamish, Blackpool, Crich, the MER, Seaton, Snaefell Mountain Railway and Summerlee continue to offer a daily (or nightly in Blackpool’s case) service so there is plenty to keep you occupied if heritage trams are your thing. And it is only just over a fortnight until the main event of the year at Birkenhead so we aren’t all hibernating just yet!

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Daylight debut announced for Balloon 701

Posted on Thursday 18 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

The Blackpool Heritage Trust have announced details of a very special working on Friday 26th September, to celebrate the completion of work to restore Balloon car 701 in its early ’90s red and white livery, sponsored by the Fylde Tramway Society. Although this latest repaint was unveiled to its admiring public last month, the livery decals were not quite finished at that time, hence the car will be launched officially now that this work is complete.

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‘Electric 50’ at Crich – Part 5: Thank you & goodnight!

Posted on Thursday 18 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

The second cavalcade of the weekend was intended to illustrate the development of electric tramcar design; rather than the vehicles being presented in order of age, the idea here was to show the design evolution, hence some trams which were of a rather antiquated design by the time they entered service (Glasgow 1068 for example), and others which were extensively modernised during their lifespan (such as Leeds 345 and Blackpool 630) may have appeared in a different position to what some may have expected.

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‘Electric 50’ at Crich – Part 4: Trams of the North East

Posted on Thursday 18 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Day two of the ‘Electric 50’ event on Sunday 14th September once again got off to a sunny start, although the temperature was somewhat cooler than the Saturday. The day began with the chance to show off the trio of visiting trams on site, with Blackpool & Fleetwood 40, Newcastle 114 and Blackpool 711 all being posed near the bandstand to greet early visitors. This had added significance as for the latter part of its working career, Box 40 had been known as Blackpool Corporation 114 and so at a push we could say that there were two 114s present, as well as one of those being one of the two 40s!

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New advertiser for Flexity 006

Posted on Wednesday 17 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Flexity 006 has become the latest member of the core Blackpool fleet to receive a new advertising contract. During early September, the tram’s adverts for the Pleasure Beach Ice Arena – which it had carried for the last two years – were replaced by a new design for Tunnocks’ caramel wafer biscuits.

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In Pictures: Party on ‘Princess Alice’

Posted on Wednesday 17 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

We recently reported on a private hire on the Blackpool tramway when ‘Princess Alice’ 706 was used as the mobile venue for a very novel birthday party on the late afternoon and evening of Saturday 6th September. We are now able to bring you a small selection of images from this private hire which saw 706 run to Fleetwood before undertaking a few shorter runs through the illuminations.

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‘Electric 50’ at Crich – Part 3: Trams as far as the eye can see

Posted on Wednesday 17 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Arguably the main event to celebrate fifty years of electric tramcar operation at Crich, was the 25-tram cavalcade on Saturday 13th September, featuring all of the available electric passenger cars in the fleet, including the visiting trams currently on site, in the order that they entered passenger service at Crich. With a scheduled start time of 1400, the early part of the afternoon was largely focused on preparing for this mammoth procession with most of the morning service cars being run in and those trams which had not yet appeared on the main line being shunted around to ensure that they would leave the depot yard in the correct order.

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Blackpool tram running day announced for Crich

Posted on Tuesday 16 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Fresh from the mammoth ‘Electric 50’ celebratory weekend, the Tramway Museum Society have announced details of yet another exciting event for enthusiasts to be held at Crich Tramway Village. On Sunday 12th October, it is planned to have nine Blackpool trams in operation, primarily to mark the 80th birthday of visiting Blackpool Balloon car 711.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 25 Comments

‘Electric 50’ at Crich – Part 2: The Misadventures of Spongebob

Posted on Tuesday 16 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

At 1100 on Saturday 13th September, a large crowd gathered in the depot yard at Crich to witness the official launch into museum service of Blackpool 762 – the first of the Jubilee cars to ever run in passenger service away from Blackpool. Since arriving at Crich shortly after its withdrawal in 2011, a huge amount of work has been undertaken, not just on the tram itself, but also to prepare for its operation and the unfamiliar technology that it has introduced to the museum tramway. Its launch day was therefore a great occasion and something that many people had looked forward to for many months.

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‘Electric 50’ at Crich – Part 1: Newcastle & Fleetwood

Posted on Monday 15 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few months, readers of this website will surely be aware that 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of electric tramcar operation at Crich Tramway Village – the first museum tramway in the UK to reach this remarkable milestone. To celebrate this momentous achievement, a spectacular two-day event was staged on Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th September, attracting tram enthusiasts from far and wide to enjoy this incredible event. Both members of the British Trams Online team were present for the full weekend, and we now provide the first instalment of a detailed report documenting all that happened over this remarkable two days.

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Posted in Electric 50 - Crich 2014, Feature Articles, National Tramway Museum | 2 Comments