In Pictures: The old, the new and the waiting to (re-)enter service on Metrolink

Posted on Friday 8 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

We take a brief look at newly entered LRVs into service, those waiting to enter service (or in the case of 3013 re-enter) and those which are destined for other things but not to carry passengers as we have a brief round-up of Manchester Metrolink. Featured in these photos are T68 1003 and M5000s 3013, 3085 and 3086. Photos by Steve Kemp.

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Lorry crashes into tram in New Addington

Posted on Friday 8 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

London Tramlink CR4000 2553 has been damaged in an incident at King Henry’s Drive, New Addington. A lorry hit the tram shortly after midday on Thursday 7th August at the junction of King Henry’s Drive and Lodge Lane causing significant damage to one end of 2553. Emergency services attended the collision which saw a woman in her 20s taken to hospital with neck pain whilst a man was treated at the scene. Tramlink services were suspended between Addington Village and New Addington for approximately two hours whilst the scene was cleared.

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In Pictures: Beamish – 3rd August

Posted on Friday 8 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

Sunday 3rd August was a busy day at Beamish with a four tram service using Blackpool 31, Sunderland 101, Newcastle 114 and Oporto 196 operating to start with before Blackpool 280 replaced 196 for the rush at the end of the day. Many of the journeys operated with standing room only. Photos from Stuart Cooke.

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London Tramlink Engineering Works: 9th-17th August

Posted on Friday 8 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

There will be no London Tramlink services between East Croydon and Sandilands from Saturday 9th until Sunday 17th August to allow for “track improvement” works along Addiscombe Road. A bus replacement service will operate between the two stops throughout although this will be unable to serve Lebanon Road. Trams will run from Wimbledon to East Croydon and from Sandilands to New Addington, Beckenham Junction and Elmers End, line 4 between Therapia Lane and Elmers End will not run in any form. As usual during closures such as this the Elmers End branch will be used to store trams and as a result will not be served by trams during the early mornings and evenings (this will also be so after 2240 on Friday 8th August).

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In Pictures: Construction works on Manchester Metrolink

Posted on Friday 8 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

Currently two major construction projects are being undertaken on Manchester Metrolink with work taking place at both Deansgate-Castlefield and Victoria. Major progress is starting to be seen at both locations with Victoria Station in particular starting to look radically different. With thanks to Steve Kemp we are able to bring you some of the latest images from both locations.

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Kangaroo tickets jump up

Posted on Friday 8 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

Kangaroo tickets – which are valid for travel around Nottingham including on Nottingham Express Transit – are to increase in price from Sunday 31st August 2014 following a fare review. The price of these tickets are reviewed twice a year and are directly linked to commercial fares in the scheme area.

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Three repaints in three years for Blackpool 290

Posted on Thursday 7 August 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Having spent just over a year in a controversial graffiti art livery, preserved Blackpool Brush Railcoach 290 is set for yet another makeover courtesy of its owners, the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust. Having initially been outshopped in a white and gold livery for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee two years ago before the graffiti was applied, the tram now looks set to regain some dignity with a fresh coat of green and cream paint.

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Posted in Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | 1 Comment

Do you want to rent-a-tram?

Posted on Thursday 7 August 2014 by Andrew Waddington

The Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust have come up with a rather bizarre new scheme in their latest attempt to safeguard the futures of their collection of historic Blackpool trams. Following previous projects involving trams being painted in novel liveries, attention has now been turned to Centenary car 641 which is being offered as an unusual item for hire!

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A visit to Crich Tramway Village – Sunday 3rd August

Posted on Wednesday 6 August 2014 by Andrew Waddington

On Sunday 3rd August, British Trams Online writer Andrew Waddington paid a visit to Crich Tramway Village, primarily to see and ride on Blackpool & Fleetwood ‘Box’ car 40. As has been extensively reported on this site recently, car 40 is now back at Crich to help celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of electric trams operating at the museum and this was its third day back in service at this location since its return from Blackpool last month.

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Manchester 173 commemorates the start of World War One

Posted on Wednesday 6 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

Manchester 173 is now safely back at the Heaton Park Tramway following its adventure at the start of August when it became the first tram to visit Morley in Leeds since 1935 as part of the commemorations of the start of World War One. The Morley Diamond Jubilee Committee with cooperation from the Leeds Transport Historical Society and Manchester Transport Museum Society had come up with a scheme to reproduce a World War One recruiting tram for the Remembrance event which took place over the first weekend in August and 173 was the tram chosen for this honour.

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Return of the red Boat

Posted on Wednesday 6 August 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Although the heritage tram tours in Blackpool so far in 2014 have been a resounding success, one tram has been noticeably absent from the promenade so far this year. Following a repaint in a stunning red and cream livery which earned it the British Trams Online ‘Tram of the Year’ award in 2013, Boat 227 was expected to be a regular performer on the heritage service this summer, but unfortunately the tram was sidelined before Easter due to electrical faults. Since this time the car had remained tucked away inside the depot at Starr Gate, undergoing attention to rectify this issue.

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Heritage trams spice up Fleetwood Tram Sunday

Posted on Wednesday 6 August 2014 by Andrew Waddington

The annual Fleetwood Festival of Transport, more commonly known as ‘Tram Sunday’, took place on Sunday 20th July 2014 with the usual mix of vintage transport displays, trade stalls and family entertainment filling the streets of Fleetwood, which were closed off to all but pedestrians for the duration of the event. However, it was, quite rightly, the heritage tram fleet which stole the show with a credible six historic trams appearing at the festival this year.

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In Pictures: Blackpool & Fleetwood Box 40 enters service at Crich

Posted on Sunday 3 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

As we reported yesterday Blackpool & Fleetwood Box 40 entered passenger service at the Crich Tramway Village for the first time since 1965 on Friday 1st August. The tram had been undergoing investigation and commissioning work in the workshops since arriving at the Museum on 21st July with repairs undertaken to solve the wheel spin issues encountered on its one and only day of operation in Blackpool this year and after the completion of this 40 was cleared to enter service which it did with no fan fare at the start of service on 1st August. Photos provided by Hazel Quarmby.

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In Pictures: Stagecoach Supertram rail replacement works

Posted on Sunday 3 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

Further progress has been made on the major rail replacement works taking place on Stagecoach Supertram which will be affecting services until mid-September on both the Blue and Yellow routes. The latest worksite is further up West Street and has seen the top of West Street and Glossop Road being closed to all traffic in both directions. It is understood that work is currently four days ahead of schedule.

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Box 40 carries passengers again at Crich

Posted on Saturday 2 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

After 49 years Blackpool & Fleetwood Box 40 has once again carried passengers at the Crich Tramway Village. After undergoing attention in the Crich workshops 40 was cleared to join the operational fleet and was allocated to service on Friday 1st August alongside Blackpool 236 and Leeds 399.

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Three T68s depart Metrolink

Posted on Saturday 2 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

A further three T68s have left Manchester Metrolink in the space of a few days, although only one has gone to Booth’s in Rotherham for scrapping. 1015 was the LRV which headed off on the back of the low loader to Rotherham on Thursday 24th July with the two mystery departures being 1026 and 1024.

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Midland Metro Urbos3 28 arrives

Posted on Saturday 2 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

The deliveries of Midland Metro’s new CAF built Urbos 3’s continues to be picked up with number 28 the latest to be delivered to the depot at Wednesbury on Tuesday 29th July. This is the 12th of the trams to arrive in the UK and the early deliveries continue to be used on a regular basis for testing and driver training ahead of an expected entry into service this summer (possibly at the end of this month).

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Picture in Time 21: Seaton Tramway 6

Posted on Saturday 2 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

We head along the south coast for our next installment in our archive photo series although in effect we remain with the same tramway as we move from Eastbourne to Seaton. The tram we feature this week is no. 6, a tram which remains part of the operational fleet today although since this photo was taken it has changed in appearance slightly.

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In Pictures: Manchester Metrolink Airport line daytime testing

Posted on Saturday 2 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

Further testing has taken place on the Manchester Metrolink Airport extension between St Werburgh’s Road (where the line leaves the South Manchester line) and Sale Water Park. Unlike the first period of testing this took place during daylight hours on Sunday 27th July with some further testing then taking place on Wednesday 30th July when the LRVs got just beyond Northern Moor stop. Photos are provided by Steve Hyde and Steve Kemp and further images will be added to a gallery in due course.

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Another Sunday of timetable testing in Nottingham

Posted on Saturday 2 August 2014 by Gareth Prior

Sunday 3rd August will see another test of the new timetable for Nottingham Express Transit following the successful first trial on Sunday 27th July. The enhanced timetable, partly using the new Alstom Citadis trams, will again be in operation which will see trams run up to every three to four minutes in the core section of the network to the city centre.

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