Snow business for Beamish trams!

Posted on Thursday 17 January 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The North East has been affected by heavy snow falls in the past week, and Beamish Museum has seen plenty of the white stuff recently. Indeed, the museum posted messages on its Twitter account to reassure potential visitors that the attraction was indeed open despite the inclement weather, emphasising just how severe conditions are in the region. However, the trams have coped admirably well and carried on with their regular business of transporting visitors around the site.

Continue reading →

Posted in Beamish Tramway | 3 Comments

Liverpool 245 reunited with its underframe

Posted on Wednesday 16 January 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The ongoing restoration of Liverpool ‘Baby Grand’ 245 by members of the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society has continued to make impressive progress, with a particularly significant development being the delivery of its completed underframe and truck to Birkenhead early on in 2013. Both have been under attention in Derbyshire for many months, but have now returned to the Wirral to be refitted under the car body.

Continue reading →

Posted in Birkenhead Heritage Tramway | 1 Comment

Blackpool Transport prepare for snow

Posted on Wednesday 16 January 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Much of the country is currently coated in white following the most severe snowfalls so far this winter, but Blackpool has escaped with just a light dusting thus far. However, Blackpool Transport are well prepared in case of snow, with two Balloon cars now fitted with snowploughs. We previously reported that stored car 701 had been equipped for this purpose, but what has only recent come to light is that 723 has also had a plough fitted!

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

Work starts on improving NET stops as staff get new uniform

Posted on Tuesday 15 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

As part of the ongoing programme of improvements a number of stops across the  Nottingham Express Transit network are going to see work commence in the next few weeks. The first stage of the work is being described as minor preparatory works and more extensive works will follow later in 2013. At the same time a new uniform has been revealed for staff on the trams.

Continue reading →

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | Comments Off on Work starts on improving NET stops as staff get new uniform

DDRG take a ride on East Manchester Line

Posted on Tuesday 15 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

Members of the Transport for Greater Manchester Disability Design Reference Group (DDRG) have become some of the first members of the public to take a ride on the East Manchester Line to Droylsden. The group rode a test tram to inspect the new stops and see how well they meet the needs of disabled people.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | Comments Off on DDRG take a ride on East Manchester Line

Delays for Metrolink after car decides to drive onto track in Oldham

Posted on Tuesday 15 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink services between Oldham Mumps and Shaw & Crompton were suspended during the evening of Monday 14th January after a car drove onto the tracks near to Oldham Mumps – this has been reported as the third time this has happened since the line opened. It is not known why the driver decided it was a good idea to take their car for a ride on the tram tracks but some comments on the Manchester Evening News website are suggesting that the road layout is confusing with a lack of appropriate signage (the former heavy rail line ran through the area on a bridge).

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 2 Comments

Tram to return to Chesterfield – for one day only?

Posted on Monday 14 January 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The Tramway Museum Society have revealed that a request has been received from Chesterfield Borough Council, to borrow Chesterfield 8 for display in the town. If agreed, this would see the horse-drawn tram become one of the main attractions at the Chesterfield Arts festival, which takes place on 4th May 2013.

Continue reading →

Posted in National Tramway Museum | Comments Off on Tram to return to Chesterfield – for one day only?

MER to run bus replacement service again

Posted on Monday 14 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

The Manx Electric Railway is being called into action again as bus drivers on the Isle of Man will be holding another strike on Thursday 17th January. Unite the Union have confirmed that their members will be holding a half day strike between 1300 and 1800 on Thursday 17 January and to help convey passengers usually carried on the number 3 bus between Douglas and Ramsey an intensive service will be run on the MER.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manx Electric Railway | Comments Off on MER to run bus replacement service again

And the winners are…

Posted on Sunday 13 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

After over a month of hard fought voting Blackpool has turned out to be the big winner in the British Trams Online Tram of the Year 2012 contest with Brush Car 623 taking the “Tram of the Year” category and the Blackpool Tramway being named “Tramway of the Year”. But Blackpool didn’t have it all its own way as the “Event of the Year” went to the Glasgow 50 event at the Crich Tramway Village in September. This year’s contest saw two incredibly close votes although the “Tramway of the Year” was anything but close!

Continue reading →

Posted in Site News | Comments Off on And the winners are…

STTS launch appeal to return Glasgow 1282 to service

Posted on Saturday 12 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

The Scottish Tramway and Transport Society have launched an appeal to raise funds for the full restoration of Glasgow Coronation 1282 at the Crich Tramway Village so that it can once again return to the operational fleet. At last September’s Glasgow 50 celebrations with the publicity surrounding the return to Glasgow blue route colour livery of 1068 it was expected that the appearance in service of 1282 would just be added bonus but as it turned out the Coronation stole the show! As a result of this the STTS have decided that they will attempt to raise the funds – currently estimated to be £150,000 – so that 1282 can once again turn heads at the home of the National Tramway Museum.

Continue reading →

Posted in National Tramway Museum | 1 Comment

Visible signs start to show at Nottingham Railway Station of NET phase two

Posted on Saturday 12 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

People travelling along Queens Road near to Nottingham Railway Station on a regular basis will have noticed in the last few weeks the first major visible signs of the construction of the phase two extensions of Nottingham Express Transit with the first of three interlinking bridges which take the line over the Station now starting to take shape.

Continue reading →

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | Comments Off on Visible signs start to show at Nottingham Railway Station of NET phase two

Tramlink disruption after Variotrams laid low

Posted on Friday 11 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

Severe problems with the availability of the Stadler built Variotrams has seen disruption to the line 4 service this week with at one stage all six being unavailable for service. It is now approaching one year since the first of the Variotrams arrived in Croydon and it had been hoped that the reliability problems which had affected them at the start had been ironed out but it would appear that this is not the case.

Continue reading →

Posted in London Trams | Comments Off on Tramlink disruption after Variotrams laid low

Progress continues on TLC for Seaton fleet

Posted on Friday 11 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

With the tramway now closed again until February attention on the Seaton Tramway has returned to giving the hard worked members of the fleet some TLC with 9, 10 and 14 all currently being worked upon.

Continue reading →

Posted in Seaton Tramway | Comments Off on Progress continues on TLC for Seaton fleet

Ice causes problems for Metrolink to Oldham

Posted on Thursday 10 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

Services between Victoria and Shaw & Crompton on the Oldham line of Manchester Metrolink were suspended on Wednesday 9th January because of icy conditions. Trams were stopped running shortly after 0700 because overnight conditions – which officials from Metrolink claimed had not been forecast – saw temperatures fall below acceptable levels leaving ice on the overhead wires. Normally when low temperatures are forecast ice breaker trams are run during the night because this wasn’t possible on this occasion as Metrolink were caught unawares. Trams were back running a few hours later once temperatures had risen sufficiently.

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 8 Comments

Serco DLR contract renewed

Posted on Wednesday 9 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

Serco Docklands Ltd are to operate the Docklands Light Railway for an extra 18 months after signing an extension to their contract with Transport for London. This means Serco will operate the network until September 2014.

Continue reading →

Posted in Docklands Light Railway | Comments Off on Serco DLR contract renewed

Box 40 runs to Fleetwood

Posted on Tuesday 8 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

Blackpool & Fleetwood Box 40 became the first heritage tram to operate on the Blackpool Tramway on Saturday 5th January when it operated a private tour for the “Friends of Forty”, an organisation who have provided financial support in the past to return the tram to the tracks. This is the second time since the upgrade of the Blackpool Tramway that 40 has made the trip back to its home town – a site that many people thought they would never see again.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 4 Comments

Crich start preparing for 2013 season

Posted on Saturday 5 January 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Work on preparing the operational tram fleet at Crich Tramway Village for another season of use commenced straight after the Christmas and New Year festivities were over. Leeds 399 has become the first tram to be moved into the workshop, where it will undergo the usual commissioning work, such as drying out motors and checking of various mechanical parts.

Continue reading →

Posted in National Tramway Museum | 5 Comments

TfGM and Thales clash in court over TMS problems

Posted on Saturday 5 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

In a development which has worrying echoes of the dispute in Edinburgh, Transport for Greater Manchester and Thales have appeared in Court as the latter seek to get extra money from the transport authority as the saga of the introduction of the new Tram Management System on the Metrolink system continues.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 5 Comments

Final tram arrives in Edinburgh

Posted on Saturday 5 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

On the night before Christmas, when all through the City not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse, the final CAF built tram for Edinburgh Trams arrived at Gogar depot having arrived earlier that day at the Port of Tyne. 269 was the 27th of the Spanish built trams to be delivered to Edinburgh in preparation for the opening of the tramway which remains on schedule to be in summer 2014.

Continue reading →

Posted in Edinburgh Trams | 3 Comments

Information event for new Metrolink stop at Queens Road

Posted on Saturday 5 January 2013 by Gareth Prior

Transport for Greater Manchester are holding an information event on proposals for a new Metrolink stop at Queens Road – next to the depot – on Wednesday 9 January so anyone interested can find out the benefits of the new stop and to see initial designs.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 7 Comments