Author Archives: Gareth Prior

What’s New on British Trams Online? 8th October 2023

Posted on Sunday 8 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

This week photos come from Crich Tramway Village’s Tram Weekend which took place in September:

Posted in Event Reviews, National Tramway Museum, Site News | Comments Off on What’s New on British Trams Online? 8th October 2023

Winners announced at Global Light Rail Awards

Posted on Saturday 7 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

The annual Global Light Rail Awards took place on 4th October in London with systems and individuals across the world celebrating their success over the past 12 months. As the name suggests these are Global awards and as such it … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Docklands Light Railway, Edinburgh Trams, Nottingham Express Transit, Tyne and Wear Metro, West Midlands Metro | Comments Off on Winners announced at Global Light Rail Awards

Around the World in Trams: Riga 88025

Posted on Saturday 7 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of “Around the World in Trams” we are back in Riga, Latvia to take a look at a tram converted for use by the engineering department.

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Emotional visit to Crich for former tram conductor

Posted on Saturday 7 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

Dennis Roberts made an emotional trip to the Crich Tramway Village on Tuesday 26th September. Dennis, 91, was a conductor on the trams in Leeds and met his wife Margaet on the trams in 1954 so the visit brought back … Continue reading →

Posted in National Tramway Museum | 1 Comment

Midland Metro Alliance’s Skills lead receives education award

Posted on Saturday 7 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

Rose Rees, Midland Metro Alliance’s Head of Engagement and Skills, has been recognised for her work in helping to inspire the next generation into careers in construction. Rose was recognised at the prestigious Institution of Civil Engineers West Midlands Awards … Continue reading →

Posted in West Midlands Metro | Comments Off on Midland Metro Alliance’s Skills lead receives education award

In Pictures: Heaton Park Tramway End of Season Gala

Posted on Friday 6 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

Having started their season at the end of March with an event seeing Blackpool 619 officially relaunched into service, Sunday 1st October saw Manchester’s Heaton Park Tramway mark the end of the season with another special event. Unsurprisingly, it was … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Its elementary as Sherlock Holmes returns and Picardy Place island reopens

Posted on Friday 6 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

This article is another case of us preparing an article to be published whilst away on holiday and then things changing so it was more or less out of date before it was even published! The last part of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Edinburgh Trams | Comments Off on In Pictures: Its elementary as Sherlock Holmes returns and Picardy Place island reopens

Picture in Time: Blackpool OMOs 7 & 10

Posted on Friday 6 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

This week “Picture in Time” moves from 1977 to 1978 as we take another look at the Blackpool Tramway back in the 1970s.

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In Pictures: One out, one in on the West Midlands Metro

Posted on Thursday 5 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

After a period where tram movements to and from the West Midlands Metro had been fairly quiet (its all relative when you’re used to very regular movements!) that has changed over the past couple of days. Wednesbury Depot has seen … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Midweek opening at the East Anglia Transport Museum

Posted on Thursday 5 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

As well as the more popular Sunday opening the East Anglia Transport Museum opens on all Thursdays during the operating season with the usual mix of trams, trolleybuses and the railway all running. One such opening was on Thursday 21st … Continue reading →

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Could HS2 northern leg cancellation provide a boost for trams?

Posted on Wednesday 4 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

As had been widely predicted, Wednesday 4th October saw UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirm that the northern leg of HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester would be cancelled after the continued increase in costs. The rights and wrongs of this … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, General, Manchester Metrolink, Nottingham Express Transit, South Yorkshire Supertram, West Midlands Metro | 9 Comments

TfL admit funding is not available for Sutton Tramlink extension

Posted on Wednesday 4 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

In news which will probably surprise absolutely no-one, Transport for London have admitted that they cannot afford to fund the once planned extension of Tramlink to Sutton and that they don’t see that the situation will change in the future. … Continue reading →

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Tramtown closed as structural surveys take place at Rigby Road Depot

Posted on Tuesday 3 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

Anyone heading down to Tramtown in Blackpool (Rigby Road Depot) over the past few days will probably have been concerned by the sight of notices preventing access to the workshops and main tram shed and fencing across the front of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 8 Comments

FOCUS+ provides breakthrough in driver fatigue detection

Posted on Tuesday 3 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

FOCUS+ – a wearable device that has been designed to detect the onset of fatigue in tram drivers – has delivered excellent results in independent tests which were commissioned by UKTram. The tests have shown that the technology has an … Continue reading →

Posted in UKTram | Comments Off on FOCUS+ provides breakthrough in driver fatigue detection

In Pictures: 54 enters service on the West Midlands Metro

Posted on Monday 2 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

Its been some time since a new tram entered service on the West Midlands Metro (over two months in fact) but that chanced on Saturday 30th September when 54 carried its first passengers on the line between Edgbaston Village and … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: 255 into service with new Forever Edinburgh adverts

Posted on Monday 2 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

We reported last week that Edinburgh Trams 255 had recently received new adverts for its same sponsor – Forever Edinburgh – but at that time it hadn’t re-entered service and so we had only featured it at the depot with … Continue reading →

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Out and About: Manchester Metrolink Adverts – July 2023

Posted on Monday 2 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink is a system which has regularly had various advertising liveries applied to their trams and the start of July 2023 saw a few more seen for the first time and featured in this edition of “Out and About”.

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Trams &: Blackpool Balloon 715 & bus

Posted on Sunday 1 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

We’re back for the next few weeks with “Trams &” and we start off in Blackpool as we see the old and the new of two different transport modes meeting.

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Fylde Transport Trust, Trams & | Comments Off on Trams &: Blackpool Balloon 715 & bus

In Pictures: Alford Valley Community Railway resumes operation

Posted on Sunday 1 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

The Alford Valley Community Railway in Aberdeenshire has recently started running again after a five year closure, but what does this have to do with trams in the British Isles? Well, amongst their rolling stock is a former Aberdeen Suburban … Continue reading →

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West Midlands Metro launch Instagram account

Posted on Sunday 1 October 2023 by Gareth Prior

You can now find the West Midlands Metro on Instagram after the company launched a new official account to reach out to a different audience.

Posted in West Midlands Metro | Comments Off on West Midlands Metro launch Instagram account