Author Archives: Gareth Prior

Day of celebrations to mark last use of historic horse tramway alignment

Posted on Thursday 27 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Sunday 21st October will be a historic day for the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway as it is due to be the last day the current full double track alignment between Derby Castle and the Sea Terminal will be in use. … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Progress on North Station extension

Posted on Thursday 27 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Work to extend the Blackpool Tramway the short distance up Talbot Road to Blackpool North Railway Station is continuing with the first new track now in situ although there is also still evidence of some of the old tram track … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 2 Comments

Picture in Time: Docklands Light Railway 96+01

Posted on Thursday 27 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

A trip to London’s Docklands for this edition of Picture in Time with an image of two of the B2K units in service back in 2004.

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In Pictures: Metrolink Trafford Park line construction progress

Posted on Wednesday 26 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Work on constructing the Manchester Metrolink extension to Trafford Park is continuing at a good pace with various worksites along the length of the line. We reported earlier this month on the installation of a bridge across the Bridgewater Canal … Continue reading →

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Douglas Bay Horse Tramway to end 2018 season early

Posted on Wednesday 26 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

It has been confirmed that the 2018 operating season on the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway will end earlier than planned with the last trams now due to run on Sunday 21st October. It had originally been planned that trams would … Continue reading →

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Event Review: Anniversary Spectacular – Blackpool Tramway, 22nd & 23rd September

Posted on Tuesday 25 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

The biggest event for Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours each year takes place on the third weekend of September – the Anniversary Spectacular. As usual the 2018 event saw an intensive tram service – including non-timetabled specials – across the whole … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Chesterfield 8 enjoys a day out

Posted on Tuesday 25 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Saturday 22nd September saw a rare trip away from Crich for horse drawn tram Chesterfield 8 when it visited Nottingham for the day to help celebrate the 140th anniversary of Nottingham City Transport. A special event was held in Old … Continue reading →

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Belle 731

Posted on Tuesday 25 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

We head back into the archives for today’s Picture in Time image with a view of the very first illuminated feature car built to carry passengers – the Blackpool Belle.

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Shadow running underway on Tram-Train pilot

Posted on Monday 24 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Full shadow running of the UK Tram-Train pilot between Sheffield and Rotherham has now commenced, bringing the start of services ever closer (hopefully!) As on all new lines the standard service due to operate is being operated without passengers to … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: Another look at Ipswich Transport Museum

Posted on Monday 24 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

The Ipswich Transport Museum is the home to two trams – one electric tram from the city’s tram system and a horse car from Cambridge. We have featured both trams extensively over the past year or so and here again … Continue reading →

Posted in Ipswich Transport Museum | 1 Comment

In Pictures: Summerlee Tramway in action

Posted on Sunday 23 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

In this article we take a quick look at the trams of Summerlee with images taken during a visit on Saturday 15th September. On this day most services were in the hands of the open topper Lanarkshire 53 with Dusseldorf … Continue reading →

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In Pictures: The old Birmingham Snow Hill terminus

Posted on Sunday 23 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

On Saturday 24th October 2015 the last Midland Metro (as it was then called) services ran into the original Birmingham Snow Hill terminus with the city centre extension soon connected and trams finally running into the city centre. The closure … Continue reading →

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Picture in Time: Seaton Tramway 7

Posted on Saturday 22 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Today we are off to Devon for our latest delve into the archives – the photo features the only tram still at Seaton withdrawn from service, no. 7.

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Metrolink performance increases

Posted on Saturday 22 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

The latest set of performance figures from Manchester Metrolink have shown an increase in both punctuality and reliability. In the case of punctuality it is the highest figure since these states started to be released at the start of the … Continue reading →

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Some Supertram fares to rise from 30th September

Posted on Friday 21 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

There will be some minor changes to fares on Stagecoach Supertram from Sunday 30th September. Not all fares will be affected and it will just be adult tickets which will see increases.

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Change of departure platform at Grand Central

Posted on Friday 21 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

From Monday 24th September works to connect the current West Midlands Metro line on Stephenson Street with the extension to Centenary Square and Edgbaston will see a change of platform for all services running to Wolverhampton St George’s. From this … Continue reading →

Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

Storm Ali makes its mark

Posted on Thursday 20 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Storm season is upon us with Storm Ali causing major disruption across the northern part of the British Isles including service suspension on tramways in Dublin and on the Isle of Man.

Posted in Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, Dublin Luas, Manx Electric Railway, Snaefell Mountain Railway | 2 Comments

Picture in Time: Nottingham Express Transit 208

Posted on Thursday 20 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

Today’s edition of Picture in Time is back in Nottingham for another view taken in the early days of the new tram system.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Wednesday 19 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

As you can tell from just below this article the start of our coverage from the 125th Anniversary of the Manx Electric Railway events is now online. In this update we cover the first four days of events – huge … Continue reading →

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Event Review: Ratchet Car 14 returns to service as Crossbench cars enter stage right

Posted on Wednesday 19 September 2018 by Gareth Prior

The 125th Anniversary of the Manx Electric Railway celebrations continued at the start of the working week with the big highlight being the official launch into service of Ratchet Car 14 after its high quality paid staff and volunteer restoration … Continue reading →

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