Author Archives: Andrew Waddington

Black Country museum tramway closes

Posted on Monday 30 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

2013 has ended on a very sour note for one of the UK’s heritage tramways, with the shock news just after Christmas that the short operating line at the Black Country Living Museum at Dudley has been closed down indefinitely. … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Country Living Museum | 20 Comments

Truck overhauls begin and end

Posted on Monday 23 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Work to overhaul the bogies of two distinctive semi-enclosed single deck trams in different UK museums is taking place this winter. Whilst work on Manchester 765 gets underway, the similar attention being lavished upon Oporto 273 is now rapidly approaching … Continue reading →

Posted in Crich Tramway Village, Heaton Park Tramway | 1 Comment

Crich prepare for Spongebob

Posted on Monday 23 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Recent outside work at Crich Tramway Village has been taking place at the tramway’s Glory Mine terminus, which is to be opened up as a proper tram stop where passengers can board and alight next season. Whilst this work is … Continue reading →

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A tale of paint and pantographs at Blackpool

Posted on Sunday 22 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool’s heritage tram fleet are currently confined to the Rigby Road depot due to essential roadworks taking place in the Manchester Square area, meaning that none of these trams are presently able to escape onto the main line. However, two … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 3 Comments

NEETT depot gets its walls

Posted on Friday 20 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Construction work on the new tram shed at the North East Land, Sea & Air Museum near Sunderland has made incredibly rapid progress during December. As the accompanying photograph clearly shows, the building is now structurally almost complete following a … Continue reading →

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Update on Blackpool Railcoach 680

Posted on Thursday 19 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Since arriving at Beamish Museum last week, a considerable amount of work has been carried out on Blackpool Railcoach 680, in order to prepare this tram for service at its new temporary home. As will be remembered, this car has … Continue reading →

Posted in Beamish Tramway, Heaton Park Tramway | 5 Comments

In Pictures: More of Liverpool 245

Posted on Thursday 19 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

On Sunday 15th December, a few working members from the Heaton Park Tramway visited Birkenhead, where they were treated to a close look at Liverpool 245. As reported previously, the major restoration of this tram is finally nearing completion ahead … Continue reading →

Posted in Birkenhead Heritage Tramway | 2 Comments

Birkenhead trams stay up late for Christmas party

Posted on Wednesday 18 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

On Tuesday 17th December, two of the operational trams at the Birkenhead heritage line had an unusually late outing, when they were called upon to operate some special evening journeys in connection with a local Christmas party. The chosen trams … Continue reading →

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Beamish restoration updates

Posted on Wednesday 18 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The current major tram-related project at Beamish Museum may be the restoration of Sheffield 264, but that hasn’t stopped thoughts being turned towards the completion of two other tramcars. Some work has recently been undertaken on the museum’s recently acquired … Continue reading →

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Early Christmas present arrives at Heaton Park – Manchester 173!

Posted on Tuesday 17 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

We seem to be referring to momentous occasions at the Heaton Park Tramway on this website with great regularity of late, mainly thanks to the incredible progress made on the construction of a second tram depot at the park in … Continue reading →

Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 3 Comments

First tram moves into new Heaton Park depot

Posted on Monday 16 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Sunday 15th December 2013 was another landmark day in the history of Manchester’s Heaton Park Tramway, as a tram was moved into the new Lakeside Depot under power and stabled inside for the very first time. It was particularly appropriate … Continue reading →

Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 4 Comments

Liverpool 245 goes glossy

Posted on Saturday 14 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The major restoration of Liverpool 245, the last remaining ‘Baby Grand’ type tramcar in the UK, is now rapidly approaching completion at the Birkenhead tramway’s Taylor Street depot. The car has received significant attention over the last few years, largely … Continue reading →

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Christmas trimmings for preserved trams

Posted on Saturday 14 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Whilst some of the UK’s museum tramways are now closed for winter, those which remain open for business are now looking ahead to the Christmas festivities. Trams at Beamish, Birkenhead and Summerlee have all received appropriate decorations to celebrate the … Continue reading →

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Thank-you and goodnight from Blackpool 680

Posted on Thursday 12 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

An extremely hectic week of tram moves by road in and around Blackpool has concluded with the departure from Rigby Road of Ex-Towing car 680 in the early hours of Thursday 12th December. The tram, which was sold to the … Continue reading →

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Sheffield 264 – one becomes three!

Posted on Wednesday 11 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Whilst various historic tramcars were being transported back home to Blackpool’s Rigby Road depot, another fascinating series of events was also unfolding in the North East. At Beamish Museum, work has finally got underway on starting the major restoration of … Continue reading →

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Blackpool Jubilee car back on home turf

Posted on Wednesday 11 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust’s preserved Blackpool Jubilee car 761 made a very welcome return to Blackpool’s Rigby Road tram depot on Wednesday 11th December, after spending just over two years languishing in an industrial yard at Fleetwood. Although not … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | 4 Comments

The Brush cars are back with a vengence!

Posted on Wednesday 11 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The task of returning the numerous Lancastrian Transport Trust trams to Blackpool Transport’s premises for inclusion in the company’s expanded heritage tram collection took another giant leap forwards on Tuesday 10th December, when two more old friends were transported back … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Fylde Transport Trust | 1 Comment

Blackpool Balloon 715 goes home

Posted on Monday 9 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Mere hours after Blackpool Coronation car 663 returned to the safety of Rigby Road depot, another much-loved Blackpool tramcar was brought back home to join the town’s heritage tram fleet. Unlike 663, Balloon 715 is a tram that most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Fylde Transport Trust | 5 Comments

Blackpool Coronation cars reunited at Rigby Road

Posted on Monday 9 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

On Monday 9th December, all three surviving Blackpool ‘Coronation’ cars were reunited at the town’s Rigby Road tram depot for the first time since 1975. On this day, cars 304 and 660 were joined by 663, which had made the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Fylde Transport Trust | 7 Comments

News in brief from Crich

Posted on Saturday 7 December 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The latest edition of the Tramway Musuem Society Journal reports on a number of interesting developments at Crich. As many of these can be explained fairly briefly it is not felt that they warrant their own individual articles, and so … Continue reading →

Posted in Crich Tramway Village | 2 Comments