Today “15 Years Apart” features a tram which has certainly undergone a transformation between 2009 and 2024!
Back on 5th July 2009 we see London County Council 1 stored in the Exhibition Hall at Crich, although strictly speaking it was in London Transport colours so was probably more London Transport 1. This was before confirmation had been received that the tram would undergo a major restoration to bring into the operating fleet at the home of the National Tramway Museum for the first time ever. At this time it was just another one of the many static exhibits which hold hope for funding to allow them to run again.
And 15 years later and its ended up as this beauty! It took a 10 year restoration, £500,000 and lots of hard work from the Workshop team at Crich to bring the tram back into operational condition and after being launched in September it joined the running fleet. Now in its original blue and white livery (which gained it the name “Bluebird”) its now as it would have been in 1932/3 and is yet another high quality restoration job. It seen at Stephenson Place on a damp 15th September 2024. (Both Photographs by Gareth Prior)