The Great British weather hasn’t exactly been kind to us over the last few days with some very unseasonal rain and wind battering the UK and its tramways. We take a look at one such heritage line, at Beamish Museum, on a very inclement Sunday 10th August when a three tram service was in operation using all enclosed cars.
Beamish are a little short of trams this year with only five available for service due to Sunderland 16 still being out of service following various unforeseen delays to the mechanical work currently in progress, and Grimsby & Immingham 26 also being sidelined with worn tyres as it waits its turn for overhaul. On this day therefore, all of the serviceable enclosed trams were in service – namely Sunderland 101, Oporto 196 and Blackpool 280. The other two active trams, open toppers Blackpool 31 and Newcastle 114 were sensibly kept in the depot on this particular day thanks to torrential rain. It’s at times like this that we are certainly thankful for the presence of car 280, which is of course on loan from the Manchester Transport Museum Society, as it provides a much needed extra tram for use in poor weather and on busy days.