Planning application submitted for expansion of Wednesbury Depot

Posted on Saturday 6 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

Since the now West Midlands Metro network opened in 1999 all the trams have been kept and maintained at the depot in Wednesbury with 21 Urbos3 trams currently part of the fleet. Looking to the future and with additional trams on order from CAF for the rapidly increasing network a planning application has now been submitted to expand the depot to include additional outside stabling facilities and further extensions to the buildings on site.

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Around the World in Trams: Den Haag 5028

Posted on Saturday 6 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

We are again off to the Netherlands for another look at a tram running in Den Haag.

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Timelapse video released of Colyford crossing relay

Posted on Saturday 6 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

At the start of January the Seaton Tramway started a major project to relay the track across Colyford crossing – track which had been in place for 45 years! With the road temporarily closed new track was put down while either side of the crossing further work took place, including the installation of new overhead poles and the re-siting of the points further back from the crossing. To show the progress of the work which took place the tramway have released a timelapse video which can be viewed on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzxcoJHiN1I.

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Lockdown Walks: Manchester Metrolink 3114

Posted on Saturday 6 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

We are again heading to Manchester Metrolink for another “Lockdown Walk” today.

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Trams for Bristol and Bath?

Posted on Friday 5 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

Could the answer to traffic congestion in the Bristol and Bath areas be trams or light rail? It’s a question which has been asked many a time over the past few years and now with the West of England Combined Authority looking at a mass transit project a local campaign group the Bath and Bristol Area Trams Association (BBATA) have been involved in discussions which should see tram proposals “taken seriously” as part of this project.

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London County Council trailers found in Penzance – up for sale!

Posted on Friday 5 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

Facebook Marketplace can be used to sell all types of products, whether that be books, furniture, clothing – or old tram bodies it seems! A recent listing added to the site features two old London County Council tram trailers which have been made available for £100 – although the condition of the two seems to leave a lot to be desired.

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Picture in Time: Glasgow 1100 & 1115

Posted on Friday 5 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

Before we move on to another location we just have time for one more archive photo from Crich and its 1985 again as a couple of Glasgow trams soak up the sunshine.

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Massive expansion for Edinburgh Trams on the horizon – and could Glasgow join in too?

Posted on Thursday 4 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

The Scottish Government have this week released details of their second Strategic Transport Projects Review and contained within the report are a few interesting plans which, if they come to fruition, could see a massive expansion of the Edinburgh Trams system with a plan for a Metro service in Glasgow too while light rail is also mentioned in connection with Aberdeen.

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Tram-Trains return to two an hour

Posted on Thursday 4 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

When you’re wondering where the next news story is coming from you can usually rely on a timetable change of Stagecoach Supertram! This time it is the Tram-Train service which is again seeing an amendment with two services an hour running again (as from Thursday 4th February) having for the past couple of weeks being down at one an hour. Services also run later again too.

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Stop by Stop Blackpool Tramway: Harrow Place

Posted on Thursday 4 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

The first stop after departure from Starr Gate north is located at Harrow Place and that is where we reach today as “Stop by Stop” continues.

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Trackworks to see service changes for Blackpool Tramway

Posted on Wednesday 3 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

There will be major changes to the service on the Blackpool Tramway for two weeks starting on Sunday 14th February – including a week without any service at all. These works have been planned for a while and are described as essential. Although there has been some work undertaken since the tramway was upgraded (opening in 2012) this will be the most major work since that time.

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Tram Pub Signs: Brownhill Arms, Blackburn

Posted on Wednesday 3 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

The latest entry into the “Tram Pub Signs” series is again in the northwest of England with one of the better examples of a sign at the Brownhill Arms in Blackburn.

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Still Standing! East Ham Depot, London

Posted on Wednesday 3 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

Today we are again heading into the capital for a view of a surviving first generation structure, although whereas many of our London entries have seen the depots still used for buses it’s a different story for East Ham Depot.

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In Pictures: Update from the old Wilko’s site in Blackpool

Posted on Tuesday 2 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

Its been over a month since the last parts of the old Wilko’s store in Blackpool was demolished and with it being raised to the ground there hasn’t been a lot to show of progress towards preparing the site for the construction of the new tram terminus and a hotel. In fact that pictorial update could really be any building site in the country with lots of rubble awaiting removal ahead of the real construction work getting underway. Photos courtesy of Tony Armitage.

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Trams in Unusual Places: Southampton 45 in Kimberley

Posted on Tuesday 2 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

We start another new series today as we feature trams in places you wouldn’t usually expect to find them! We all know the usual places where you will find trams, whether that be an operating system or a regular museum but occasionally over the years a tram has turned up on display somewhere out of the ordinary and this series seeks to celebrate those occasions. We start off with a tram still on the back of a low loader for a very short visit away from its home at Crich.

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Whatever Happened To? Midland Metro 12

Posted on Tuesday 2 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of “Whatever Happened To?” we take a look at another of the original trams which operated on the Midland Metro when it first opened in 1999 – the T69s.

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More funding given to Edinburgh Tram Inquiry

Posted on Monday 1 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

The inquiry into what went wrong in the construction of what ended up being the first phase of Edinburgh Trams has taken longer than the construction period of the line between the Airport and York Place and the latest reports have unveiled that with no end in sight the Scottish government have assigned additional funding for Lord Hardie’s inquiry.

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Morning restrictions for West Midlands concessionary pass holders on their way to vaccinations

Posted on Monday 1 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

Concessionary pass holders in the West Midlands will be able to travel for free before 0930 as they travel for their Cocid-19 vaccination following an agreement between Transport for West Midlands, West Midlands Combined Authority and transport operators. Several vaccination centres are now being opened across the West Midlands and the aim is to take the pressure of travelling to these centres for vaccinations as the vaccination plan continues at a pace.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Works Car 5

Posted on Monday 1 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

We return to Blackpool in 1971 for today’s archive photo image as we take a look at one of the converted Works vehicles.

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Trams in Video: The Trams of Central Europe

Posted on Sunday 31 January 2021 by Gareth Prior

We are again taking a look at some moving images of trams and in this edition of “Trams in Video” we are in Central Europe. Included in this film are the trams running in Prague, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest and the trolleybuses in the latter city. Also included is a trip to the Vienna Transport Museum at Erdberg.

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