In Pictures: Blackpool Tramway services extended to Little Bispham

Posted on Friday 5 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

It seems that what was originally due to be a two week disruption to Blackpool Tramway services is being extended again with no end date now having been announced for when a full service may resume. The trackworks taking place on the northern section of the tramway need extra time to complete and as they are finished the northern terminus is being continually changed. As the last week has progressed the temporary northern terminus has gradually got further north – first Bispham from 1st March and then Little Bispham from 4th March. In this article Tony Armitage provides images of trams at Little Bispham.

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Pantograph damage causes more Metrolink delays

Posted on Friday 5 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

For the second time in less than a week services on Manchester Metrolink were disrupted, with the problem this time being put down to the severe damage sustained by a tram’s pantograph as it arrived from the direction of the city centre at Victoria. The disruption happened on Wednesday 3rd March and saw no trams able to run through Victoria for several hours.

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Picture in Time: Oporto 196

Posted on Friday 5 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of “Picture in Time” we are featuring another of the resident trams at Beamish.

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In Pictures: Works continue on Trams to Newhaven project

Posted on Thursday 4 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

The Edinburgh Trams extension from York Place down Leith Walk and then onto Newhaven via Ocean Terminal is due to start public services during 2023 and with construction works having got underway last year excellent progress continues to be made at various sites along the route. In this latest update we go to the very end of the line at Newhaven and Ocean Terminal to take a look at what construction work has been ongoing there with Roy Calderwood providing the image.

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Full timetable to return on NET

Posted on Thursday 4 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit have announced that as from Monday 8th March they will again be operating to a full timetable seven days a week. The system had been running to Sunday frequencies throughout the week since 22nd January but with government restrictions starting to be eased slightly – and with schools due to return from this date – it has been decided that 8th March will be a return to the standard frequencies throughout the week.

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Stop by Stop Blackpool Tramway: Waterloo Road

Posted on Thursday 4 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

In this next edition of “Stop by Stop” we continue with a northbound journey on the Blackpool Tramway and the next stop will be Waterloo Road.

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In Pictures: Railcoach 279’s windscreens trial fitted

Posted on Wednesday 3 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

As we enter March and we start to see those first signs of Spring and a hoped for gradual relaxation of restrictions we can start to think of what we may have to look forward once things do start to get back to “normal”. And one of those things looks like it could be the eventual return to service of the Fylde Transport Trust’s Railcoach 279, the restoration of which has continued to make progress over the past few months.

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UKTram to continue working with government’s on support for light rail in UK

Posted on Wednesday 3 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

UKTram – who bring together all UK tram and light rail systems to give a “single voice” when dealing with governments and statutory bodies – have pledged to continue working in partnership with the UK and Scottish Governments to secure additional support for systems as there starts to be a cautious lifting of Coronavirus restrictions over the comes months.

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Still Standing! Derby Rosette

Posted on Wednesday 3 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

As we continue this series where we take a look at surviving structures and artefacts from the UK’s first generation tramways we are in the East Midlands where we look up again and find another rosette.

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Tanfield Railway given boost by Metro depot redevelopment

Posted on Tuesday 2 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

The Tanfield Railway – which runs from Sunniside, Gateshead to East Tanfield, County Durham – is to benefit from the redevelopment of the Tyne and Wear Metro depot at Gosforth with more than 20 tons of used track equipment being donated by Nexus.

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Trams &: Sheffield 264 & Fire Engine

Posted on Tuesday 2 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

“Trams &” is today heading to northeast England and Beamish where we see the resplendent Sheffield 264 at the entrance along with a fire engine.

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Whatever Happened To? Midland Metro 16

Posted on Tuesday 2 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

And after 16 weeks we finally reach the last of the original Midland Metro trams as this latest series of “Whatever Happened To?” comes to and end with no. 16.

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Crich announce plans to reopen for 2021 season

Posted on Monday 1 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

Following on from last week’s government announcement on the “roadmap” to relaxing restrictions there has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes at various heritage tramways to get ready for the belated opening this year. The first tramway to publicly announce their plans is the Crich Tramway Village which will have limited opening from Monday 12th April (the week after Easter).

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Major disruption for Metrolink after Police incident at St Peter’s Square

Posted on Monday 1 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

All Manchester Metrolink services running through St Peter’s Square (the vast majority of service do of course) were seriously disrupted from the evening of Saturday 27th February until late morning on Sunday 28th February after a major Police incident. According to reports in the press the incident involved two cars and gun fire although fortunately there were no injuries reported.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Dreadnought 59

Posted on Monday 1 March 2021 by Gareth Prior

We return to 1976 for the next few editions of our Blackpool based “Picture in Time” series and we start off by taking a look at a tram which is always a popular one with enthusiasts – Dreadnought 59.

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Trams in Video: Manchester Metrolink 2008-2012

Posted on Sunday 28 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

Today we are off to Manchester for footage of the Metrolink system, mainly taken between 2008 and 2012 plus some extra archive film from 2001. All three classes of tram which ran on Metrolink in this period are featured including the T68s, T68As and M5000s. Lines in the city centre and out to Altrincham, Bury, Eccles, St Werburgh’s Road and Oldham are all seen.

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Calls made to Government for continued transport support

Posted on Sunday 28 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

Local politicians in the north-east have joined other leaders of City Regions across England in writing to the Government asking for a commitment to extra support for transport – including the Tyne and Wear Metro. As things stand at the moment funding support for the Metro is only in place until 5th April and local leaders are calling for this to be extended as the uncertainty of the Covid restrictions and the gentle easing which will eventually follow means passenger numbers are unlikely to return to anything approaching normal for some time.

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Lockdown Walks: Blackpool Balloon 700

Posted on Sunday 28 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

In this edition of “Lockdown Walks” we take a rare look at a more heritage tram as we find ourselves in Blackpool.

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What’s New on British Trams Online? 28th February 2021

Posted on Sunday 28 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

There is a double helping of photos this week as we head back in time to 2003 and 2004 on the Isle of Man as well as taking another look at the current trackworks in Blackpool:

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, Manx Electric Railway, Picture in Time, Site News, Snaefell Mountain Railway | 1 Comment

Livery changes in Manchester and West Midlands Metro

Posted on Saturday 27 February 2021 by Gareth Prior

The past few weeks and months have seen a few livery changes on both Manchester Metrolink and West Midlands Metro which we haven’t reported on so let’s remedy that in this article!

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