More old tram tracks found – Stoke this time!

Posted on Monday 23 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

We’ve seen old tram tracks rediscovered in places such as Leeds, Liverpool and Southend during 2020 and you can now add Stoke-on-Trent to that list! Reported extensively in the local press last month the tracks have been found under the road in the Tunstall area of the city during some resurfacing work.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Boat 602

Posted on Monday 23 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

As we continue our look at archive Blackpool tram images as part of “Picture in Time” we now move on to 1993.

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Trams in Video: Trams in Valencia

Posted on Sunday 22 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

We head across to Spain for this latest look at “Trams in Video” with footage from the trams in Valencia. Included are trams on routes 4, 5 and 6 with Bombardier Flexity Outlook trams running on all lines plus Duewag designed, CAF built single ended trams on route 4. This footage is taken from the DVD “The Trams and Light Railways of Alicante and Valencia”.

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Metro fares review delayed

Posted on Sunday 22 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

The annual fares review for travel on the Tyne and Wear Metro has been delayed with new fares now being introduced from the start of April 2021 instead of the usual January. The delay has been agreed to allow Nexus to develop and agree a Recovery Plan with the Department for Transport which is set to include an agreed approach to future fare changes.

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FTT trams continue to progress towards a return to service

Posted on Sunday 22 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

Two of the Fylde Transport Trust’s have continued to make steps towards a return to service in recent weeks with work having taken place on both Railcoach 279 at Brinwell Road and Coronation 304 at Rigby Road.

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What’s New on British Trams Online?

Posted on Sunday 22 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

This week we have photos from the archive again and this time we head across to the Isle of Man in 2001 and 2002:

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First test train arrives at temporary Metro depot

Posted on Saturday 21 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

The first train has entered the Tyne and Wear Metro’s new temporary depot at Howdon on test as preparations for its opening continue at a pace. The depot – on the site of an old landfill site – has been built to allow for the cleaning of preparation for up to a quarter of the Metro fleet while the main depot at South Gosforth undergoes rebuilding ready for the new train fleet.

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Around the World in Trams: Berlin 2003

Posted on Saturday 21 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

We move on this week to Germany and Berlin where for the next few weeks we will be taking a look at the trams running over several years between 2016 and 2019.

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Lift replacement to start at The Hawthorns

Posted on Saturday 21 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

The lifts at The Hawthorns Railway Station are to be replaced in a three month project which will see both railway station and tram stop having no step free access between 1st December 2020 and 15th March 2021. The lifts haven’t been replaced since the opening of the station in 1995 and now is the time for this to happen to improve their reliability to all public transport users.

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Punctuality up, reliability down on Metrolink

Posted on Saturday 21 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

The latest performance report for Manchester Metrolink has been released and as the headline says it shows that punctuality has gone up whilst reliability has fallen. But in both cases they are big changes with Metrolink continuing to perform at a fairly stable level throughout 2020.

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Local Conservatives back plans for revitalisation of Volk’s Electric Railway

Posted on Friday 20 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

Local Conservative Councillors have pledged to back plans which could revitalise the Volk’s Electric Railway and make it a key part of the tourist offering in Brighton and Hove. The Volk’s Electric Railway Association have come up with a plan with five proposals which they hope would rejuvenate the railway and would include a short extension at the Black Rock end of the line.

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Tyne and Wear Metro performance remains constant again

Posted on Friday 20 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

The latest performance statistics of the Tyne and Wear Metro have been released on posters at stations and show that it is exactly as it was in the previous 4 week period!

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Picture in Time: Granada Studio Tours Trams

Posted on Friday 20 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

For the next couple of weeks the Traditional Tram edition of “Picture in Time” is going to be a little bit different as we feature some “trams” which were part of Granada Studios in Manchester. Obviously, they weren’t real trams and little is known about them but we present these images taken during the mid 1980s.

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In Pictures: More track laid on Trams to Newhaven project

Posted on Thursday 19 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

Signs that trams will once again be running through Leith to Newhaven in the next few years are continuing to appear with more track being out down as the project continues. We’ve already seen that the first tracks have been laid at Ocean Terminal and now this work has extended onto Ocean Way, which is a continuation of Constitution Street. John Hampton provides the below images.

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In Pictures: Trams seen in Talbot Square

Posted on Thursday 19 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

If you thought that you would have to wait until 2022 to able to sit on a tram in Talbot Square again – think again! It may not be the sort of tram we were expecting but new seating has recently been installed in the shape of Blackpool trams! Two seats are in place, one based on an OMO Car and one on a Brush Car!

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Stop by Stop Nottingham Express Transit: Clifton South line – Wilford Village

Posted on Thursday 19 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

Continuing our look at the stops of the Nottingham Express Transit line to Clifton South we reach Wilford Village – the first of the stops which is a little bit different from the standard.

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In Pictures: Birmingham Westside extension Hagley Road crossover

Posted on Wednesday 18 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

We recently reported on the news that yet another milestone had been reached in the construction of the West Midlands Metro Birmingham Westside extension to Hagley Road, Edgbaston with the all important crossover having been installed. This crossover is likely to be regularly used by trams as they approach and depart from the terminus and is a key component in the construction of the line which is due to open at some point in 2021. Jim Smythe took a look at the worksite on a soggy 15th November 2020.

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Winter timetable to be introduced on Tyne and Wear Metro

Posted on Wednesday 18 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

The Tyne and Wear Metro has announced that they will be introducing a reduced frequency winter timetabled from Sunday 29th November as they catch up with driver training which had to be halted earlier this year during lockdown. Despite the reduction Nexus are confident the timetable will provide a good service frequency across the network.

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Still Standing! Stamford Brook Depot, London

Posted on Wednesday 18 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

Today our series which looks at old first generation tramways structures which remain extant is again in London with the depot at Stamford Brook featured.

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Heaton Park Tramway to return for Lightopia

Posted on Tuesday 17 November 2020 by Gareth Prior

While some heritage tramways resumed operation after the go-ahead was given by the government in July there have been some which haven’t been able to start running again and this included Manchester’s Heaton Park Tramway. But all that is set to change as we approach Christmas – as they have confirmed they will be operating during the Lightopia event again.

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