Lockdown Walks: Manchester Metrolink 3031

Posted on Sunday 23 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Chorlton on Manchester Metrolink’s lines to East Didsbury and Manchester Airport is again the location as we head out on another “Lockdown Walk”.

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What’s New on British Trams Online?

Posted on Sunday 23 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

With the Seaton Tramway celebrating its 50th anniversary on 28th August we head back to 2007 for some images from the tramway as this week’s main feature:

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A new coat for Snaefell Mountain Railway’s 125th anniversary

Posted on Saturday 22 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

The Snaefell Mountain Railway may not be running in its 125th anniversary year – its all gone quiet over the offer by the Manx Electric Railway Society to help fund its operation for short period – but that doesn’t mean the milestone hasn’t been marked by Isle of Man Railways with one of the trams which usually operate the service being treated to a repaint in a style not seen for a very long time.

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Around the World in Trams: Seville 302

Posted on Saturday 22 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Today we take another look at one of the trams operating in Seville, Spain.

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Play Now! New Metro game to celebrate 40th anniversary

Posted on Saturday 22 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

The Tyne and Wear Metro has recently launched a new game to test the knowledge of users of the system, all as part of their revised plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the network. Station Master can be accessed through the Nexus website and features questions about Metro stations, nearby attractions and some of the 40 year history.

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Lockdown Walks: Edinburgh Trams 270

Posted on Saturday 22 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

It’s that time again for a “Lockdown Walk” and we are again in Edinburgh City Centre.

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Engineers appointed for Cork Luas project

Posted on Friday 21 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Jacobs Engineering Ireland have been appointed to undertake a route options analysis and develop initial designs for the proposed Luas Light Rapid Transit project which will link Ballincollig to Mahon Point in Cork.

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Communication issue causes major disruption for NET

Posted on Friday 21 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Services on Nottingham Express Transit had a delayed start on Friday 21st August after a communication issue led to trams being confined to depot. The problem was put down to a software issue and with no communication possible between trams and the control room, for safety reasons trams were not allowed to leave Wilkinson Street Depot from the start of service.

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Lockdown Walks: West Midlands Metro 33

Posted on Friday 21 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Today we take a look at the West Midlands Metro again for the latest “Lockdown Walk”.

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Picture in Time: Southampton 45

Posted on Friday 21 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

We make a second visit to Crich on 25th May 2011 for this edition of “Picture in Time” and this time we feature the tram which started it all – Southampton 45.

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Metrolink to tweak timetable again

Posted on Thursday 20 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Monday 24th August will see another change to services on Manchester Metrolink with a slight tweak to the timetable, mainly affecting Saturdays and Sundays with the latter increasing from a 20 minute frequency to a 15 minute frequency.

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In Review: Electric Icons Prague by Michael Morton

Posted on Thursday 20 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Mention Prague to a tram enthusiast and you are likely to get a positive reaction as they recall the Tatras running on the extensive tram network. But in recent years there has been a major modernisation of the system with new trams being introduced as well as overhaul for some of the older trams. In this book, Michael Morton, takes a pictorial look at the fleet.

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Whatever Happened To? Blackpool Trawler 737

Posted on Thursday 20 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

And so we reach the end of this series as we take a look at the last of the trams which ran in passenger service over the final weekend of the traditional Blackpool Tramway. That tram is the illuminated Trawler.

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Latest Tyne and Wear Metro performance details revealed

Posted on Wednesday 19 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Whilst public transport is a very different beast at the moment with fewer passengers travelling as a result of the pandemic, one of the crucial considerations for some will still remain “how is it running?”. Although Manchester Metrolink have not released any performance stats since the start of February, it is a different situation on the Tyne and Wear Metro.

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Work continues on returning Blackpool trams to the rails

Posted on Wednesday 19 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

While engineering staff are now back at Rigby Road in Blackpool preparing the trams for a return to the tracks at the August Bank Holiday weekend as well as continuing the work on the overhauls of the illuminated feature cars there is also progress being made away from Blackpool Transport’s facility. We’ve heard a lot about Railcoach 279 over the past few months but good progress is also being made on the restoration of Coronation 663 which is at Riley & Sons Engineers in Heywood.

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Picture in Time: Midland Metro 06

Posted on Wednesday 19 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Its another snowy image from Midland Metro for you in this “Picture in Time” instalment.

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In Pictures: Trams to Newhaven Edinburgh Trams extension work continues

Posted on Tuesday 18 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Hopefully within the next three years we will see trams running along Leith Walk to Newhaven with the Edinburgh Trams extension due to open during 2023. After the enforced suspension of work at the height of the pandemic, we have already seen that work is now back underway with progress being made on initial preparations at several points on Leith Walk. In this pictorial we take a look at some of those worksites – including some of the finds of contractors as they start to go below the road surface. John Hampton is the photographer.

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Tram driver “lost awareness” as he passed through stop signal at Deansgate-Castlefield – RAIB

Posted on Tuesday 18 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

The RAIB have issued a warning to the UK tram industry following the publication of their latest report into an incident which saw a tram driver on Manchester Metrolink fail to stop at Deansgate-Castlefield and then proceeded to pass through a stop signal. With another tram given the right of way it was only the actions of the driver on that other tram which prevented a collision from occurring.

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Still Standing! Hyde Road Depot & Works, Manchester

Posted on Tuesday 18 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

Once more we are heading to the northwest of England to take a peek at some first generation tramway structures still in extant and this time we are looking at the remaining sections of Hyde Road Depot and Works in Ardwick.

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Crich get over £300,000 in funding

Posted on Monday 17 August 2020 by Gareth Prior

One of the big themes of the pandemic has been the need for various tramways to find a new funding stream whilst they were unable to open and then open under restrictions. Whilst there have been fundraising campaigns to the general public there have also been other funds willing to support heritage organisations and the Crich Tramway Village are celebrating after manging to get £316,000 through three different funding sources – much needed money during these uncertain and unprecedented times.

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