Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 700

Posted on Monday 12 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

The next few weeks of our Blackpool themed “Picture in Time” series heads back to 2007 to take  a look at a few of the trams in service at that time with some well-loved and some less well-loved(!) liveries. We start off with Balloon 700.

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Trams in Video: Berlin Trams 150th Anniversary – June 2015

Posted on Sunday 11 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

Today’s video offering heads back to June 2015 with footage taken during the 150th Anniversary of Berlin Trams. BVG (Berlin’s transport authority) organised a display of historic and modern trams at Lichtenberg Depot and workshops on 27th and 28th June and this was followed by a tram parade on 28th June from Lichtenberg to Berlin City Centre. Both events feature in this video.

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Standard 143’s defective motor to be repaired

Posted on Sunday 11 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

One of the biggest talking points of 2019 was the high-profile failure of Blackpool Standard 143 on the night of its launch in September. Now over 12 months later and Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours have confirmed that the defective motor which caused the failure is to be repaired with a view for the tram to return to service – after a full period of testing.

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Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Electric Railway 7 to star on TV!

Posted on Sunday 11 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

As with so many heritage organisations, 2020 has been a challenging year for the Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Tramway Society with their usual fundraising channels having been removed as events around North Wales have been cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. But despite this there has been one ray of sunshine – film crews from S4C have been to visit the tram for a future episode of Welsh language series “Cynefin”.

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What’s New on British Trams Online?

Posted on Sunday 11 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

This week we head back to mainland Europe as we feature a collection of photos from Prague:

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In Pictures: Sheffield Roberts Cars on display to commemorate anniversary

Posted on Saturday 10 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

8th October 2020 was the 60th anniversary of the closure of Sheffield Corporation Tramways and although there are currently no original Sheffield trams running in service across the UK the two surviving Roberts Cars were both on display at their current respective homes to mark the occasion. They were 510 at Crich and 513 at the East Anglia Transport Museum.

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Around the World in Trams: Innsbruck 54

Posted on Saturday 10 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

Once again we head to Austria and Innsbruck as we take a look at another of the trams in the city during July 1964.

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In Pictures: New advert for West Midlands Metro 32

Posted on Saturday 10 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

There has been a change of adverts for West Midlands Metro 32 with its year old ads for OLA being removed in favour of a new campaign for Brindleyplace. #rediscoverbrindley is a campaign reminding people that Brindleyplace is open for business again with its varied selection of bars, restaurants, retail, visitor attractions, accommodation, car parking and a luxury spa and fitness centre.

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In Pictures: Tram track found in Southend-on-Sea

Posted on Saturday 10 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

With the amount of tram track which keeps getting found under various road surfaces around the UK you could be mistaken for thinking there is enough metal there to relay the entire UK tram network! The latest place where some track has been found is Southend-On-Sea – a system which last saw a tram run in 1942.

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In Pictures: 255 receives advert for Forever Edinburgh

Posted on Friday 9 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

For a system which had really embraced adverts over the past couple of years – including at one stage all 27 trams having some form of external advertising – 2020 has been a far more barren year for new ads (for fairly obvious reasons) but October has seen only the second new advert revealed with 255 carrying ads for Forever Edinburgh.

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Chase the Tram run to take place in Nottingham

Posted on Friday 9 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

Saturday 10th October will see a “Chase the Tram” run take place in Nottingham with participants running all the way from Clifton South through to Nottingham Trent University – while abiding by social distancing rules. The runners will be raising funds for local charity Tracy’s Street Kitchen.

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Picture in Time: Glasgow 1245 & Oporto Horse Car

Posted on Friday 9 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

Back to the East Anglia Transport Museum for this latest edition of “Picture in Time”, well not strictly but its linked to the story we are telling of the early tram days at the museum.

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In Pictures: Wilko’s continues to come down

Posted on Thursday 8 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

The eagerly anticipated demolition of the old Wilko’s store on Talbot Road in Blackpool has been continuing as September becomes October with the demolition teams still concentrating on the front of the building around where the entrance used to be. In this latest pictorial update Tony Armitage provides the below photos from 1st October 2020.

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Man hit by tram in Nottingham

Posted on Thursday 8 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

A man – reported locally to be in his 40s – was taken to hospital in Nottingham during the evening of Wednesday 7th October after being hit by a tram in the city centre. The incident happened at 2045 on Victoria Street with the man receiving treatment on scene before being taken to hospital with non life threatening injuries. While he received treatment no trams were able to run between Royal Centre and Nottingham Station with the official advice from NET being for passengers to walk between the stops. A full service resumed again from 2230.

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Lockdown Walks: Stagecoach Supertram 111

Posted on Thursday 8 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

This latest edition of “Lockdown Walks” is returning to South Yorkshire as we feature one of the trams in an advertising livery on Supertram.

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Sheffield Corporation Tramways 60 Years On – 50 Years Commemorated on Supertram

Posted on Thursday 8 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

Can it really be 10 years ago that Stagecoach Supertram repainted one of their trams in an approximation of Sheffield Corporation Tramways livery? It may not seem it but it is! It was in 2010 that Siemens-Duewag built tram no. 120 lost its standard Stagecoach livery for a cream and blue (a slightly lighter shade of blue than the trams had carried) colour scheme. Originally expected to be in place for a short period of time it has retained this special livery ever since – even when it was involved in a collision with 118 at Shalesmoor and was reformed, the section from 118 got the cream livery rather than 120 reverting to fleet colours! It has become without doubt the most popular of trams in Sheffield today! In this article we take a look at the launch of the tram in its new livery and some of its first runs in Sheffield.

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Sheffield Corporation Tramways 60 Years On – the Preserved Trams

Posted on Thursday 8 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

On 8th October 1960 the last trams on the first generation Sheffield Corporation Tramways ran bringing to an end 87 years of tramway operation in the city. With the first horse trams having run on 7th October 1873 this was actually 87 years and one day of operation! As we now know it was only be 34 years before trams would return but at the time it seemed that the connection between trams and Sheffield was over. In the first of two special articles today on the exact anniversary of closure we take a pictorial look at some of the original Sheffield trams which remain in existence today.

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Stadler officially take on maintenance of Metro fleet

Posted on Wednesday 7 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

Stadler is now officially in charge of the maintenance of the Tyne and Wear Metro fleet and Gosforth Depot. The 35 year maintenance contract – which initially encompasses the current fleet of trains before moving on to the new trains being built by the company – officially commenced from 0000 on Sunday 4th October and saw 120 Nexus staff transferred to Stadler via a TUPE agreement.

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More Metrolink engineering works on the way

Posted on Wednesday 7 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

There will be engineering works on Manchester Metrolink on two Sundays in October which will see a change in services on both days. The first set of works (11th October) will affect trams through the City Centre with those on the second day (25th October) on the Eccles line.

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Picture in Time: Nottingham Express Transit 213

Posted on Wednesday 7 October 2020 by Gareth Prior

It is time to head back to Nottingham for one last time in this batch of modern tram “Picture in Time” images as we take a look at one of the early advertising liveries carried on the trams.

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