Strathallan Depot to be officially opened as part of Rush Hour on the Railways

Posted on Tuesday 11 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

The first of two big general transport events on the Isle of Man for 2020 will see the official opening of the new Douglas Bay Horse Tramway Depot at Strathallan. Rush Hour on the Railways takes place over the Easter weekend (10th to 13th April) and as well as the opening of the depot there are many events to keep you occupied including parallel runs, depot tours and intensive services.

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Still standing! Tram rosettes in Horwich

Posted on Tuesday 11 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Some of the remnants of first generation tramways are more difficult to spot than others but probably the most common remains can be seen on the side of various buildings around the UK with the rosettes which the overhead span wires used to connected to. One such location is in Horwich.

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In Pictures: Edinburgh Trams move the crowds for the rugby

Posted on Monday 10 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

One of the major benefits of having a modern tram system in Edinburgh is its ability to move large crowds of people in quick succession, which is especially useful when there is a big event at Murrayfield Stadium. One of these events was on Saturday 8th February when the Calcutta Cup Six Nations Rugby Union march between Scotland and England took place which led to an intensive service running to make sure the crowds got to the match.

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In Pictures: Inside the Workshop at Crich

Posted on Monday 10 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

The Crich Tramway Village may be closed to visitors over the winter period but that doesn’t mean that nothing is going on – far from it! We’ve already recently seen the track renewal north from Victoria Park but away from the infrastructure the Workshop also remains a busy place – on Friday 7th February there were four trams present, including the three major restoration and overhaul projects of London County Council 1, Newcastle 102 and London Transport 1622 as captured in the below images from Keith Chadbourne.

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£15 billion plan unveiled to improve rail travel in West Midlands

Posted on Monday 10 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Where would we be without grand transport “visions”?! The latest region to reveal their vision is the West Midlands with current Mayor, Andy Street, unveiling a £15 billion plan for improvement to the Metro and rail network by 2040. A new map of what the transport network could look like in 20 years time has been released which would include not only new Metro lines but also improvements to the rail network and the potential for an underground Metro route – while it is presumed much will be extensions to the Metro the map doesn’t actually commit itself to which mode would be used for some of the routes.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

Picture in Time: Snaefell Mountain Railway 2

Posted on Sunday 9 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

For one final time in this batch we head to the Isle of Man and the Snaefell Mountain Railway during 1979.

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T68A 2001 scrapped

Posted on Sunday 9 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Following swiftly after T68 1020 met its end at the hands of the scrapman, T68A 2001 has also now been scrapped on site at Manchester Metrolink’s Trafford Depot. 2001 was reduced to scrap metal on Wednesday 5th February.

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In Pictures: Track relay progress at Crich

Posted on Sunday 9 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

With the Crich Tramway Village opening again for another season in a little over four weeks good progress continues to be made on the major winter maintenance work – the relaying of the double track from Victoria Park/Bandstand up to the single line post on the way to Wakebridge.

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What’s New on British Trams Online?

Posted on Sunday 9 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

There are construction photos from Birmingham now added to the website:

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Significant fall recorded in tram passengers on the Isle of Man

Posted on Saturday 8 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

After the past few years have seen increases in passenger numbers on the Isle of Man’s main tramways and railways, 2019 has seen a significant fall in all three tramways with just the Steam Railway seeing a rise. Many reasons have combined to see these figures recorded, not least the Douglas Prom redevelopment works leading to a much truncated horse tramway and a new way of recording passenger journeys on the MER but nonetheless they are disappointing numbers at what had appeared to be one of the brightest spots in the lines history in recent memory.

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Around the World in Trams: Potsdam 415

Posted on Saturday 8 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

We are staying in Potsdam for this week’s overseas tram image and it is another Siemens Combino featuring.

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Birmingham Eastside extension close to approval

Posted on Saturday 8 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

A few weeks ago when we reported on the awarding of the Transport and Works Act Order for the West Midlands Metro Birmingham Eastside extension what was apparent was the complete lack of acknowledgment from Transport for West Midlands that it had happened! But now with local approval looking likely in the next week they have broken cover giving a few more details in the process.

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In Pictures: Oporto 196 and Sheffield 264 at Beamish

Posted on Saturday 8 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

We already know that the early part of 2020 will see the withdrawal from service of Oporto 196 at Beamish but before then it is still available for use and on Tuesday 4th February it was out on driver training – a day which saw Sheffield 264 in operation as the sole public tram. Trevor Hall made the trip.

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In Pictures: Bradley Lane Park and Ride opens

Posted on Friday 7 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

It may be late – originally due to open in summer 2019 – but the latest Park and Ride site on the route of the West Midlands Metro at Bradley Lane is now open for business. The barriers were removed and the first cars welcomed shortly after midday on Thursday 6th February with all 196 parking spaces ready for action.

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NET back “Please offer me a seat” badge campaign

Posted on Friday 7 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit have become the latest organisation in the city to back the recently launched “Please offer me a seat” badge campaign in partnership with Nottingham City Council and Nottingham City Transport. As seen on many other public transport networks both in the UK and worldwide this sees those with disabilities able to get a badge letting other users know they need a seat while a second badge says “Happy to move for you”.

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Trackless tram plans on the agenda for Liverpool

Posted on Thursday 6 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Could trams finally return to the streets of Liverpool? They could if plans currently being discussed come to fruition but rather than having track and overhead to operate they would be trackless trams operated by batteries with rubber wheels and guided by sensors on the road. The relatively short line – being developed under the working title the Paddington Line, and previously having been known as the Lime Line – would link the university quarter in the city, the new Paddington development and Lime Street Railway Station with journey times as short as four minutes being suggested.

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The continuing travails of the Tyne and Wear Metro

Posted on Thursday 6 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

It must be a pretty draining experience trying to travel on the Tyne and Wear Metro at times. Its well known that the infrastructure and trains on the network are ageing but these are combining on a very regular basis to cause major delays to the service leading to much anger both at stations and on social media. The weekend of 1st and 2nd February was another weekend which saw a few incidents leading to more delays for the travelling public.

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Picture in Time: Busy times at Fleetwood Ferry

Posted on Thursday 6 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

We are heading back to Blackpool for today’s archive image as we feature not one, not two, not even three but four trams at Fleetwood Ferry.

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Progress made on restorations in Blackpool

Posted on Wednesday 5 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

This winter has already been a busy one at Rigby Road Depot’s heritage tram workshops with Boat 230, the Frigate and the Western Train all already seeing attention. In addition the major restoration of Balloon 704 is continuing and there is also some news to report on Standard 143 in this latest update.

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New advert carried in Nottingham for Pythian Club

Posted on Wednesday 5 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

The latest centre advert to be carried on a tram in Nottingham – it seems that the days of full vinyl wraps on Nottingham Express Transit have come to an end for now – is for the Pythian Club, an award winning community group that’s committed to enriching the lives of young people in the city. NET has forged close links to the group over the past year and this is the latest part of that.

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