Open Day to be part of Metro 40th Anniversary celebrations

Posted on Thursday 5 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

2020 is the 40th anniversary of the Tyne and Wear Metro and to mark the occasion a series of community events will be taking place – including a heritage open day at South Gosforth Depot on Sunday 2nd August. As well as the open day there will be community art, dance and drama performances as well a full size mock-up of a carriage from a new train and exhibitions at museums looking at the history of the Metro.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Brush 632

Posted on Thursday 5 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

Its Blackpool Thursday evening again as this week we head back into the 1980s for a view of a Brush Car in an all over advert.

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In Pictures: Nice one…Cyrille Regis on the way back!

Posted on Wednesday 4 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

After being out of service for almost seven months, West Midlands Metro 31 – named Cyrille Regis MBE – is on the road to return with testing now underway following accident repairs. The tram was back on the rails on Wednesday 4th March – the first time it had been seen outside of the depot since it was involved in an accident in Wolverhampton back on 19th August 2019.

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In Pictures: Tyne & Wear Metro Depot at Howdon under construction

Posted on Wednesday 4 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

We’ve report on it several times and now for the first time we bring you some photos – the new temporary Tyne and Wear Metro depot at Howdon. With the site due to open this summer ahead of the current depot at South Gosforth being reduced in capacity during reconstruction for the new fleet of trains work has now moved on to the building of the actual buildings with much of the trackwork having been put in place.

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In Pictures: New Strathallan Depot taking shape

Posted on Tuesday 3 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

Due to be officially opened on Easter Monday, 13th April, the new Strathallan Depot – which will provide a home for the trams of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway – is making excellent progress with the main structure now in place. Work will be continuing over the next month or so (with any luck that’s all the time it takes anyway as the opening isn’t that far away!) to complete the structure which will provide a secure home for the remaining horse trams for many years to come.

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Still Standing! SHMD Joint Board Power Station and Tram Depot, Stalybridge

Posted on Tuesday 3 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

Another survivor in the northwest of England for “Still Standing” today as we head to Stalybridge for recent views from the Stalybridge Hyde Mossley and Dukinfield Joint Tramways and Electricity Board Power Station and Tram Depot. Located on Park Road in Stalybridge, the tram depot has since been demolished but the power station does remain.

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Coming soon: New vehicles on order

Posted on Monday 2 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

With various tram and light rail systems across the UK having new vehicles on order have you lost track of what is due and when? Well, if you have you don’t worry as we are here to help! In this article we keep a track on it for you! As much as to help us keep up with things what follows is all systems (including tram and light rail) which have vehicles on order and when we may expect them to arrive!

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Posted in Docklands Light Railway, Manchester Metrolink, Tyne and Wear Metro, West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

In Pictures: The “extra day” in Edinburgh

Posted on Monday 2 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

Of course, 2020 has 366 days as it is a leap year and in this short pictorial update we take a trip to Edinburgh for a few photos seeing the tram system in action. With the sun shining – a sight not exactly a regular occurrence across the country recently! – the tram were running a standard service between York Place in the city centre and the Airport as captured on camera by Roy Calderwood.

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Picture in Time: London Tramlink 2545, 2547 and 2546

Posted on Sunday 1 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

It’s a more modern image than we have featured recently from Tramlink for today’s edition of “Picture in Time” with the trams having already received the more recent fleet livery.

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Edinburgh Evening News reveal the number of cyclists injured around tramway

Posted on Sunday 1 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

In an article published in the Edinburgh Evening News under the catchy headline “Edinburgh tram designs criticised after new figures show number of cyclists who fell off their bikes last year due to the tracks”, the newspaper have criticised the trams in the Scottish capital with a freedom of information act request revealing that during 2019 more 30 cyclists were injured having fallen off their bikes “due to the tramlines”.

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All about….British Trams Online!

Posted on Sunday 1 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

When preparing this article I wasn’t sure what to call it, its our “product promise” to you if you like or maybe even our “mission statement”! But at a basic level the purpose of this is to explain what we aim to bring you each week – its as much an article for me so I have something to aim towards but it is also here to show you what British Trams Online is trying to achieve and why we’re here!

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What’s New on British Trams Online?

Posted on Sunday 1 March 2020 by Gareth Prior

This week over on the main site we have photos coming from the West Midlands Metro back in December:

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Track welded into place at Five Ways underpass

Posted on Saturday 29 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Following the report earlier this month that the first track had been installed at Five Ways underpass on the West Midlands Metro Birmingham Westside to Hagley Road, the Midland Metro Alliance have now confirmed that some of this track has been welded into place as good progress continues to be made on the construction ahead of the line opening in 2021.

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Around the World in Trams: Potsdam 421

Posted on Saturday 29 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

We continue our look at trams in Potsdam today and in this weeks edition it is a Stadler Variobahn in the photo.

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Tram and car collide in Nottingham

Posted on Saturday 29 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Services on Nottingham Express Transit were briefly disrupted on Thursday 27th February after a car and tram collided on the single line loop towards the city centre in Hyson Green. Citadis 220 was the tram involved in the collision with saw some damage caused to the front side panel on the tram. No major injuries were reported. The incident happened at around 0855 with no trams able to run between The Forest and Wilkinson Street for around half an hour.

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In Pictures: West Midlands Metro 24 receives new adverts

Posted on Friday 28 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

For the first time since external commercial advertising has been applied to the Urbos3 trams on the West Midlands Metro there has been a change of commercial adverts with 24 losing its OLA vinyls in favour of a new contract for Resorts World next to Birmingham International Railway Station. The new adverts were first seen on the tram during Friday 28th February 2020.

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In Pictures: A closer look at Manchester Horse Tram L53

Posted on Friday 28 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

It’s the only fully intact Eades Reversible horse tram in the country and it can be found on display at the Bury Transport Museum (attached to the East Lancashire Railway) as part of a long-term loan from the Heaton Park Tramway. Manchester horse car L53 has been at Bury since 2010 (except for a short period on loan at Beamish that year – which was the last time it ran in passenger service) and is one of many interesting exhibits at the museum. In this short pictorial article we take a closer look at the tram, both inside and out.

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In Pictures: First signs of winter at Beamish

Posted on Thursday 27 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Monday 24th February saw the first snowfall of winter in the northeast of England with Beamish delaying opening whilst staff worked hard to clear the site for visitors. This was all done by around 1100 allowing the museum to open with the trams continuing to run. By Wednesday 26th February when the below photos were taken most of the snow had thawed although there was still some of the white stuff on the ground giving a little bit of winter to the images.

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An advert from the past – Stokes Paints

Posted on Thursday 27 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

Have you ever wondered where paint comes from for trams? Well wonder no more as a recent find at an old Methodist Chapel in Yorkshire has found an old advert for Stokes Paints which apparently “Keep the Trams in TIP TOP CONDITION”. Ken Jones explains more.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Twin Car 673+683

Posted on Thursday 27 February 2020 by Gareth Prior

We are off to Blackpool this evening this latest archive image and this time we find ourselves in 2001.

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