The Transport Tour to launch next weekend in Blackpool

Posted on Friday 17 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

As part of the continuing tweaking and addition of new events on Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours 2019 will see the launch of The Transport Tour using not only a tram but also a heritage bus for a return trip to Fleetwood. A taster tour will be running on Saturday 25th May with Standard 147 joined by an Open Top Leyland Olympian (Atlantean 864 will substitute in wet weather).

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Four injured after van and tram collide

Posted on Friday 17 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

The latest collision between a road vehicle and a tram on the Manchester Airport line has seen four people taken to hospital including the driver of the van with serious head injuries. This high impact collision took place close to the tramstop at Martinscroft and involved M5000 3027 and a van with serious damage occurring to both the van and railings alongside the tramway. The driver of the van was arrested at the scene on suspicion of drink driving. Metrolink services through the area were suspended during the evening of Thursday 16th May – with the collision happening around 2030 – whilst the emergency services dealt with the incident and then the scene was cleared of the van and the tram was returned to depot.

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Performance falls on Tyne and Wear Metro

Posted on Thursday 16 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

The latest performance figures for Tyne and Wear Metro have now been released on posters situated at each station on the network and they show that performance is down both on the previous four weeks and the same period in 2018 – and this comes before the recent four day closure of parts of the network after a major overhead problem.

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In Pictures: Latest developments at Beamish

Posted on Thursday 16 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

The trams at Beamish have been in the news plenty of late, even those trams not operational have been moved around the depot and Oporto Coal tram 65 has once again been on the move. This time it has been moved over the pit on road 3 of the depot where various parts are being removed from the tram. Meanwhile, the operational trams continue to earn their keep by transporting the many visitors around the museum site.

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Picture in Time: Bournemouth 85

Posted on Thursday 16 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

This week as we continue our look into the archives we feature a tram now part of the national collection at Crich – it is Bournemouth 85.

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In Pictures: Heaton Park Tramway in May

Posted on Wednesday 15 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

Starting from the beginning of May the Heaton Park Tramway in Manchester is operating on both Saturdays and Sundays (except during Park Life from 8th to 16th June) all the way until the end of September. On Saturday 11th May Hull 96 was the tram of choice whilst the following day, Sunday 12th May, saw 96 joined by Blackpool 623 in a two car service. Photos are included from both days showing the two trams doing what they do best!

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In Pictures: Supertram rail replacement work update

Posted on Wednesday 15 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

The first phase of the 2019 Stagecoach Supertram rail replacement project is still ongoing and progress has now moved along Middlewood Road to the junctions with Dykes Hall Road and Leader Road either side of the tramstop at Hillsborough Park. The worksite is on the outbound line and as usual the area being attended to is surrounded by fencing during the duration of the work. Stuart Cooke has been on the scene for us.

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Charity children’s book launched in Edinburgh

Posted on Wednesday 15 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

Children’s books featuring trams are fairly rare (although there are some books based on the Manx Electric Railway) but a brand new book has just been launched in Edinburgh – and it will be raising money for Edinburgh Trams’ nominated charity, The Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity. The book has been written and illustrated by the staff of Edinburgh Trams and features Tilly the Tram!is now on sale with £3 from each copy sold donated to the charity of the year – The Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity.

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In Pictures: 50s Seaside celebration at Carlton Colville

Posted on Tuesday 14 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

Over the weekend of 11th and 12th May the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville went to the seaside with a special 1950s seaside celebration. Whilst the highlight of the weekend was the relaunch into service of Hastings trolleybus 34 after the completion of its restoration and former Hastings trolleybus Happy Harold (which now works under diesel power) visited from Sussex the trams weren’t left out and, as would be expected at a seaside event, Blackpool trams featured heavily – Standard 159 and Marton VAMBAC 11. Trevor Hall visited for the first day of the event as shown in the below photos.

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In Pictures: West Midlands Metro 25 gets some heart

Posted on Tuesday 14 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

With the Spring Bank Holiday weekend set to see Birmingham Pride taking place, West Midlands Metro – and public transport in general – are supporting the event with 25 having received some rainbow hearts on selected windows. Currently this is the only tram to have received these special hearts (which use the slogan Connecting Communities) with them being applied for the tram to enter service on 29th April. With the length of time since they were applied it would suggest no further trams will receive the small vinyls. Meanwhile, National Express West Midlands – operators of the local bus network – have reliveried a full bus in recognition of the event. Andy Walters provides us with the following photos.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Brush 631

Posted on Tuesday 14 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

For the next few weeks we head back to the last year of the traditional Blackpool Tramway before the full upgrade was in place. It was a year which was far from the glory days of years gone by but was still a key part of the history of the tramway.

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In Pictures: Photo Charter on the Isle of Man

Posted on Monday 13 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

At the end of April and start of May there was a David Williams Photo Charter on the Isle of Man giving opportunities for staged photography of the island’s railways and tramways. Whilst it was mainly centred on the Steam Railway there were also two hires on the Manx Electric Railway allowing the chance for some photos of unusual trams in unusual locations. David Mee was on the island for the charters and has provided us with the following images of the MER.

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Train availability hits peak hour Metro services again

Posted on Monday 13 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

Thursday 9th May was another day that the Tyne and Wear Metro would probably rather forget with train availability causing a basic service having to run during peak periods with none of the peak extras operating. This affected services in both the morning and evening peaks.

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More tram expansion for Edinburgh?

Posted on Monday 13 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

A new strategy set to be approved by the City of Edinburgh Council could see further expansion of the Edinburgh Trams network in the future as they seek to transform the city centre and make cars as “guests in a pedestrianised environment”. The plans for new tram lines are sure to prove controversial and if anything did happen as regards this it would be very much medium to long-term before we saw any tracks on the ground.

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Around the World in Trams: Bratislava 7741

Posted on Sunday 12 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

We now move to the Slovakian capital of Bratislava for a couple of week’s as we take a look at some of the trams that operate on the tramway there.

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In Pictures: New adverts in Manchester

Posted on Sunday 12 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

The past few weeks have seen a couple of new vinyl wrap adverts applied to trams on Manchester Metrolink – both of which have a plain white background and, of course, feature full contravision. The two trams which have received the ads are 3081 and 3094 with the advertisers being IKEA and Olivia Burton respectively.

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In Pictures: Rail replacement works continue in Sheffield

Posted on Sunday 12 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

With all Supertram services on the Blue and Yellow routes still turning short at Hillsborough (as they will do so until 2nd June) work on the major rail replacement project has been continuing over the past week. The worksite has now moved on between Hawksley Avenue and Dixon Road with the current concentration on the outbound track. Stuart Cooke is our man on the scene.

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Preparatory works to get underway on Edinburgh Trams extension

Posted on Sunday 12 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

Following on from the approval of extending the Edinburgh Trams network to Newhaven in March the first real signs of progress in fully getting the project off the ground should be seen later this month with investigation works due to get underway. The first stage of works will start in Lindsay Road during the week commencing 20th May 2019.

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Sandyford Park and Ride reopens on Luas

Posted on Saturday 11 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

After 16 months the Park and Ride site at Sandyford on Luas reopened to the public on Monday 6th May. The Park and Ride was closed on 5th January 2018 to allow for extension work at the adjacent depot for the full maintenance of the new longer 53 metre Citadis trams to take place. Originally scheduled to reopen in September 2018 a delay to the work necessitated a longer closure but it is now possible to allow public access to the 47 parking spaces once more.

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Picture in Time: Manchester Metrolink 1005

Posted on Saturday 11 May 2019 by Gareth Prior

This week we are on the very first day of passenger services on Manchester Metrolink – 6th April 1992. T68 1005 features in the image.

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