In Pictures: Points installed at Crumpsall

Posted on Monday 29 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

Over the Easter weekend there was a closure of the Bury line which, along with other work which prevented trams from running onto the Rochdale line for a couple of days, saw the new pointwork installed at Crumpsall ahead of the start of terminating services to that stop once the Trafford Park line opens in 2020. The result of this work is that there is now a crossover between inbound and outbound lines just short of the stop along with points and the start of track into the new bay platform. For now the track in the new platform is yet to be laid but there is plenty of time for this to take place ahead of the start of services. The following photos from Steve Hyde shows the outcome of the engineering possession.

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Award wins for Midland Metro Alliance

Posted on Monday 29 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

Its another week and another awards ceremony with the Midland Metro Alliance celebrating a double win at the 2019 West Midlands Celebrating Construction Awards. The wins came in the Integration and Collaborative Working and the People Development categories at the ceremony which recognise the excellence of local organisations in working in the built environment sector.

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Man hit by tram at Prestwich

Posted on Monday 29 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

A man has suffered injuries described as not life threatening after he was hit by a tram on the Prestwich line of Manchester Metrolink on Wednesday 24th April. The incident happened at around 1715 with services from Bury to Queens Road suspended whilst the emergency services dealt with the aftermath. The man, in his 20s, was detained under the Mental Health Act.

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Around the World in Trams: Giardinetti Railway 832

Posted on Sunday 28 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

Rome is again the location as we feature another image from the Giardinetti Railway.

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Next Tramlink strike to see same service as last time

Posted on Sunday 28 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

The second 24 hour strike called in a dispute over pay on London Tramlink will take place on Wednesday 1st May, unless any last minute talks cause a rethink. Conservative members of the London Assembly have called upon Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, to intervene but this step looks unlikely at this stage and it is highly likely that the 24 hour walkout will go ahead as planned. Once again Tramlink are planning to operate a reduced service concentrated on the Wimbledon to East Croydon section.

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In Pictures: Works Cars in the depot at Crich

Posted on Sunday 28 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

We recently featured photos of Sheffield trams in the depot at Crich which raised the question – just where was Glasgow 1282? Well as this latest image from the home of the National Tramway Museum shows it hasn’t run away from Derbyshire and is in fact behind Cardiff 131.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 28 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

We have photos from the Docklands Light Railway as part of this week’s main site update:

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In Pictures: Supertram trackwork moves along Middlewood Road

Posted on Saturday 27 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

Following on from the Supertram rail replacement work over the Easter weekend at the junction of the Blue and Yellow routes at Hillsborough the worksite has moved along Middlewood Road with the current concentration on the inbound track from Dykes Hall Road to almost at Hillsborough Corner. The tram service from both Halfway and Meadowahll continues to terminate at Hillsborough, as it will until June. Stuart Cooke and his camera provide the following images.

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Picture in Time: Manchester Metrolink 1002

Posted on Saturday 27 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

A change of location for the next few week’s modern tram Picture in Time series as we head across the Pennines from Sheffield to Manchester.

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In Pictures: Back to fleet livery for 272

Posted on Saturday 27 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

Signs of the end of the major C R Smith advertising contract on Edinburgh Trams are continuing with 272 the latest tram to lose its vinyls in favour of a return to standard fleet livery (is it standard when it’s the only tram in it?!) This tram was one of those which had the from … to … centre vinyls with this being from Troon to Edinburgh. This leaves just the 15 trams advertising C R Smith!

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In Preview: Beer and Bands combine at Crich

Posted on Saturday 27 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

The May Day Bank Holiday will once again see the Beer and Bands event at the Crich Tramway Village with a number of bands confirmed to appear over the two days of the event – Sunday 5th and Monday 6th May. And, of course, there will be a tram service at the home of the National Tramway Museum.

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In Pictures: Seaton Tramway over Easter

Posted on Friday 26 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

The Seaton Tramway is once again open with services now every day until 3rd November in the year that the tramway will celebrates its 49th anniversary of running in Devon. Following on from last winter when a lot of attention was turned towards the construction of the new terminus at Seaton the off-season this time around has been much quieter although there has been some tree cutting along the embankment which has not only improved sightlines for drivers but also opened up some new vistas not previously available. In this article Keith Chadbourne provides us with some images of the trams in action over the Easter holiday period including the Seaton Pearl, aka no. 4.

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Metro rail replacement work nears completion

Posted on Friday 26 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

Work to replace 1.6km of track on the Tyne and Wear Metro in Gateshead is nearing completion following two weekend closures. One further weekend closure will be required to complete the work which is part of a £8 million project to replace Metro tracks south of the River Tyne.

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In Pictures: Sheffield 264 starts testing at Beamish

Posted on Friday 26 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

It looks as if Beamish will soon be able to turn to seven trams to form the service with Sheffield 264 now under test as it nears completion of its winter works attention. This is a far cry from the past couple of years when sometimes only four trams were available for a four tram service and will hopefully enable the museum to spread the load a bit more across the year.

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In Pictures: Snaefell Mountain Railway during Rush Hour on the Railways

Posted on Thursday 25 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

So we don’t exclude the third tramway on the Isle of Man in this article we feature images from the Snaefell Mountain Railway showing the current sights of this line. As we have reported previously the operational trams have now been fitted with a new form of braking in the wake of the runaway incident in 2017 to provide a further dail safe to ensure similar incidents don’t happen again and all trams which are running now have this fitted. Meanwhile, there is currently single-line operation just below Bungalow to allow for track works to take place. David Maxwell is once again our photographer on the scene.

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Plans for further NET expansion including to Derby

Posted on Thursday 25 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham and Derby City Councils have submitted outline plans to the government looking at a major expansion of Nottingham Express Transit which could include the two cities being linked along with East Midlands Airport. The Department for Transport have shortlisted the plan for further development giving Nottingham City Council £50,000 to prepare the main bid.

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Picture in Time: Manx Electric Railway 20

Posted on Thursday 25 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

1979 remains the year as we again visit the Isle of Man for another image from the past. This time around it is a Winter Saloon which comes across the camera.

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In Pictures: Behind the Scenes at Derby Castle Sheds

Posted on Wednesday 24 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

One of the highlights of practically any tram event is the chance to see “behind the scenes” of a depot whether that be on the Isle of Man at Derby Castle or Laxey or at Blackpool’s Rigby Road Depot. And Rush Hour on the Railways was no different with tours of Derby Castle Sheds available to a lucky few. In this article we take a look at what was available for viewing and with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway unable to take much part in the main event their trams – still stored at Derby Castle – also got in on the act!

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Track works in Nottingham on 28th April

Posted on Wednesday 24 April 2019 by Gareth Prior

The latest tramway in the UK to see some trackwork will be Nottingham Express with essential maintenance work due to take place in the city centre on Sunday 28th April. As a result of this work there will no trams between Nottingham Station and Old Market Square throughout the day with a replacement bus service serving the gap.

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In Pictures: New adverts for Blackpool Balloon 723

Posted on Wednesday 24 April 2019 by Andrew Waddington

Between-deck advertisements on Blackpool’s Balloon cars were once a common sight, but since the inception of Heritage Tram Tours, commercial advertising on the historic tram fleet has all but vanished. However, Balloon 723 has recently received some new banner adverts on its between-deck side panelling – operating in this guise for the very first time on Easter Sunday, 21st April.

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