London horse tram set to be restored at Crich

Posted on Thursday 16 August 2018 by Andrew Waddington

Not content to be bringing the unique LCC 1 ‘Bluebird’ back to life, the London County Council Tramways Trust have confirmed that its next project will be the reconstruction of a London horse tramcar, which has been provisionally allocated a slot in the Crich workshop in 2021.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 1 Comment

Around the World in Trams: Dalian 7-2281

Posted on Thursday 16 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

Heading out of Europe for the latest edition of our worldwide tram series as we visit Dalian in China for a view of one of the oldest trams in the fleet.

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Sheffield 510 returns to service

Posted on Wednesday 15 August 2018 by Andrew Waddington

After just over a year out of service, Sheffield 510 returned to use at the Crich Tramway Village on Wednesday 15th August. The tram had been involved in a mishap – details of which were never fully clarified – which resulted in some damage, including a dented dash panel at one end, last summer, and has been out of action since this time.

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New Seaton terminus officially opened

Posted on Wednesday 15 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

Although it has been welcoming passengers for six weeks the new Seaton Tramway terminus in the town of the same name was officially opened on Saturday 11th August in a special evening ceremony which showcased the flexibility of the new space which can be a tram terminus by day and a multi-purpose events space by evening! As well as the obligatory cake the event also saw an appearance by Brotherhood of Man.

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Centenary car 642 launch date announced

Posted on Wednesday 15 August 2018 by Andrew Waddington

After unveiling the new look of Centenary car 642 Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours have now announced that, subject to availability, the tram will be in use on the enhanced four-car service running between Pleasure Beach and Little Bispham on Sunday 19th August. This will be its first appearance in passenger service since January 2016, and the first chance to ride on it since its recent makeover.

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A Railcoach on the road!

Posted on Wednesday 15 August 2018 by Andrew Waddington

The project to recreate an English Electric Railcoach for operation in Blackpool has been officially re-started, with tramcar 279 on the move again. The tram, which has been stored at Rigby Road for several years in a partially restored condition, was transported to Brinwell Road on Wednesday 15th August, where further work is to be carried out.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Fylde Transport Trust | 3 Comments

36 involved in collision with car

Posted on Tuesday 14 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

There is currently only one battery fitted tram available for service on West Midlands Metro after 36 was involved in a collision with a car in Wolverhampton on Monday 13th August. 36 now joins 18 on the sidelines whilst it awaits repairs with 31 the only one of the trio available for service.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Balloon 721

Posted on Tuesday 14 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

Another early 1990s view features in today’s Picture in Time as we are back in Blackpool once again.

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Visitor’s Guide to…Great Orme Tramway

Posted on Monday 13 August 2018 by admin

In the second in our series of Visitor’s Guides, Edward M Koehler takes a look at the Great Orme Tramway in Llandudno, North Wales. Once again Edward gives his observations of the best places to get photos of this unique line following a visit on 31st July 2011.

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Posted in Great Orme Tramway, Visitor's Guide | 3 Comments

Edinburgh launch challenge for tram safety invention

Posted on Monday 13 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

The City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Trams have launched a challenge looking for people to create a device which can detect when a tram driver might be about to lose consciousness due to illness and fatigue and notify the control centre.

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Posted in Edinburgh Trams | 5 Comments

In Pictures: Progress on Wolverhampton City Centre extension

Posted on Sunday 12 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

Work to extend the West Midlands Metro at both ends of the current line is currently continuing at a pace. At the Wolverhampton end of the line there is a hive of activity with plenty of tracklaying in progress on Piper’s Row as these photos from Martin Miller depict.

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Pay deal accepted in Sheffield

Posted on Sunday 12 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

It has been confirmed that the three year pay deal for Stagecoach Supertram drivers and conductors has been accepted by Unite the union members. This new deal will see a pay increase of 30p per hour in year one, 29p per hour in the second year and 2.5% in the third year. As a result of this deal being accepted no further strikes will take place on Supertram.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 12 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

This week we have a further Photo Gallery with the first of a two parter from the Isle of Man:

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Event Review: Isle of Man 50 Group Charters – July 2018

Posted on Sunday 12 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

In the first of a two part article David Mee reviews the Isle of Man 50 Group charters which took place immediately before the 2018 Manx Heritage Transport Festival in July.

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Hot weather leads to drop in Metrolink performance

Posted on Saturday 11 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

Continuing the up and down trend of performance on Manchester Metrolink the latest figures have shown that both punctuality and reliability are down although both remain around the same mark as they have since KeolisAmey Metrolink started to publicly release the data.

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Picture in Time: Oporto 150

Posted on Saturday 11 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

Continuing our look at trams from the early days of Summerlee before more local trams were restored for service. This time we take a look at Oporto 150.

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In Pictures: Centenary car 642 out on test

Posted on Saturday 11 August 2018 by Andrew Waddington

Following the recent announcement by Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours regarding the repaint of Centenary car 642 in an amended version of its 1990s Travelcard advert complete with green and cream ends, the tram made its debut on the promenade in its new look on Friday 10th August. Although this was only a test run, 642 attracted a fair bit of interest ahead of its public launch.

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Passenger satisfaction continues to rise on Edinburgh Trams

Posted on Friday 10 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

Passengers travelling on Edinburgh Trams remain highly satisfied with the service on offer according to a new survey conducted by the Institute of Customer Service.

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Trackworks to lead to temporary timetable on NET

Posted on Friday 10 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

We’ve become used to line closures on UK tramways to allow for rail replacement works with the latest system to be affected being Nottingham Express Transit. From Thursday 23rd August until Sunday 2nd September no trams will be able to run between Wilkinson Street and The Forest to allow for essential work to replace the tracks on the loop line through Hyson Green.

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Tender out for more trams for West Midlands Metro

Posted on Thursday 9 August 2018 by Gareth Prior

Transport for West Midlands have started the tendering process for additional trams to cover services on the numerous extensions of West Midlands Metro now under construction and planning. They are initially looking for 18 trams with the option for a further 32 – all of which must be capable of battery operation, which considering several of the lines will feature sections without overhead isn’t exactly the most surprising announcement of the year!

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment