Event Preview: MTMS 50 at Heaton Park Tramway **updated**

Posted on Wednesday 29 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Sunday 2nd April will see a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Manchester Transport Museum Society at the Heaton Park Tramway with up to four trams hoped to be in service alongside a selection of currently stored trams on display at locations on the tramway.

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Bolton 66 commemorates 70th anniversary of end of Bolton Corporation Tramways

Posted on Wednesday 29 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

On 29th March 1947 it was the end of an era in Bolton when the last trams ran following 67 years of loyal service to the town. Who could have thought that fast forwarding 70 years and there would be a tram from Bolton still operating albeit in Blackpool? Well that is exactly what has happened and to mark the 70th anniversary 66 enjoyed a trip out on the Blackpool Tramway on 29th March 2017.

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Edinburgh Trams records busiest ever day

Posted on Wednesday 29 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Saturday 25th February proved to be the busiest day yet on Edinburgh Trams with just over 28,000 passenger journeys being made. This day saw the Scotland v Wales Rigby Unio Six Nations match at Murrayfield – the stadium has a tramstop adjacent making it ideal to take the tram to the match.

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Supertram 109 derailed on Herdings Park route

Posted on Wednesday 29 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Stagecoach Supertram 109 suffered a minor derailment on Thursday 23rd March whilst it was on the short branch to Herdings Park. Reports have suggested that it was derailed as a result of a concrete block and some ballast being placed in the spring loaded points which caused the points not to be able to move as they should. The derailment happened at around 1245 with only a few passengers on board the tram, none of whom suffered injuries in the low speed derailment. Supertram engineers attended the scene and rerailed the tram before it was taken back to depot for inspection. Services to Herdings Park were temporarily suspended but resumed after a few hours once the tram had been removed and the points fully checked to ensure they were working.

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Manchester Metrolink Service Changes: Sunday 2nd April

Posted on Wednesday 29 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

There will be track maintenance work affecting Manchester Metrolink services on Sunday 2nd April; this time the work will be in the City Centre and will mean that the first time since the Second City Crossing opened services between Bury and Altrincham will be diverted onto the new line.

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New exhibition at Crich for 2017

Posted on Tuesday 28 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Arms to Armistice is a new exhibition at the Crich Tramway Village – the second in the series of exhibitions to examine how the outbreak of the First World War affected the tramways of Britain. This exhibition looks at the latter stages of the war from mid-1916 through to the Armistice in 1918 and reveals how the increased employment of women on the trams led to them taking on more responsibilities.

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Upcoming Supertram service changes

Posted on Tuesday 28 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

The next week will see Stagecoach Supertram services amended on two occasions with replacement buses in use to cover for affected sections.

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Two new substations for Metrolink

Posted on Tuesday 28 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Two new substations are about to be installed on Manchester Metrolink to provide additional power and resilience across the network and enabling more trams to run. The substations will be built in the Park and Ride sites at Brooklands and Whitefield with pre-work set to begin on Wednesday 29th March.

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Picture in Time: Modern Electric Tramways 6

Posted on Tuesday 28 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Another black and white photo today in the Picture in Time series as we are back on the south coast at the Modern Electric Tramways operation in Eastbourne.

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In Pictures: A normal day at Crich

Posted on Sunday 26 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

The Crich Tramway Village opens daily between March and November every year but we tend to only feature it when there is a special event with other vehicles on site or an intensive tram service in operation. But for most of the year a two or three tram service runs for visitors and one of these days was sunny early Spring day on Friday 24th March. In this pictorial update we take a look at the two trams in service – Glasgow 22 and Leeds 180 – as well as taking a quick peek into the Workshop. Photos from Keith Chadbourne.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 26 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

We have another Photo Gallery for you this week as part of our main site update:

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Burton & Ashby 14 carries passengers in UK for first time in 90 years

Posted on Saturday 25 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Whilst most of the attention in UK tram preservation in 2017 has been directed towards Blackpool trams or trams to be restored in Blackpool one of the most ambitious projects in recent years has come to a conclusion with Burton & Ashby Light Railway 14 carrying passengers in the UK for the first time in 90 years. 14 was used for the first time in public service at the Statfold Barn Railway in Staffordshire during one of their operating days on Saturday 25th March – and proved to be a very popular addition to the various railways operating on the day.

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Picture in Time: Docklands Light Railway 79

Posted on Saturday 25 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Another trip into the archives and this time we are in London for an image coming from the Docklands Light Railway.

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Manx Electric Railway early season update

Posted on Saturday 25 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

It’s been a while since we last had an update on recent events on the Manx Electric Railway where services resumed for another season on 9th March and have been continuing early season operations since – including the return of the nationalised green livery.

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Balloon 703 returns home

Posted on Friday 24 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Another tram has returned home to Blackpool with Balloon car 703 – lately masquerading as Sunderland 101 – arriving back at Rigby Road Depot on Thursday 23rd March following the lengthy journey from Beamish.

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Posted in Beamish Tramway, Blackpool Tramway | 7 Comments

Spaces still available for Friends of 40 tour

Posted on Friday 24 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

The annual Friends of 40 tram tour on board Blackpool & Fleetwood Box 40 – a tradition since 1998 – will take place on Sunday 9th April and there are still spaces available with tickets including a tram ride and dinner at the North Euston Hotel in Fleetwood.

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Fares on the rise in Nottingham and Sheffield

Posted on Friday 24 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Selected fares on both Nottingham Express Transit and Stagecoach Supertram are to rise over the next couple of weeks with increased costs blamed for the increases.

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Transport for West Midlands to take direct control of Midland Metro

Posted on Thursday 23 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

In an unexpected move it has been confirmed that Transport for West Midlands are to take direct control of operating Midland Metro from October 2018 when the current contract with National Express comes to an end. It is reported that this will enable all the profits to put back into expanding the network.

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Tram allocations revealed for latest Winter Gold weekend

Posted on Thursday 23 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th March will see the latest Gold operating weekend in Blackpool with 11 different trams due to see action during the two days including several trams making their first public appearances of the year. Sunday 26th March will also give a chance to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the last tram to run in Bolton with long-term Blackpool resident Bolton 66 due to operate.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Boat 606

Posted on Thursday 23 March 2017 by Gareth Prior

The latest edition of Picture in Time is once again in Blackpool and we stop in 1981 for an image of Blackpool Boat 606 – a tram which now resides in the United States of America.

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