Crich awarded £100,000 for depot improvements

Posted on Tuesday 17 January 2017 by Andrew Waddington

It is pleasing to announce that the Tramway Museum Society have been awarded grant funding of £100,000 towards the cost of improving the main depots at Crich Tramway Village. This will help to provide a much improved environment for the priceless collection of trams to be stored inside, as well as offering better viewing for visitors of those vehicles not in operation at any one time.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 1 Comment

Picture in Time: Sheffield 513

Posted on Tuesday 17 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

We are off to the north east for the next edition of Picture in Time with a visit to Beamish and a view of a tram which, although owned by the museum, hasn’t been seen running in those parts for a number of years – Sheffield 513.

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Posted in Beamish Tramway, Picture in Time | 3 Comments

In Pictures: Edinburgh Trams 251 #Tramspotting livery

Posted on Monday 16 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

As we reported at the weekend the arrival of vinyl wraps in Edinburgh is continuing with a new livery being revealed in connection with Edinburgh Trams’ #Tramspotting campaign (inspired by the forthcoming release of the new film T2 Trainspotting which features the trams in several scenes). However unlike our presumptions that these would be carried by 261 to replace the vinyls for Hogmanay it is in fact 251 which is the #Tramspotting tram.

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 15 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

We bring you the first new photos of the year (although they come from 2016) this week with a new Gallery now uploaded:

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Posted in Beamish Tramway, Site News | 2 Comments

Douglas Bay Horse Tramway dominate Tram of the Year

Posted on Sunday 15 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

At the start of a week when the future of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway is set to be decided at Tynwald there is at least some reason to celebrate with the tramway winning two categories in the British Trams Online Tram of the Year 2016 contest. The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway received the most votes in both Tramway of the Year and also in Event of the Year (for the 140th Anniversary celebrations in August). Meanwhile Blackpool Marton 31 was voted in as Tram (traditional) of the Year with Manchester Metrolink 3120 completing a hattrick of wins in the Tram (modern of the Year).

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Posted in Tram of the Year | 1 Comment

Picture in Time: Stagecoach Supertram in the snow

Posted on Saturday 14 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

We have some wintry images for you in this edition of Picture in Time as we head to South Yorkshire and take a look at the Stagecoach Supertram system after the snow had fallen on 1st December 2010.

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Posted in Picture in Time, South Yorkshire Supertram | 1 Comment

Berlin 223 006-4 on its travels

Posted on Saturday 14 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

In November one of the most vital members of the operational fleet at the Crich Tramway Village went on a road trip with Berlin 223 006-4 travelling to Manchester Metrolink’s Queens Road Depot for some attention.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 7 Comments

New vinyl wrap livery set to debut in Edinburgh

Posted on Saturday 14 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

This weekend looks set to see Edinburgh Trams welcome a newly wrapped tram into service. It is presumed that this will again be 261 with revised vinyls applied following the removal of the adverts for the free service on Hogmanay although currently no further details have been revealed of which tram is involved. What is known is that the vinyls will advertise Edinburgh Trams’ new #Tramspotting campaign encouraging people to “Chose the Tram” for travel into the city.

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DLR Custom House station to close for Crossrail work

Posted on Saturday 14 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

No Docklands Light Railway services will stop at Custom House from Friday 3rd February until December to allow for major construction works in connection with Crossrail to take place. Normal DLR services will run through the station but passengers will be unable to board or alight.

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Work starts on Trafford Park Metrolink extension

Posted on Saturday 14 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

Work has commenced on the latest Manchester Metrolink extension with the “first spades” into the ground this week as utility diversion and enabling works get underway. The 3.4 mile line will leave the current Metrolink network just after Pomona travelling to the Trafford Centre with services expected to start by 2020.

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RAIB launch investigation into fatal Supertram accident

Posted on Saturday 14 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

The RAIB have started an investigation into an accident on 22nd December 2016 at Woodbourn Road on the Stagecoach Supertram Meadowhall line which saw an elderly pedestrian hit by a tram as he crossed the tracks. The 81 year old was taken to hospital but sadly died from his injuries the following day. The man was crossing the tracks on the designated crossing to the north of the platforms but as no-one had requested to either board or alight the tram it was not stopping and was travelling at approximately 13mph as it headed towards Meadowhall. The investigation will seek to identify the sequence of events and consider any factors which may have influenced the actions of the tram driver and pedestrian.

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TLC for Boat 227

Posted on Friday 13 January 2017 by Andrew Waddington

Winter has always been a busy time for Blackpool’s Rigby Road workshops and, although the workforce has been reduced since the tramway upgrade, this is still true to this day. As well as routine work on the operational heritage trams, the main focus of the workmen so far this winter has been Open Boat 227 which is currently receiving some well-deserved conservation work.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

First ever fare increase for Blackpool’s heritage tours

Posted on Friday 13 January 2017 by Andrew Waddington

It may seem hard to believe, but Blackpool’s Heritage Tram Tours will soon be five years old! The price of a day ticket has remained the same since the service began at Easter 2012, but is set to rise by £1 for the start of the 2017 season.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 14 Comments

Is a Liverpool tram reunion on the cards?

Posted on Friday 13 January 2017 by Andrew Waddington

We’ve already announced that the Birkenhead heritage tramway will be playing host to a special event on Saturday 16th September, marking 60 years since the closure of the Liverpool tram system. So far details on what will actually happen on that day have been fairly vague, but more is gradually being released into the public domain including one potentially juicy nugget of information!

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Posted in Birkenhead Heritage Tramway | 12 Comments

In Pictures: Glasgow 1016 on the move

Posted on Thursday 12 January 2017 by Andrew Waddington

In December 2016, we reported on the exciting news that the remains of Glasgow 1016 – also known as Paisley 16 in its past life – had been moved to Blackpool, having joined the collection of the Blackpool Heritage Trust. We are now delighted to be able to bring you some pictures showing the tram leaving its previous home at Bridgeton Garage, where it was part of the fleet of vehicles in the care of the Glasgow Bus Museum.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 14 Comments

Picture in Time: Rigby Road Depot

Posted on Thursday 12 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

We have a fascinating image from October 1962 for today’s Picture in Time as we take a look at Rigby Road Depot with many long gone trams visible.

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Picture in Time: Volks Electric Railway

Posted on Tuesday 10 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

A line we rarely feature on these pages is the subject of Picture in Time today as we head to the south coast and Brighton’s Volks Electric Railway.

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Posted in Picture in Time, Volk's Electric Railway | 3 Comments

In Pictures: FTS Christmas Tour 2016

Posted on Sunday 8 January 2017 by Andrew Waddington

The Fylde Tramway Society usually hold an annual Christmas tour of the Blackpool tramway, and 2016 was no exception. The latest event was held on 30th December and featured B Fleet Balloon car 713 – a rare appearance for this tram which had previously been used just once in 2016 – and this was joined by a bonus surprise in the form of Boat 600!

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 2 Comments

Picture in Time: Croydon Tramlink 2530

Posted on Saturday 7 January 2017 by Gareth Prior

Today our archive photo series is head to Greater London for a view from the (as was then) Croydon Tramlink network. The tram we are looking at in this edition is the first built of the Bombardier CR4000s – 2530.

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Blackpool on ‘Great British Railway Journeys’

Posted on Friday 6 January 2017 by Andrew Waddington

The upcoming episode of the popular BBC2 television series ‘Great British Railway Journeys’, hosted by Michael Portillo, to be shown on Monday 9th January at 6:30pm, will see the presenter travel between Blackpool and Manchester. This programme is expected to feature scenes that were filmed in spring 2016, showing Portillo travelling aboard Blackpool & Fleetwood Box car 40 of 1914.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 4 Comments