Snaefell Mountain Railway no. 3 destroyed after runaway

Posted on Wednesday 30 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

In one of the most serious incidents on any tramway in the British Isles in recent years Snaefell Mountain Railway no. 3 has been destroyed after running away from the Summit and derailing at Bungalow. Fortunately no staff or passengers were on board the tram as it ran away.

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Posted in Snaefell Mountain Railway | 16 Comments

Picture in Time: Blackpool Brush 622

Posted on Wednesday 30 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

The Picture in Time machine ends up in Blackpool again for our latest image with the year being 1974 and the tram Brush Railcoach 622.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Picture in Time | 6 Comments

Marton 31 debuts on Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours **updated with photos**

Posted on Tuesday 29 March 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Three of the established and popular ‘Gold’ running days on the Blackpool tramway were operated by the heritage tram fleet over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. Twelve different trams were used on this service with seven cars rostered to operate on each day; however, the undisputed star of the show was Marton Box 31 which debuted on Easter Sunday and proved to be an instant hit despite some pretty appalling weather conditions!

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 4 Comments

Preston Tram planning application resubmitted

Posted on Tuesday 29 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

Plans for the return of trams to Preston are once again on the table following the recent resubmission of a planning application for the start of the GUILD line with the hope that a final decision will be made at the start of June. As you may recall the plans for the line were rejected by councillors at the end of 2014 with concerns expressed over the effect it would have on the local road network and since then the Preston Trampower team – the developers behind the scheme – have been refining the plans.

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Posted in Preston Trampower | 26 Comments

New fares on the way for Edinburgh Trams

Posted on Tuesday 29 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

Sunday 10th April will see the introduction of new fares for Edinburgh Trams with increase in the cost as well as a new City Zone return ticket. These fare increases are said to be necessary to allow for service improvements with a new timetable due to start before the end of 2016.

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Posted in Edinburgh Trams | 2 Comments

Video in Time: Crich in the 1960s Part 2

Posted on Monday 28 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

Last week we brought you an extra treat in the form of the very first Video in Time and now after requests for more (well one request but that’s good enough for us!) we bring you a second part of recovered cine film from Crich in the 1960s as a special bonus Easter treat, again provided by Martin Miller.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum, Picture in Time | 2 Comments

Bang, bang! Car v tram in both Manchester and Wolverhampton

Posted on Monday 28 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

Easter Sunday went with a bang on both Manchester Metrolink and Midland Metro with two tram versus car incidents although thankfully in both cases no serious injuries were reported.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink, West Midlands Metro | 2 Comments

An Easter resurrection **updated**

Posted on Monday 28 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

The Easter 1940s event at the Crich Tramway Village is traditionally one of the more popular special events at the museum and also provides the first chance for an intensive tram service to run for the year and the 2016 event has been no different. However the biggest talking point of the event for enthusiasts was not the re-enactors or visiting WW2 era vehicles but the resurrection of a tram which was not expected to be prepared for service in 2016 – London Transport 1622.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 3 Comments

This week on British Trams Online – & an appeal

Posted on Sunday 27 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

There isn’t a huge amount added to the website this week but we have been continuing our spring cleaning on the Fleet Lists section and there is also the addition of a Picture of the Week photos archive:

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Posted in Site News | 7 Comments

Picture in Time: Croydon Tramlink 2545

Posted on Sunday 27 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

Back to a still image for today’s Picture in Time as we head to Croydon for a view of one of the original trams during the testing and commissioning process in 1999.

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A very good Friday for Blackpool!

Posted on Sunday 27 March 2016 by Andrew Waddington

The Easter weekend got off to a fantastic start in Blackpool on Good Friday, 25th March with a ‘bonus’ heritage tram service operating. Although unfortunately it was decided not to run a gold timetable on this Bank Holiday, a few very special attractions combined with glorious spring weather ensured that this was a very enjoyable day for those who descended on the seaside town early for the weekend’s events.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

In Pictures: New Birmingham Snow Hill stop opens

Posted on Saturday 26 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

Good Friday, 25th March, saw the temporary opening of a new stop on Midland Metro with the newly located Birmingham Snow Hill stop welcoming its first passengers. With further preparation works for the opening of the extension through to New Street Station taking place over the Easter weekend the current terminus at Bull Street was closed and rather than use St Paul’s as a terminus again the decision was taken to use Snow Hill – or at least half of it anyway.

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Stadler 2563 enters service **Updated with photo**

Posted on Saturday 26 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

The last of the second batch of London Tramlink’s Stadler Variobahns – 2563 – has now entered service. The tram, which was delivered to Croydon on 6th December 2015, was used in revenue earning service for the first time on Friday 24th March having successfully completed the testing and commissioning process. Of the Stadler built trams only 2556 remains out of service following its January return from Germany where it had been receiving repairs. With the entry into service of 2563 the introduction of the full line 4 service between Elmers End and Wimbledon is expected not to be too far off.

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Posted in London Trams | 2 Comments

Norbreck North opens for business!

Posted on Friday 25 March 2016 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool’s newest tram stop opened to passengers on Tuesday 22nd March – Norbreck North. This was one of the many stops from the old system which were not retained when the tramway was upgraded to light rail standards, however a succesful campaign by local residents who felt that the distance between stops at Little Bispham and Norbreck was unreasonably large led to the stop being reinstated.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 6 Comments

Blackpool Council progress plans for North Station extension

Posted on Friday 25 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

Whilst a lot of excitement when it comes to the Blackpool Tramway tends to be concentrated on the heritage operations behind the scenes progress has been continuing on the proposed extension of the tramway up Talbot Road to Blackpool North railway station. This week Blackpool Council have revealed plans for the purchase of the Wilkinson’s building which would be demolished to make way for a proposed tramway terminal.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 20 Comments

Southport Pier tram removed

Posted on Friday 25 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

The chances of the Southport Pier Tramway being resurrected in the future now seems to be over with the articulated tram – introduced onto the line in 2005 – having this week being removed from the Pier with the Council planning to sell the vehicle as the operation of the tramway is not considered viable.

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Posted in General | 3 Comments

Blackpool gets ready for Easter

Posted on Friday 25 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

This Easter weekend sees the return of the Gold timetable for Blackpool’s Heritage Tram Tours between Saturday 26th and Monday 28th March and there is also a bonus heritage service on Friday 25th March – including evening runs to Fleetwood.

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First volume of new Regional Tramways book series released

Posted on Friday 25 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

The first volume of a new book series that will cover the history of tramway operations in the British Isles has just been released. This first book concentrates on Yorkshire and North East England and is written by established author Peter Waller with the publishers being Pen & Sword Books.

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Posted in General | 1 Comment

Metrolink 2CC continues to progress

Posted on Friday 25 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

Work on bringing the vital Second City Crossing (2CC) on Manchester Metrolink to life is continuing ahead of its opening in 2017 with tram tracks now in place along Cross Street between King Street and the junction with Princess Street and John Dalton Street allowing the road to reopen to traffic.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 1 Comment

Metrolink delays after train derailment

Posted on Friday 25 March 2016 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink services to Bury were suspended for a day after the derailment of a Network Rail weed killing train on the connection between the Metrolink network and the East Lancashire Railway. The derailment happened at approximately 1030 on Tuesday 22nd March and caused the cancellation of all services between Whitefield and Bury for the remainder of the day.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 1 Comment