All trams stop at Starr Gate on 21st June!

Posted on Saturday 20 June 2015 by Andrew Waddington

Somewhat later than expected, Blackpool Transport have announced details of plans for their gold heritage tram running day tomorrow (Sunday 21st June). Unfortunately no detailed timetable has been released this time, but details are now available regarding the planned tram output and frequency of the service which will include a number of full length journeys from Starr Gate to Fleetwood!

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Friday 19 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

We have one more Photo Gallery for you this week as we show images from the Classic London event at Crich:

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Posted in National Tramway Museum, Site News | 1 Comment

Picture in Time: New South Promenade, Blackpool

Posted on Friday 19 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

It’s a bit of a different “Picture in Time” for you today as we feature a stretch of track rather than a specific tram and bring you photos of five very different trams in action during the second half of the previous decade.

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Edinburgh look at options for extensions

Posted on Friday 19 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

The City of Edinburgh Council are seriously considering extending the current Edinburgh Trams system which could see it running all the way through to Newhaven – as was originally planned when the larger tram network was envisaged. A £400,000 business case is currently being developed for the extension plans and councillors are due to be updated on the progress of this later in June.

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Posted in Edinburgh Trams | 4 Comments

Safety campaign launched in Sheffield

Posted on Friday 19 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

Its not a new problem but Stagecoach Supertram, the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and South Yorkshire Supertram have teamed up to launch a safety campaign urging locals not to take part in tram surfing across the Supertram network. There have been a number of high profile incidents in the area recently with witnesses having seen youths clinging to the ends of trams whilst they are in motion and before someone is seriously injured the new campaign has been started.

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Car and tram collide in Audenshaw

Posted on Friday 19 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink services to Ashton-under-Lyne were suspended for an hour during the height of the morning rush hour on Monday 15th June following a collision between a car and a tram. The incident happened at approximately 0800 on Droylsden Road, Audenshaw and the Police and paramedics were called to the scene although it is not known if there were any injuries. During the rescue operation no trams ran between Droylsden and Ashton-under-Lyne with passengers advised to travel on local buses to complete their journeys. Normal services resumed from 0900.

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Going for a ride…

Posted on Thursday 18 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

So what is there on offer for you in the world of heritage tram running in the British Isles over the next week or so? Well the highlight looks set to be another intensive weekend of Heritage Tram Tours in Blackpool with the Green timetable (four trams mainly between Pleasure Beach and Little Bispham with one journey to Fleetwood) running on Saturday 20th June and the Gold timetable (six trams in use with some trips to Starr Gate including some full length Starr Gate-Fleetwood journeys) in operation on Sunday 21st June. Elsewhere it is pretty much business as usual although don’t forget just because there isn’t a special event going it doesn’t mean there isn’t a good reason to go for a ride at any tramway in the British Isles!

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A sign of development at Crich

Posted on Thursday 18 June 2015 by Andrew Waddington

As promised some months ago, information on the tramcar collection at Crich Tramway Village is being made more readily available to visitors, with the addition of interpretive signs to the trams housed in the depots. Although there have been detailed labels on most of the trams inside the Exhibition Hall for a few years this is thought to be the first time that a serious effort has been made to label all of the trams on site in this manner.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 3 Comments

Liverpool 869 comes back to life

Posted on Wednesday 17 June 2015 by Andrew Waddington

Whilst most visitors to the Crich Tramway Village were enjoying the London-themed activities taking place on Sunday 14th June, another exciting development was taking place in the depot yard. There, Liverpool 869 was making its first tentative moves under its own power following an overhaul which commenced last year, ahead of its expected return to service later this year for the first time since 2010.

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Urbos 3 33 enters service on Midland Metro

Posted on Wednesday 17 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

The Midland Metro operational fleet is now up to 15 Urbos 3s following the entry into service of 33 on Wednesday 17th June. The tram had been undergoing commissioning, testing and mileage accumulation over the past few months and it has now been passed for service with 2411km already on the clock (each tram has to run 1800km before it can be considered for service).

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 4 Comments

Double slip diamond point – can you help?

Posted on Wednesday 17 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

During a recent visit to the AMITRAM museum line near Lille in France British Trams Online regular contributor Tony Sullivan viewed a double slip diamond point (photo provided below). Seeing this got Tony wondering whether any such point was ever used on UK lines and whether any readers of British Trams Online knew the answer? So it is over to anyone out there who can answer his question – please leave a comment in the comments section below if you can help.

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Picture in Time: London County Council 106

Posted on Tuesday 16 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

With London County Council 106 having just returned to service soon at the Crich Tramway Village what better tram to feature as part of our “Picture in Time” series? We catch up with 106 at Crich back in 1989 in today’s picture.

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Final push for Dudley & Stourbridge 5 overhaul

Posted on Tuesday 16 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

The Black Country Living Museum are making a final call to raise funds to complete the overhaul of Dudley & Stourbridge 5 with just £4,000 needed to finish the work. The Tividale tram has been receiving an extensive overhaul at the Llangollen Railway since February 2012 and finally the finishing line is in sight.

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An enhanced Saturday service for NET

Posted on Tuesday 16 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

Once again services on Nottingham Express Transit are to be enhanced, ahead of the opening of the Phase Two extensions this summer, with the Saturday timetable the latest to be looked at. Over the past few months weekday services have seen improved frequencies introduced and these are now to be extended to Saturdays from 27th June (although with slightly reduced hours of operation).

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This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 14 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

Just the one Photo Gallery for you this week as our main site update is uploaded for your viewing pleasure:

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink, Site News | 4 Comments

A soggy return for LCC 106

Posted on Sunday 14 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

There seems to be a unwritten rule that when you launch an open top tram the weather should be as wet as possible and once again that rule was adhered to on Saturday 13th June when London County Council 106 was relaunched into service. The relaunch was the highlight of the Classic London event at the Crich Tramway Village which also saw an intensive tram service in operation along with various visiting vehicles with a London theme including a trolleybus from the Trolleybus Museum in Sandtoft.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 3 Comments

Century up! Manchester Metrolink welcomes M5000 3100

Posted on Sunday 14 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

Manchester Metrolink now have 100 M5000s on the books following the arrival of 3100 at Queens Road Depot on Saturday 14th June. The delivery of this trams comes just short of six years since the very first M5000 was delivered when 3001 arrived on 13th July 2009 and marks a significant milestone in the expansion of the Metrolink network with only another 20 trams now due to be delivered.

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Picture in Time: Croydon Tramlink 2530

Posted on Sunday 14 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

With the Classic London event taking place this week at the Crich Tramway Village it seems rather apt that for the first time “Picture in Time” heads to London as we take a look at the then Croydon Tramlink system ahead of opening with a view of the first numbered tram – 2530.

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More plans revealed for the ‘Merseyside four’

Posted on Saturday 13 June 2015 by Andrew Waddington

Just a few days after four Blackpool trams previously owned by Merseytravel were transported by road from Knowsley to Fleetwood fish docks for storage after being sold to a new owner, details have been released regarding the future plans for these trams. Unfortunately, despite the considerable cost of moving the quartet it seems that only one of them can be truly considered ‘preserved’, this being Brush Railcoach 625.

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Posted in Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | 4 Comments

Heaton Park Tramway to remain closed this weekend

Posted on Friday 12 June 2015 by Andrew Waddington

The Manchester Transport Museum Society have released a short statement confirming that no tram service will operate this weekend (13th & 14th June) on the Heaton Park Tramway. It is hoped that normal service will resume the following weekend, on Saturday 21st June and updates will be provided on the tramway’s frequently updated Facebook page.

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Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 5 Comments