Going for a ride…

Posted on Thursday 4 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

Once again we look ahead to when and where you can enjoy a ride on a traditional tram in the British Isles with our regular round-up. The next week will see the Seaton Tramway enjoy their annual Classic Car Show on Sunday 7th June where a regular tram service will also run alongside the chance to have the Driver’s Eye Experience taster session whilst up at the Crich Tramway Village cars are the order of the day as well with a two day event on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th June entitled Car Rally – Domestic and Fun. And looking slightly further ahead the following weekend will see the return to service on London County Council 106 at Crich during the Classic London event, but more on that soon. In the meantime if you want to find out when and where you can go for a ride read on…

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Another Urbos 3 enters service on Midland Metro

Posted on Wednesday 3 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

After a break of several weeks of new trams entering service Wednesday 3rd June saw the latest Urbos 3 enter service on Midland Metro with 30 operating its first passenger carrying duties. 30 had been undergoing extensive testing and commissioning over the past few weeks and with this now completed the tram was accepted by Midland Metro for use on the line between Birmingham Snow Hill and Wolverhampton St George’s.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

Plans for Blackpool Jubilee 761 future continue

Posted on Wednesday 3 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

It has now been confirmed that Blackpool Transport and Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust have reached agreement over returning Blackpool Jubilee car 761 to service although the return of this historic tram will not now be until 2017.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | 13 Comments

Picture in Time: Blackpool Marton VAMBAC 11

Posted on Tuesday 2 June 2015 by Gareth Prior

It is the turn of Blackpool Marton VAMBAC 11 to feature in our archive photo series “Picture in Time” today with a couple of images showing the tram at Hayling Island and at Beamish 43 years apart.

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Posted in East Anglia Transport Museum, Picture in Time | 6 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 31 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

We have more photos for you this week on British Trams Online with images from the Isle of Man, Volks Electric Railway and Blackpool all featuring:

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Douglas Bay Horse Tramway, Manx Electric Railway, Site News, Snaefell Mountain Railway, Volk's Electric Railway | Comments Off on This week on British Trams Online

Picture in Time: Manchester Metrolink 1005

Posted on Sunday 31 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

Today “Picture in Time” is back in Manchester and the featured subject is T68 1005 which was caught on camera ahead of opening in February 1992.

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In Pictures: London Tramlink 2553 returns to service

Posted on Saturday 30 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

In August 2014 London Tramlink CR4000 2553 was involved in a collision with a truck causing significant damage and the tram had not run in service since whilst repairs were undertaken. These repairs have now been completed and 2553 returned to service in late May. As well as being rebuilt the tram has also undergone a refresh with the interior now looking more like one of the Stadler Variotrams. Photos of the newly refreshed 2553 are shown below taken by Ian Buck.

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Edinburgh Trams first anniversary: passenger numbers higher than expected

Posted on Saturday 30 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

As the Edinburgh Trams line between the Airport and York Place in the city centre prepares to celebrate its first anniversary (the first passenger services ran on Saturday 31st May 2014) it has been revealed that more passengers than expected have been carried on the service. Approximately 4.92 million passengers have been carried during the first year which is 370,000 ahead of the pre-launch target.

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Posted in Edinburgh Trams | 3 Comments

New platform set to open at Deansgate-Castlefield

Posted on Saturday 30 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

The transformation of Manchester Metrolink’s Deansgate-Castlefield stop is now starting to reach a conclusion with the new outbound platform due to be opened from Tuesday 2nd June. Trams for Altrincham, East Didsbury, MediaCityUK and Eccles will use this new platform again instead of the central island platform with inbound trams continuing to use the island platform facing Manchester Central.

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In Pictures: Stagecoach Supertram rail replacement works go on…

Posted on Saturday 30 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

The ongoing rail replacement works on Stagecoach Supertram are continuing in the city centre with recent progress being on the top of Commercial Street and Lower High Street. Only one line was dealt with at a time so as to allow some access to the depot although trams were kept in the open overnight with some swaps taking place as necessary. Nine trams were kept on the Cathedral side of the trackworks with eight needed for service on a daily basic reducing to five on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

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In Pictures: Croydon Town Centre trackworks again

Posted on Saturday 30 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

The Croydon Town Centre loop was closed once again between Saturday 23rd and Tuesday 26th May to allow further track replacement to take place with work at West Croydon and on the curve from Station Road to Wellesley Road. Photos showing the work underway are provided by Ian Buck.

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Edinburgh Trams bike trial to be extended

Posted on Saturday 30 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

The trial of carrying bikes on Edinburgh Trams is to be extended for a further month following a successful trial during May. On average 10 bikes a day have been carried on the trams with a third of all journeys starting at York Place. The extended trial period will take place until the end of June and bikes can continue to be carried between 0500 and 0730, 0930 and 1600 and 1830 to 2300 Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday except for the period between 18 and 23 June due to other events in the area.

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Picture in Time: Blackpool Boat 604

Posted on Friday 29 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

It’s off to Blackpool again for the latest instalment in our “Picture in Time” series. This time we go back to 16th August 1981 and catch up with a member of the popular Boat cars – 604.

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In Pictures: Blackpool’s ‘B Fleet’ shunting

Posted on Thursday 28 May 2015 by Andrew Waddington

On Friday 22nd May, all four operational members of the Blackpool ‘B Fleet’ emerged from the confines of Rigby Road depot during a shunting operation. The trams are thought to have been arranged in an order of preference of use, with 711 now positioned at the front, followed by 719, 700 and finally 713 which will only be used as a last resort due to its expired advert livery. Here we take a look at the shunting in progress thanks to Chris Callan who was fortuitously passing at the time.

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Going for a ride…

Posted on Thursday 28 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

You know the drill by now, Thursday evening = our regular look at just when and where you can enjoy a ride on a heritage tram in the British Isles. Highlights of the next seven days include the end of “Beside the Seaside” at Crich and the most intensive service of the year on the Manx Electric Railway from Monday 1st June. Plus don’t forget just because there aren’t special events at other tramways across the country doesn’t mean there isn’t a good reason to visit them!

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Blackpool strike gold again over Spring Bank Holiday weekend

Posted on Wednesday 27 May 2015 by Andrew Waddington

The Spring Bank Holiday weekend on May 23rd – 25th was another highly successful weekend for the Blackpool tramway with a frequent and well patronised Flexity service complemented by an enhanced heritage service over all three days. A total of eleven different traditional trams ran over the long weekend, with six or seven different cars out on each day, and what follows is a brief summary of what happened!

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

Twin Twins for 2015 illuminations season

Posted on Wednesday 27 May 2015 by Andrew Waddington

It has been announced that yet another member of Blackpool’s heritage tram fleet is to be returned to service this year, with Twin set 675+685 the latest to benefit from workshop attention. The duo have already been split up and are set to be repainted before returning to use for the 2015 illuminations season.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 23 Comments

Picture in Time: Leeds 600

Posted on Tuesday 26 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

It is time for another tram of the national collection to feature in “Picture in Time” today; this time the tram in question is Leeds 600. This tram is now be stored out of public view at the Clay Cross store of the Tramway Museum Society and has some of the lowest recorded mileage of any of the trams in the national collection.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum, Picture in Time | 5 Comments

Balloon 715 promotes Tram Sunday

Posted on Sunday 24 May 2015 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool Balloon 715‘s recently applied 1990s green and cream livery has recently been enlivened by the addition of between-deck advert banners for the annual Fleetwood Festival of Transport, more commonly known as Tram Sunday. This is the most prominent advertising to be applied to a member of the Blackpool heritage fleet to date and also revives a tradition of similar adverts worn by the Balloon cars for many years.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 22 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 24 May 2015 by Gareth Prior

We have more photos for you this week in our main site update, including additions to an existing gallery and a brand new collection:

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway, Docklands Light Railway, National Tramway Museum, Nottingham Express Transit, Site News | Comments Off on This week on British Trams Online