In Pictures: Newcastle 114 arrives at Crich

Posted on Thursday 11 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

As we continue the build-up to the highly anticipated Electric 50 event at the Crich Tramway Village on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September we bring you some further shots of the arrival of Newcastle 114 at its holiday resort on Monday 8th September courtesy of Hazel and Geoff Quarmby. Sometimes you don’t really need words to describe the story and this is one such case so just take a look and enjoy the photos!

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 1 Comment

In Pictures: London Tramlink 2531 in new all over advert

Posted on Thursday 11 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

As we reported last weekend London Tramlink CR4000 2531 has received a new all over advert for McMillan Williams Solicitors and we are now able to bring you some photos of the new look tram. Photos courtesy of Ian Buck and Irvine Cresswell.

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Posted in London Trams | 4 Comments

Heritage Trams this week

Posted on Thursday 11 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

So what do our heritage tramways have for you over the next week? Well there is the small matter of the highly anticipated Electric 50 event at the Crich Tramway Village on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September where up to 25 trams will be in service (up to 15 at a time) including Newcastle 114, Blackpool & Fleetwood 40, Blackpool 711, Blackpool 167 and the launch into service of Blackpool 762. And if that wasn’t enough for you the three visiting trams will also be in service on Friday 12th September for Electric Friday. Sunday 14th September will also see the last operation of the Douglas Horse Tramway for 2014 with the next normal horse tram service not expected to run until 2016.

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In Pictures: Midland Metro Urbos 3 update

Posted on Thursday 11 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

Midland Metro’s new Urbos 3 trams continue to be in passenger service every day but since the first day there haven’t often been four in action at any one time with normally just two running with occasionally a third joining in. Of course from Saturday 6th September the Midland Metro line is only running between Birmingham Snow Hill and Priestfield due to rail replacement works which has reduced the number of trams needed on a daily basis but the introduction of the CAF built trams hasn’t quite gone according to plan anyway.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 9 Comments

Bus and tram collide in Sheffield

Posted on Thursday 11 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

A bus and a tram were involved in a collision on Monday 8th September which caused the driver of the bus to be taken to hospital suffering from minor injuries having been cut free from the bus. The incident happened at approximately 1720 and was at the Castle Square crossing with tram 108 involved along with a First double deck bus. The tram was on a Yellow route service running to Meadowhall when the collision happened. Tram services suffered delays through the city centre whilst the rescue operation took place.

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Final preparations for ‘Electric 50’ at Crich

Posted on Thursday 11 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

With just a few days to go before the biggest heritage tram event of 2014 – ‘Electric 50’ at the Crich Tramway Village, for anyone who’s been living in a cave for the last few months – anticipation for this spectacular weekend event has now reached fever pitch. At Crich, preparations for the event are now pretty much completed with trams being readied for service and souvenir items arriving to be sold to eager visitors keen to purchase a memento of the occasion.

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An eventful weekend for the museum tramways

Posted on Wednesday 10 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

The weekend of 6th & 7th September was a busy one for two of the UK’s heritage tramways, with major transport events taking place at both the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville near Lowestoft, and Manchester’s Heaton Park Tramway. Both locations operated three trams in service despite the trams themselves not being the sole focus of either event.

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Posted in East Anglia Transport Museum, Heaton Park Tramway | 1 Comment

Open cars rule in Blackpool!

Posted on Tuesday 9 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Saturday 6th September was an eventful day for Blackpool’s heritage trams, five of which were used over the course of the day, including two on private hires, plus the first appearance of a Boat car on an illuminations tour this year. This provided a rare chance to see two open trams out and about in the hours of darkness on what was a very mild and therefore very busy Saturday evening.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 5 Comments

An extra chance to ride on Newcastle 114 at Crich

Posted on Tuesday 9 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Crich Tramway Village have announced that Newcastle 114 – which arrived on a short-term loan from Beamish Museum yesterday – will be used in passenger service on Friday 12th September, ahead of the weekend’s ‘Electric 50’ event. It is expected that 114 will be joined in service on this day by Blackpool & Fleetwood Box 40 and Blackpool Balloon 711, meaning that the service will be operated by all three visiting tramcars.

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Tram to return to Leeds City Centre!

Posted on Monday 8 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

For the first since 1959 a tram is going to visit Leeds City Centre, as part of the Light Night Leeds event on Friday 3rd October. The tram which will be making the trip to Leeds will be Manchester 173, the second time this tram will have crossed the border into Yorkshire within a few months, and is another cooperative project between the Leeds Transport Historical Society and the owners of the tram the Manchester Transport Museum Society.

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Posted in Heaton Park Tramway, Leeds Transport Historical Society | 2 Comments

Newcastle 114 arrives at Crich

Posted on Monday 8 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

The gorgeous Newcastle 114 arrived at Crich Tramway Village on the sunny afternoon of Monday 8th September aboard a low loader supplied by Scott’s Heavy Haulage, and was unloaded in the period street at the museum. This tram is, of course, visiting from Beamish Museum to help celebrate fifty years of electric tram operation at Crich, and is expected to be one of the star attractions at the highly anticipated ‘Electric 50’ event taking place on 13th and 14th September.

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Posted in Beamish Tramway, National Tramway Museum | 5 Comments

Metrolink T68 1013 departs for scrapping

Posted on Monday 8 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

Unlucky for some 1013 has become the thirteenth of the combined T68/T68A fleet to depart Manchester for scrapping in South Yorkshire with the very familiar sight of an Allely’s low loader taking the LRV to meet its end in the first week of September. 1013 had been prepared in the workshops at Trafford Depot for its final one-way journey with all reusable major parts removed before it headed to Booths in Rotherham for its final fate.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 1 Comment

1.5 million passengers carried on Edinburgh Trams in first 100 days

Posted on Monday 8 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

Newly released figures have revealed that 1.5 million passengers have been carried on board Edinburgh Trams since the line was launched to the public on 31st May. These figures, and the related revenue levels, are in line with predictions and the business model which was developed before services began and are based on the first 100 days of operated between 31st May and 7th September.

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Posted in Edinburgh Trams | 4 Comments

The end of an era for Douglas horse trams

Posted on Monday 8 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

When the Douglas horse tramway on the Isle of Man operates for the last time in 2014 on Sunday 14th September, this will be more than just the end of another year for the oldest surviving street tramway in the British Isles. Due to a planned remodelling of the Douglas promenade, the tramway is expected to remain closed throughout 2015, and will be very different when it eventually does re-open.

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Posted in Douglas Bay Horse Tramway | 3 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 7 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

This week on our main site update we bring you three more Photo Galleries and we also have a few updates to the Fleet Lists section:

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End of the line for Southampton 45?

Posted on Sunday 7 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Ahead of the hugely anticipated ‘Electric 50’ event at the Crich Tramway Village, comes some less welcome news from the home of the National Tramway Museum, with the announcement that Southampton 45 is due to be withdrawn from service immediately after the event. This is not a total shock as the tram had been sidelined during 2013, only to return to use for the 50th anniversary of electric tram operation at the museum earlier this year.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 3 Comments

Enter the Urbos 3s

Posted on Friday 5 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

As expected Friday 5th September saw the introduction into passenger service of four of the CAF built Urbos 3 trams on Midland Metro with an official launch ceremony taking place at Birmingham Snow Hill attended by Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council and Cllr Darren Campbell, Leader of Sandwell Council. The tram used at the launch ceremony was 20 and the first day also saw 18, 21 and 23 in service.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

New all over advert for Tramlink CR4000 2531

Posted on Friday 5 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

McMillan Williams Solicitors now have two all over adverts on trams on London Tramlink with the release into service of 2531 in a new style advert. Whereas the livery on 2534 is red and white this latest version uses black as the base colour with white doors and signwriting, the ends have also been finished in white. 2531 entered service at the end of August in this guise and this now means that three trams are in advert liveries (the two McMillan Williams’ CR4000s and Variotram 2554 with its Love Croydon livery).

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In Pictures: Supertram hole continues to cause problems

Posted on Friday 5 September 2014 by Gareth Prior

Stagecoach Supertram services remain disrupted by the hole at Park Square Junction which continues to see Blue and Purple route trams forced to terminate at Sheffield Station, with no end in sight either as a new replacement bus service is due to be introduced from Monday 8th September.

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Finishing touches for Balloon 701

Posted on Friday 5 September 2014 by Andrew Waddington

The second stage of Blackpool Balloon car 701‘s repaint back into its fondly remembered red and white ‘Routemaster’ style livery is now almost complete. Following its debut in an incomplete version of the paint scheme it previously carried in the early 1990s over the August Bank Holiday weekend, 701 was hastily returned to the Rigby Road Paint Shop for some further enhancements to an already stunning repaint.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 11 Comments