Crich operating fleet for 2014 revealed

Posted on Monday 21 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

2014 is shaping up to be a bumper year for Crich Tramway Village, as the site prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of electric tramcar operation there. As well as having several new attractions and amenities for visitors to enjoy, the number of trams that are available for service is set to increase considerably in the build up to the main celebratory event in September. Now, British Trams Online is delighted to bring you a complete list of the trams which have been commissioned for use so far this year, as well as those trams which are currently undergoing varying levels of workshop attention before taking their place in the operational fleet for 2014.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 20 Comments

Triumphant return for Blackpool’s heritage trams

Posted on Monday 21 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Another exciting year for Blackpool Transport’s fleet of historic trams got properly underway over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, with the welcome return of the increasingly popular heritage tram service. For three days, nine of the traditional fleet returned to the rails and, no doubt boosted by some fantastic weather, their reappearance was greeted by a large number of their fans, resulting in some very impressive loadings.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 5 Comments

Warning! Balloon 711 on test at Crich!

Posted on Sunday 20 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Whilst many tram enthusiasts were celebrating the 80th anniversary of the famous Balloon trams in Blackpool over the Easter weekend, one of the class was making history elsewhere. Modified car 711, which is on loan to the National Tramway Museum for the 2014 season, has been making its first moves around the museum under its own power since being delivered on Wednesday 9th April.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 2 Comments

Balloon car named ‘Walter Luff’

Posted on Saturday 19 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

As part of the celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of Blackpool’s iconic English Electric streamlined trams, a short ceremony was held on the afternoon of Saturday 19th April which saw one of the classic double-deck Balloon cars named ‘Walter Luff’. As most tram enthusiasts now, Luff is widely regarded as the greatest manager of the Blackpool tramway, and it was he who was responsible for the mass modernisation of the fleet during the 1930s, which led to the introduction of the Balloons, Boats and Railcoaches – many of which are still with us today in various forms.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 15 Comments

(Almost) all over advert Flexity debuts in Blackpool

Posted on Saturday 19 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Easter in Blackpool wasn’t all about the heritage trams, as Good Friday 18th April also saw the passenger debut of Flexity 016 with a brand new look. This tram has now earned its place in the history books by becoming the first of its class to receive an all-over advert livery, with the design in question promoting Fleetwood Freeport.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 11 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Friday 18 April 2014 by Gareth Prior

The main site update is now online with two more Photo Galleries added including photos from Blackpool and Beamish alongside fleet lists updates.

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In Pictures: Trampower tram in Preston

Posted on Friday 18 April 2014 by Gareth Prior

On Friday 11th April the Trampower tram was seen in the open again for the first time in many years when it was transported to Preston Docks for continued storage ahead of the planned development of a tramway in the city.

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Posted in Preston Trampower | 7 Comments

Expanded Easter service on Birkenhead tramway

Posted on Friday 18 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

The Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society are pleased to confirm that the Birkehead heritage tramway will now be operating daily until Sunday 27th April, for the Easter holiday period. In addition, there will be an Easter Egg hunt taking place between Good Friday (18th April) and Easter Monday (21st April) inclusive, so as to offer a fun day out for all the family.

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Open cars come out to play at Crich

Posted on Friday 18 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Thanks to some glorious spring weather during the Easter school holiday period, the use of open tramcars at Crich Tramway Village has increased significantly. Last year’s two most extensively used trams, Glasgow 1068 and Blackpool ‘Boat’ 236 have been in regular use along with Blackpool 166, but the highlight of the season so far has probably been the welcome return to service of Southampton 45.

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Posted in National Tramway Museum | 3 Comments

Metrolink T68 1001 heads off for scrap

Posted on Thursday 17 April 2014 by Gareth Prior

1001 has become the second T68, and third T68/T68A combined, to depart Manchester for scrapping with it making its last journey on the back of a low loader on Tuesday 15th April having spent the previous couple of weeks in the workshops at Trafford Depot being stripped of any useful components.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 17 Comments

Heritage Trams this week…

Posted on Thursday 17 April 2014 by Gareth Prior

This is your one stop guide to when and where you can ride on heritage trams in the UK and Isle of Man. Easter is traditionally the time when things start to become even more exciting on our heritage tramways and this year is no different with special events being held in Blackpool, at the Crich Tramway Village and also on the Isle of Man.

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New Pudding Mill Lane Station to be connected to DLR network

Posted on Thursday 17 April 2014 by Gareth Prior

The new larger Pudding Mill Lane Station on the original Docklands Light Railway Stratford line is set to be connected to the rest of the network during a 10 day closure of line starting from Good Friday, 18th April. The existing station at Pudding Mill Lane is being closed as the Crossrail tunnels through central London will be coming to the surface at this location.

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In Pictures: Stagecoach Supertram rail replacement works continue

Posted on Thursday 17 April 2014 by Gareth Prior

The rail replacement works on Stagecoach Supertram moved on to the bottom of Ripley Street at the end of last week which led to the closure of this road and traffic diversions including the RT52 bus returning to its old terminus at Crookes. The first stage of works is now nearing completion with the Yellow route due to resume normal operations on the day we know as Easter Sunday but isn’t really as it is in fact the week after. From Easter Monday, 21st April, the works move on to White Lane which will mean the Blue route will see bus replacement from Gleadless Townend to Halfway and Blue route trams being diverted to Herdings Park. Coupled with the usual Purple route service this means that Herdings Park will have probably its best ever service with a 10 minute frequency.

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Blackpool Boat car 227 to miss Easter event

Posted on Thursday 17 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

As was briefly mentioned in our summary of the planned heritage tram service operating in Blackpool over the Easter weekend, Open Boat 227 is unfortunately out of service at present, meaning that it will sadly miss out on the weekends’ events to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the English Electric streamlined fleet. Blackpool Transport have now released some more details which will hopefully reassure the many Boat car fans out there that 227‘s lay-off should not last for too long.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

Tiger tram escapes from Rigby Road! *Updated with more photos*

Posted on Monday 14 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Monday 14th April 2014 was a landmark day in the lengthy career of Blackpool Brush Railcoach 622, as on this date the car was transported to a new home at a local primary school. Following a short period of uncertainty regarding its future, 622 has now been sold to a school in Anchorsholme, where it is intended that it will be used as a static classroom, and may also be used as a novel venue for local community events!

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 2 Comments

13 is a lucky number for Nottingham

Posted on Monday 14 April 2014 by Gareth Prior

The early hours of Friday 11th April saw the arrival of the 13th of 22 Alstom Citadis trams in Nottingham for use on the extended Nottingham Express Transit network. Deliveries normally arrive at Wilkinson Street Depot at around 2300 but on this occasion there were delays on the journey and so 228 did not arrive until after 0200. After unloading, the tram joined its sisters in the sidings where it will undergo initial commissioning ahead of testing (each vehicle needs 1,000 km fault free running before it can enter service) and driver training.

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Blackpool Event Preview: ‘English Electric at Easter’

Posted on Sunday 13 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool Transport have now revealed all of the provisional details of the planned heritage tram running days over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. As expected, the first three days of heritage operation in 2014 will heavily feature the English Electric streamlined fleet, to celebrate their 80th anniversary year. A full round-up of what’s in store for the weekend is provided below, although please note that all events are subject to change without notice, and that the advertised trams will appear subject to availability, weather and other factors.

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Heritage trams invade Starr Gate depot!

Posted on Friday 11 April 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Residents of Blackpool’s New South Promenade could have been forgiven for thinking that the town’s remaining heritage trams were gearing up for battle, ready to try and reclaim dominance of their native system from their replacements, the Flexity2 class, on the morning of Friday 11th April. On this day, an incredible NINE heritage trams were relocated from Rigby Road to Starr Gate depot, but the reasoning for these moves were not as sinister as it may seem at first!

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 4 Comments

Picture in Time 17: London Transport 1858 arrives at Carlton Colville

Posted on Thursday 10 April 2014 by Gareth Prior

Today (10th April) is the 50th anniversary of the arrival of London Transport 1858 at Carlton Colville and to mark the occasion we have an extended special “Picture in Time” showing the tram arriving in East Anglia having spent 12 years at Chessington Zoo following purchase from London Transport by Peter Davis for £62.

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Nottingham welcomes another Citadis

Posted on Thursday 10 April 2014 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit’s twelfth Alstom Citadis tram was delivered to its new home on the night of Monday 7th April. Number 227 arrived two weeks after the previous delivery although it looks as if it won’t be as long for the next delivery as part of the car park at Wilkinson Street has been cordoned off as it normally is when a low loader with a brand new tram on the back arrives from Alstom’s Barcelona plant. Daytime testing on the mainline has still yet to start ahead of an entry into service sometime this summer.

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