NET services to be disrupted for soldier homecoming

Posted on Thursday 16 January 2014 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit services from Hucknall and Phoenix Park will terminate at Royal Centre for three hours on Monday 20th January to leave room at Old Market Square for a Freedom of the City Parade by soldiers from the Royal Horse Artillery who are returning from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.  Around 200 soldiers will be joined by 22 horses, two gun carriages, the band of the King’s Division and a field gun identical to that used in the First World War. Trams will be terminated at Royal Centre between 1030 and 1330 with a replacement bus service in use from there to Station Street.

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | Comments Off on NET services to be disrupted for soldier homecoming

Tragedy in Manchester city centre after man dies following tram collision

Posted on Sunday 12 January 2014 by Gareth Prior

A man has died after being involved in a collision with a tram in Manchester city centre. The incident happened at approximately 1815 on Saturday 11th January at the junction of Market Street and High Street with eyewitness reports saying that the man was trapped under the tram.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 33 Comments

And the winners are!

Posted on Saturday 11 January 2014 by Gareth Prior

After five weeks of voting the results have been “checked and verified” and we have three new winners in the British Trams Online Tram of the Year contest. The Tram of 2013 is a tram who saw one of its sisters head for a new life across the sea, the Tramway of the year comes from the north west of the country whilst the Event of the Year is, well the winning event was rather predictable really.

Continue reading →

Posted in Site News | 3 Comments

Blackpool 680 returns to service

Posted on Saturday 11 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

More than five years after operating on the Blackpool promenade for the final time, Blackpool Railcoach 680 finally made its debut in passenger service as a preserved tramcar at Beamish Museum on Saturday 11th January. After being acquired by the Manchester Transport Museum Society and repainted cream as long ago as 2010, the car has had a long wait to enter service, but this has now finally occured thanks to a loan deal which saw the tram move to Beamish last month.

Continue reading →

Posted in Beamish Tramway, Heaton Park Tramway | Comments Off on Blackpool 680 returns to service

Pantograph for the Western Train

Posted on Saturday 11 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

On Friday 10th January, Blackpool’s famous illuminated Western Train 733+734 got the year off to a grand start for the heritage tram fleet, when it was used for a daytime private hire. More importantly though, this was the first outing for the duo since 733 had been fitted with a pantograph, giving those lucky enough to see it during this unexpected winter outing the chance to see its new look.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 2 Comments

Nottinghamshire County Council set for tram u-turn?

Posted on Saturday 11 January 2014 by Gareth Prior

Back in September 2009 Nottinghamshire County Council withdrew all their support for phase two of Nottingham Express Transit which meant that Nottingham City Council were forced to go it alone with the plans but now just over four years later it appears the County Council are having a change of mind. Next week will see a special motion discussed at a Council meeting which would see them support any further extensions planned into their region.

Continue reading →

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | 1 Comment

T68 1017 hit by car at Exchange Quay

Posted on Saturday 11 January 2014 by Gareth Prior

The career of Manchester Metrolink T68 1017 may have come to a premature end after a car managed to drive into the back of the LRV at Exchange Quays during the evening of Friday 10th January. The incident happened shortly after 1800 when the Mercedes somehow managed to strike the rear of the tram. No-one was injured on board the tram and the 23 year old driver of the car suffered only minor injuries.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 5 Comments

A possible reprieve for Blackpool Balloon 716

Posted on Friday 10 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Late last year, the future of Blackpool Balloon car 716 was placed in considerable doubt after its owners, Ptarmigan Transport Solutions, went into liquidation. The tram ended up being offered for sale at a hefty price on eBay, but this failed to attract much interest and the car’s future looked bleak. However, against all odds, 716 has lasted into 2014 and could well survive to see its eightieth birthday next year.

Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Fleetwood tram museum plans in doubt?

Posted on Thursday 9 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

A small update on the current situation regarding the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust and its collection of historic Blackpool trams has recently appeared on the website of Rigby Road Publishing, a small venture run by one of the FHLT Trustees. This states that the original objective of creating a tram museum in Fleetwood is currently under review; however, it is also understood that plans are being formulated for new displays featuring two of their trams.

Continue reading →

Posted in Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | 4 Comments

More Manchester moves

Posted on Thursday 9 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Tuesday 6th January was another hectic day for the Heaton Park Tramway, with the arrival of another historic vehicle from the Manchester Transport Museum Society at the park on this day. In addition, the winter overhaul of Manchester 765 continued to progress with this tram also moving – not by road, but vertically!

Continue reading →

Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 1 Comment

Gateshead 52 returns to the North East

Posted on Tuesday 7 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Gateshead 52 made its long-awaited return to the North East of England on Tuesday 7th January 2014, after more than five decades of storage in Derbyshire. Ownership of the car has now been transferred from the National Tramway Museum to Beamish Museum following a special resolution approved by Tramway Museum Society members in 2012, and on this day the remains of the tram finally touched down at Beamish.

Continue reading →

Posted in Beamish Tramway, National Tramway Museum | Comments Off on Gateshead 52 returns to the North East

More trams occupy Lakeside Depot

Posted on Monday 6 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Despite not currently being open for business, 2014 has still got off to a busy start for volunteers at the Heaton Park Tramway, where work continues on the completion of the new Lakeside Depot. A fairly major shunting exercise on Sunday 5th January saw Leeds 6 finally gain covered accomodation after being exposed to the great outdoors for the last few years, with another of the tram fleet also entering the new building for the very first time.

Continue reading →

Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 23 Comments

680 takes to the tracks at Beamish

Posted on Monday 6 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Under normal circumstances, Monday 6th January should have been a pretty unremarkable day at Beamish Museum. The attraction was closed to the public, and the weather was wet, windy and wild. However, this was in fact quite an exciting day for those who were on site, as it witnessed the first test run of Blackpool Railcoach 680 in preservation.

Continue reading →

Posted in Beamish Tramway | Comments Off on 680 takes to the tracks at Beamish

MTPS take control of Birkenhead tramway

Posted on Sunday 5 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

The start of the 2014 operating season for the Birkenhead heritage tramway on Saturday 4th January heralded the start of a whole new era for this particular tramway. Following several years of insecurity surrounding the line’s future as Wirral Council looked to cut costs by ridding itself of this attraction, the immediate future of the operation has now been secured thanks to the involvement of the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society.

Continue reading →

Posted in Birkenhead Heritage Tramway | 7 Comments

Crich confirm more plans for 2014 events

Posted on Sunday 5 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Further details have recently emerged regarding the plans for some of the special events to be held at the Crich Tramway Village during the year ahead. As has already been reported here, a reduced number of events are to be held compared with previous years, the idea being to focus the limited resources available on a lower number of special events, hopefully meaning that they will be really memorable. However, it has now been revealed that elements of some of the recently axed events will be incorporated into those events that have been retained for 2014.

Continue reading →

Posted in National Tramway Museum | 1 Comment

2013: An Editor’s Year

Posted on Saturday 4 January 2014 by Gareth Prior

2013 was certainly an interesting year here both at British Trams Online and at most of the UK’s tramways and light rail systems. Sure there have been some negatives but they have mostly been outweighed by the positives. Rather than have a straight review of 2013 this is a look back at the year through the eyes of an Editor and only features those events witnessed by those very eyes (and also those he can still remember!) so there may be some key events which you may think have been ignored but he can’t be everywhere all the time!

Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Articles | 8 Comments

In Pictures: Nottingham Express Transit 210 in new livery

Posted on Saturday 4 January 2014 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit Incentro 210 returned to service at the start of January 2014 following the completion of its refurbishment. The vehicle now carries the revised mainly silver livery and means that the original dark green, black and silver has been consigned to the history books with just the ends of 201 still showing off these colours. Of the 15 Incentro trams only the aforementioned 201 and 208 remain to go through the refurbishment.

Continue reading →

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | Comments Off on In Pictures: Nottingham Express Transit 210 in new livery

In Pictures: Stagecoach Supertram at night

Posted on Saturday 4 January 2014 by Gareth Prior

With thanks to regular contributor Steve Kemp we bring you a small selection of photos of Stagecoach Supertram as services make their way through Sheffield city centre on 28th December after dark.

Continue reading →

Posted in South Yorkshire Supertram | Comments Off on In Pictures: Stagecoach Supertram at night

Whitefield Park and Ride expansion work to start

Posted on Saturday 4 January 2014 by Gareth Prior

Almost 90 extra parking spaces will be created in a project to increase the size of the car park at Whitefield on the Bury line of Manchester Metrolink, which is due to start from Monday 13th January. An extra deck of parking will be created as part of the work and as a result the car park will be closed for approximately five months.

Continue reading →

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 2 Comments

In Pictures: More of Manchester 173

Posted on Thursday 2 January 2014 by Andrew Waddington

Following the welcome move of Manchester 173 to the Heaton Park Tramway on 17th December 2013, we are pleased to feature some more photos showing the tram being moved from its old home at the Greater Manchester Museum of Transport, Boyle Street, to the new Lakeside Depot at the tramway. These images show various stages of the move in progress on this exciting day for the Manchester Transport Museum Society.

Continue reading →

Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 4 Comments