TMS commissioned through Cornbrook

Posted on Friday 26 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

After a couple of weekends of commissioning work trams through the Cornbrook area of Manchester Metrolink are now operating under TMS (Tram Management System and not Tramway Museum Society or even Test Match Special!) which means services now run using line of sight operation rather than strict block signalling.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 18 Comments

Heritage Trams this week…

Posted on Friday 26 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

It’s that time of the week again when we bring you a round-up of when and where you can travel on heritage trams across the UK. Once again if you know of any errors or omissions please let us know and we will make the change. All the information here is given in good faith but you are advised to check before travelling any significant distance with the organisations involved.

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And then there were 71

Posted on Friday 26 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

3071 – the 71st M5000 to be delivered to Manchester – arrived at Queen’s Road depot on Saturday 20 July. As with all previous arrivals the tram is now undergoing commissioning and mileage accumulation trips on the Oldham line ahead of an eventual entry into service.

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 4 Comments

Failed Variotram causes delays for Tramlink

Posted on Friday 26 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

One of the Stadler Variotrams broke down in Croydon town centre on Thursday 25 July bringing through services between Wimbledon and New Addington to a halt. The tram is reported to have lost all power as it was arriving at George Street tramstop just after midday. Engineers were despatched to the scene and managed to get the tram moving again by 1345. During the disruption trams from Wimbledon were terminated at Reeves Corner.

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Manchester Metrolink Engineering Works: Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 July

Posted on Friday 26 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

Engineering works in Manchester city centre over the weekend of Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 July will see further changes to the service pattern on Manchester Metrolink.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 5 Comments

Nottingham Express Transit Engineering Work: Sunday 4 August

Posted on Friday 26 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

There will be no trams between Bulwell and Hucknall from the start of service on Sunday 4 August until 1215 because of work on the overhead line. A shuttle bus service will be in operation during the work which will not affect any services to Phoenix Park. The first tram due to depart Hucknall will be at 1226 with the first full length journey from Station Street being at 1146.

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | 1 Comment

Stagecoach Supertram Engineering Works: Further dates announced

Posted on Friday 26 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

In addition to the major track replacement work taking place between Spring Lane and Park Grange Croft stops on Stagecoach Supertram which has seen the Blue route split into two, further weekend closures have now been announced up until the middle of September. These will see further service changes as more track is replaced.

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NET Phase Two construction works move onto Ruddington Lane

Posted on Friday 26 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

Works have now commenced to allow trams to cross Ruddington Lane on Phase Two of Nottingham Express Transit which has seen the road temporarily closed. This work will allow trams to cross the road between the former railway embankment and Silverdale at street level. Works to lower the entrance to the South Nottingham and Wilford Industrial Estate are in connection with the new section of Ruddington Lane which has been lowered to lay tram tracks. Although the road is closed to traffic and pedestrians access will be retained to the industrial estate throughout the works. It is expected that Ruddington Lane will reopen to pedestrians later this month.

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Supertram Child Week Meagrider discounted for summer

Posted on Friday 26 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

Stagecoach Supertram are attempting to make the school summer holidays that bit more affordable by cutting the price of a Child Weekly Megarider to £5 between Wednesday 24 July and Friday 30 August. Valid for travel on all Stagecoach Supertram services, including replacement bus services, this ticket now provides even more value for money for children to travel around Sheffield.

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No more visiting trams for Beamish in 2013

Posted on Thursday 25 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Following the high-profile events held to mark the 40th anniversary of tramway operation at Beamish Museum in April 2013, it has now been confirmed that no further visiting trams will be appearing at this museum for the next major event. ‘Power from the Past’ takes place between Thursday 29th August and Sunday 1st September, and will take on a primarily agricultural theme this year.

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Railgrinder returns to Heaton Park

Posted on Tuesday 23 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool Railgrinder 752 has become the second tram to depart from the premises of the East Lancashire Railway at Bury within the space of just five days. Hot on the heels of Balloon car 708 – which moved to Sunderland recently – it was 752‘s turn to be moved on Tuesday 23rd July, with the works car making the short journey by road back to Heaton Park.

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Trams return to Fleetwood Transport Festival

Posted on Tuesday 23 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The annual Fleetwood Festival of Transport – more commonly known as Tram Sunday – took place on Sunday 21st July and attracted the usual mix of vintage vehicles, stalls and fairground style rides and attractions. However, after playing a limited role in recent years, it was quite rightly the trams which stole the show, with four different members of the heritage fleet taking part in this year’s event.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 7 Comments

TMS unveil new members’ accomodation

Posted on Tuesday 23 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The Tramway Museum Society have recently revealed the new and greatly improved accommodation for volunteers working at the Crich Tramway Village. For many years, volunteers from far afield were able to stay overnight at Field House, but this has now been demolished and replaced by a more comfortable and modern new building.

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DVD Review: ‘The Trams of Beamish Museum’

Posted on Tuesday 23 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Earlier this year, the working tramway at Beamish Museum celebrated its 40th anniversary with a special event, ‘Our Friends Electric’, which included a tramcar parade and two visiting cars from other museums. This is therefore a fitting time for the release of the first ever official DVD solely devoted to the museum’s tramway.

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Posted in Reviews | 4 Comments

Book Review: Leeds Trams and Buses by Michael Berry

Posted on Tuesday 23 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The latest in a series of pictorial books from Amberley Publishing deals with the transport history of Leeds, featuring a fine selection of interesting images showing trams and motor buses from the Yorkshire city. The cover features a splendid photograph of Leeds 600, now of course preserved by the Tramway Museum Society (although not on public display at present), and this sets the tone nicely for the contents of this book.

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Depot framework appears at Heaton Park

Posted on Monday 22 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Monday 22nd July 2013 was a landmark day for the Manchester Transport Museum Society, as a major landmark in the project to build a second tram depot at the Heaton Park Tramway was reached. On this day, the first of the steel frames which will form the basis of the new Lakeside Depot were delivered and placed in position.

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More changes for Blackpool Brush car 631

Posted on Monday 22 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool Transport chose the annual Fleetwood Festival of Transport on Sunday 21st July to unveil the latest changes to Brush Railcoach 631. This tram first debuted in May following a repaint in green and cream, but to ensure that the car was ready for its advertised launch date some jobs were not completed at this time. Since then, 631 has returned to the works and now looks much better following further attention to emphasise its new status as a heritage tram.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 12 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

There is no main site update this week on British Trams Online but that doesn’t mean that all the latest news isn’t on these very pages for you to read – normal service will be resumed next week with some more photo galleries on the way as well as all the normal site updates. Although there is no main site update there have been a few minor changes this week and the more observant of you may have already noticed! Firstly since our 10th anniversary we have had just the one banner at the top of the page using trams past and present from Manchester but we have now finally got around to adding some more with Blackpool, London and Sheffield versions now available. Also at the end of each week I will be selecting what I feel is the biggest piece of news in the week to be pinned to the top of the page for a couple of days  for those of you who only visit the site at the weekend so you don’t miss out on the big news (providing there has been some big news in that week!). The honour of the first “sticky” goes to the acquisition of Oldham 43 for eventual restoration at Heaton Park.

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Restoration set to start on Carlisle tram

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

What is believed to the sole surviving tram of a once 30 strong fleet in Carlisle is set to be moved to a new location in the city to allow for a start to be made on a restoration by Workington Transport Heritage Trust who purchased the tram for £50 back in 2005. It is planned that the tram – believed to one of a batch of eight double deckers constructed in 1912 – will be cosmetically restored and put on display somewhere within Carlisle.

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In Pictures: Flexity2 014 being towed after breakdown

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

One of the normal reliable Flexity2 trams in Blackpool broke down on Wednesday 17 July which led to the rare sight of two of these Bombardier built trams coupled together as a rescue of the failed tram was made. 014 was the tram which had failed and 015 was on call to tow it out the way to allow the service on the Blackpool Tramway to be reformed. We are grateful to David Lloyd for providing us some photos of the rescue operation.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 4 Comments