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

Tests start on Rochdale town centre line

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

Initial tests on the Rochdale town centre extension of Manchester Metrolink have started ahead of the line opening in early 2014. These tests are in connection with the recent installation of the overhead wires and are not a sign that the line is due to open imminently.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 2 Comments

Heritage Trams this week…

Posted on Saturday 20 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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Manchester Metrolink Engineering Works: Sunday 21 July

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

Further work in the Cornbrook area on Sunday 21 July will see more disruption to services on Manchester Metrolink. No trams will run at all on this day from Altrincham to Piccadilly, Eccles to Piccadilly or from Rochdale Railway Station to Chorlton. However there will be trams between Bury and Droylsden utilising double units every 12 minutes and from East Didsbury to Chorlton every 12 minutes. Replacement bus services will operate on all suspended routes.

Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 1 Comment

NET Group Travel Tickets return for the Summer

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

As we enter another school holiday season the popular “Five for £5” ticket aimed at encouraging families to travel around the city using Nottingham Express Transit has been reintroduced. This ticket allows two adults and up to three children to travel all day on the trams for £5 and for the first time this summer the deal has been extended so that two adults can travel for the same price without having to find any children to accompany them. In addition the 30 day unlimited travel tickets have seen their price dropped by £5 to £40 for the duration of the school holidays. Nottingham Express Transit have also produced a booklet which is packed with discount vouchers for major attractions and this can be picked up from the new NET Travel Centre.

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Metrolink Service Performance Update

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

The latest statistics on how Manchester Metrolink has been performing recently have now been released on the TfGM Committee website. These statistics give details on the performance of the service, any major incidents, trams out of service and the number of complaints which have been received during periods 12 and 13 (Monday 4 March to Sunday 28 April 2013) and a summary of this is provided below.

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NET Phase Two jobs almost reaches 1,000 mark

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

Almost 1,000 people have now been employed on Phase Two of Nottingham Express Transit which will see two lines to Clifton and Chilwell constructed and opened next year. And Nottingham City Council expect this figure to rise over 1,000 in the next few months as the peak period of construction is reached. Approximately 50% of the jobs have been taken by people living in the Greater Nottingham area a fact that pleases the Council.

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Blackpool tram fans go ‘back to the Centenary’

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Saturday 20th July witnessed the welcome return to use of Blackpool Centenary car 648. The tram operated a special tour for the Fylde Tramway Society along with open top Balloon ‘Princess Alice’ 706, this being its first outing since its recent heritage makeover, which has included a superb repaint back into the original green and cream livery worn by this class of car.

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708 finds sanctuary at Sunderland

Posted on Saturday 20 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

On Friday 19th July, Blackpool Balloon 708 finally left the East Lancashire Railway bound for a new home at the North East Land, Sea & Air Museum near Sunderland. As has been reported previously, the tram has been placed on long-term loan to the North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust by its owners, the Manchester Transport Museum Society, and is eventually hoped that it will be fully restored at the North East.

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Swansea & Mumbles tramway to re-open?

Posted on Friday 19 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

In one of the most unexpected and bizarre news items to appear on British Trams Online in recent memory, outline proposals have been revealed for a possible revival of the legendary Swansea & Mumbles Railway system, which closed in 1960. Heritage Railway magazine has confirmed early suggestions for the popular line to re-open with at least two organisations expressing serious interest in the idea.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 12 Comments

Leeds 107 comes out to play

Posted on Wednesday 17 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The recent heatwave has persuaded open top trams at various locations across the UK into action, and even Leeds 107 was tempted to come out of its normal hiding place on Wednesday 17th July. This horse tram is now in the latter stages of a full restoration to running order, ahead of its much-anticipated launch at the Middleton Railway next month.

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Posted in Leeds Transport Historical Society | 11 Comments

NELSAM announce first ever tram event

Posted on Tuesday 16 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The North East Land, Sea & Air Museum near Sunderland will be hosting its very first tram event on Sunday 11th August this year, in order to allow interested people to have a good look at each of the trams on site. As has been extensively reported before, several trams from the North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust’s growing collection have already arrived on site and this will be a great opportunity to view them all.

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Posted in North Eastern Electrical Transport Trust | 5 Comments

Oldham tram for Heaton Park

Posted on Monday 15 July 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The Manchester Transport Museum Society have acquired the unrestored body of Oldham 43, a tram which has been languishing in outside storage on a farm for more than sixty years! The ultimate intention is to restore this tram for service on the Heaton Park Tramway at Manchester, giving the heritage line another fine addition to its collection of trams from the North West of England.

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Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 6 Comments

This week on British Trams Online

Posted on Sunday 14 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

We have a bumper update over on the main website with 10 new Photo Galleries, an article and a new addition to our Fleet Lists…

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Posted in Site News | 3 Comments

A Capital Weekend – Crich

Posted on Sunday 14 July 2013 by admin

On the weekend of 6th & 7th July 2013, Crich Tramway Village held ‘A Capital Weekend’ – a celebration of all things London. Although held primarily to commemorate 80 years since the formation of the London Passenger Transport Board, the highlight of this event was undoubtedly the return to service of London United Tramways 159. Both members of the British Trams Online team were present at Crich on Saturday 6th July, and Andrew Waddington provides the following report of the day’s activities. .

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Testing set to start to Ashton-under-Lyne

Posted on Saturday 13 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

The past few months may have been quiet on the Manchester Metrolink extensions front but there will shortly be more action as commissioning and testing of the East Manchester line between the current terminus of Droylsden and Ashton-under-Lyne gets underway later this month. As a result of the testing there will be some permanent changes to traffic regulations along the line to allow the trams to operate smoothly.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 5 Comments

Overhead line problems cause Midland Metro suspension

Posted on Saturday 13 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

Major problems with the overhead line caused issues for Midland Metro this week with no trams able to run into Birmingham Snow Hill from Sunday 7 until Wednesday 10 July. The issue with the overhead occurred at Jewellery Quarter and first arose on Sunday 7 July with trams immediately suspended between Birmingham Snow Hill and Winson Green whilst engineers were called to the scene to assess the damage.

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Posted in West Midlands Metro | 1 Comment

Blundell Street depot track saved for Fleetwood Tram Museum

Posted on Saturday 13 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

The Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust have managed to recover some of the tram rail which has recently been cleared from the former Blundell Street depot in Blackpool and it is planned that this will be used at the new Fleetwood Tram Museum when that is built. The site of the former tram depot in Blackpool is currently being cleared as the area is to see a major new housing development.

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Posted in Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust | 2 Comments

In Pictures: Black Country Living Museum

Posted on Saturday 13 July 2013 by Gareth Prior

The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley has the only operational 3’6” gauge tramway on the UK mainland and normally operates a one tram service between the entrance and the town using either Wolverhampton & District 34 or Wolverhampton 49. The Museum also has a fleet of trolleybuses which operate regularly. Unfortunately due to a broken rail trams are currently only able to run between the Mine and the Town.

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Posted in Black Country Living Museum | 2 Comments

Heritage Trams this week…

Posted on Saturday 13 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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Posted in Support our Heritage Tramways | Comments Off on Heritage Trams this week…