Isle of Man webcams

Posted on Friday 29 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

The official Isle of Man Tourism website features a page of webcams so you can see what is going on at various locations around the Island. This includes four at Bungalow of which three show the Snaefell Mountain Railway so you can spend your day watching as it refreshes every minute to see if you can spot a tram (but you will have quite a wait at the moment with the snow causing a delay in the start of services for 2013 until 1st May)! The webcams can be found at http://www.gov.im/tourism/webcam/webcam.aspx.

Posted in Snaefell Mountain Railway | 4 Comments

Rochdale Town Centre extensions works continue

Posted on Friday 29 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

Work on the Rochdale Town Centre extension of Manchester Metrolink is continuing with the majority of the heavy civil engineering works – including track laying – now completed. The next major work will see the installation of the overhead line equipment installed in Drake Street which will take place over the next few weeks. Starting from Tuesday 2nd April Drake Street will be closed temporarily between Water Street and Oldham Road from 2100 until 0600 nightly with the work expected to take approximately two weeks to complete. The Town Centre extension is due to open to passengers in 2014.

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NET £5 family ticket returns for Easter holidays

Posted on Friday 29 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit’s £5 family ticket – which allows unlimited tram travel for up to two adults and three children – is returning for the Easter holidays (tickets can be purchased between Good Friday 29th March and Saturday 14th April) and any ticket holders will also be able to get discounts at selected city centre attractions. The offers available to ticket holders include skating for £5 at the National Ice Centre, 20% off tours at the Galleries of Justice Museum and under 14s can get in for free at Nottingham Castle. Anyone taking advantage of this ticket offer is also reminded that NET services are disrupted throughout Easter because of the replacement of the Noel Street crossover.

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Heritage Trams for the next week…

Posted on Thursday 28 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

Easter is traditionally the time of year when heritage tram operation in the UK really steps up a gear for the main season and in the first of a new regular feature we give a lowdown on just when and where you can ride on a heritage tram across the country. As always if you notice any errors or omissions do not hesitate to get in touch with us in the usual ways and we will correct it. The whole idea of this is to give as much publicity as possible to those organisations running these services to ensure that they continue for many years to come.

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Provisional Blackpool tram output revealed for Easter

Posted on Thursday 28 March 2013 by Andrew Waddington

With just hours to go until the Easter holiday weekend marks the start of heritage tram operation in Blackpool, we are pleased to publish the provisional list of which trams are due to operate over the four-day weekend. Please note that all vehicles listed below are subject to change. Note that cars listed to operate heritage tours will work between Pleasure Beach and Bispham apart from a single journey to Fleetwood (further details provided below), and that the heritage cars can only load and unload at designated heritage tram stops.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 3 Comments

Rawtenstall 23 restoration plans announced

Posted on Thursday 28 March 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The Manchester Transport Museum Society used their recent Spring Gala event on Sunday 24th March as a platform to announce exciting plans to restore another historic tram from the Greater Manchester area. The MTMS have owned the remains of Rawtenstall 23, currently stored in kit form, for many years, but have now revealed that plans are afoot for this tram to be reconstructed for service at Heaton Park.

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Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 2 Comments

More snow woe for Crich & Beamish

Posted on Wednesday 27 March 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The recent dire weather conditions in Derbyshire have had a very negative impact on Crich Tramway Village, at a time of year when the main opening season should be getting underway. As announced previously, the museum was unable to open to visitors last weekend following heavy snow falls, and has remained closed throughout the following week as well, with an expected re-opening date of Friday 29th March. However, the unseasonal weather may also have negative implications for Beamish Museum…

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Posted in Beamish Tramway, National Tramway Museum | 5 Comments

Blackpool Transport introduce new heritage ‘mini-tours’

Posted on Wednesday 27 March 2013 by Andrew Waddington

In yet another drive to encourage extra patronage on the heritage tram coastal tours, Blackpool Transport have revealed that another ticketing option will be made available on these trips during 2013. Customers will now have the option of a return journey between Pleasure Beach and North Pier only, at a reduced price.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 2 Comments

Blackpool 631 launch date announced

Posted on Wednesday 27 March 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Whilst preparations are underway for the resumption of Blackpool Transport’s heritage tram coastal tours on Good Friday, one member of the heritage fleet remains hidden away from view at Starr Gate depot. The tram in question is Brush Railcoach 631, which has been receiving a makeover during the winter months to enhance its appeal to passengers on the heritage tours, and remove some of the modernisations added during its mid-nineties refurbishment.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 3 Comments

Winter weather for the Heaton Park Spring Gala

Posted on Monday 25 March 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The Heaton Park Tramway’s first proper event of 2013 took place on Sunday 24th March, in the shape of the highly-anticipated ‘Spring Gala’. As reported previously, the event organisers were struck by bad luck on several occasions in the run-up to the big day, with the absence of Leeds 6 (which had been due to return home from Beamish a few days earlier) being the latest setback. However, in spite of these issues, the team at Heaton Park did their best to put on a good show and ensured that the day’s events were greatly enjoyed by those who attended.

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Posted in Heaton Park Tramway | 2 Comments

Return of the green & cream Centenary car

Posted on Monday 25 March 2013 by Andrew Waddington

Following on from the recent sad news regarding the demise of Blackpool Centenary car 646, it is pleasing to be able to write some really good news about one of its sisters. One of the surviving Centenary cars has now been repainted in green and cream, restoring these colours to a tram of this type following a lengthy absence. However, the tram which has received a repaint is not Blackpool Transport’s own 648 – which was widely expected to be the next of the class to receive any attention – but car 643, now residing at Broadwater Caravan Park.

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Posted in Blackpool Tramway | 1 Comment

Crich closes due to snow

Posted on Friday 22 March 2013 by Andrew Waddington

The advertised opening of Crich Tramway Village this weekend – Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th March – has unfortunately had to be cancelled due to heavy snowfalls which have made the site largely inaccessible. It will be impossible to operate the advertised tram service, and so the decision has been taken not to open at all. It is hoped that the weather will improve considerably ahead of the Easter 1940s weekend, which is traditionally one of the attraction’s busiest weekends of the whole year.

Posted in National Tramway Museum | 1 Comment

NET 214 returns to service after refurbishment

Posted on Friday 22 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

Nottingham Express Transit’s Incentro 214 has become the second of the class to receive the refurbishment work at Wilkinson Street and has returned to service. The tram ran its first journeys in the new look livery on Friday 22nd March and to mark the occasion the first 1,000 passengers to board 214 were presented with commemorative tickets which will give them a chance of winning a years free travel. 214 follows 215 in receiving the work which not only includes a new livery but also features new LED lights and new seats. The remaining 13 members of the fleet are expected to be treated to the refurb in the coming months.

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In Pictures: Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge – Nottingham

Posted on Friday 22 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

As previously reported on British Trams Online work has started on installing the bridge over Nottingham railway station which will carry the phase two extensions of Nottingham Express Transit. We are now able to bring you a few images on the latest progress on the construction of the bridge which will be known as the Karlsruhe Friendship Bridge courtesy of Mervyn Williams.

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Stagecoach Supertram Engineering Works: 31st March & 1st April

Posted on Friday 22 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

The forthcoming Easter weekend will see more track replacement work taking place on Stagecoach Supertram which will mean revised services operating alongside replacement buses. The work this time will be concentrated on Netherthorpe Road and will take place on Easter Sunday 31st March and Easter Monday 1st April.

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London Tramlink Engineering Works: Sunday 31st March

Posted on Friday 22 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

Engineering works on London Tramlink will mean there will be no tram service between Sandilands and New Addington on Sunday 31st March with a replacement bus service in operation instead. Trams from Wimbledon will terminate at East Croydon from where the replacement bus service will run to New Addington although this will not serve Lebanon Road or Sandilands tram stops.

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M5000 3020 named Lancashire Fusiliers

Posted on Thursday 21 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

As promised when T68 1020 was withdrawn from service last November, M5000 3020 has taken the name Lancashire Fusiliers to keep Manchester Metrolink’s long and proud journey with the regiment going. The naming took place within Queen’s Road depot on Saturday 16th March with the Mayor of Bury, representatives from the Lancashire Fusiliers, Transport for Greater Manchester and rather bizarrely the actress who plays Fiz
in Coronation Street all present.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 3 Comments

Excellent response for new tram drivers in Nottingham

Posted on Thursday 21 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

It has been revealed that nearly 350 people have applied for the first of up to 50 new tram driver roles on Nottingham Express Transit. The new jobs are available as NET prepares for the major expansion of phase two which will see trams running through to Beeston, Chilwell and Clifton from 2014.

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Old Cardiff Tram Depot up for sale

Posted on Thursday 21 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

The former Clare Road tram depot in Cardiff is to be put up for sale by the local Council when they move their service vehicles to a new site in the city. The depot dates from 1902 and after closure of the tramway in 1946 was used for trolleybuses until 1953 following which the Council took on the property to store service vehicles. But the council are now moving to new premises and so are looking for an alternative use for the depot which could be as an art gallery if plans from 2003 are resurrected.

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Supertram fares to rise from 1st April

Posted on Thursday 21 March 2013 by Gareth Prior

April Fools Day will not be one of joy for Stagecoach Supertram passengers after it was announced that fares on the network will be rising from that date as a result of rising costs from items such as “labour, energy and insurance”. Child tickets, Dayriders, Megariders and online tickets will all see an increase but it has been confirmed that adult singles will remain at current levels.

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Posted in South Yorkshire Supertram | 1 Comment