Brighter look for Grimsby & Immingham 26

Posted on Sunday 28 October 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The repaint of long-term Beamish Museum resident Gateshead 10 into its later identity as Grimsby & Immingham 26 has recently been further enhanced, by the fitting of replica lamps at each end above the driver’s windscreen. These high-level lights were a distinctive feature of all the Grimsby & Immingham fleet, and this feature adds even more authenticity to this superb repaint.

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Glasgow 1115 returns to static display

Posted on Sunday 28 October 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Glasgow 1115‘s spell in the limelight is now over, with the tram being returned to the Great Exhibition Hall at Crich Tramway Village. This car was famously extracted late in the summer for a starring role in a major event to commemorate 50 years since the closure of the Glasgow tram system, and although not operational, its appearances on the depot fan provided some very memorable scenes for visiting enthusiasts.

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Transport Secretary of State visits Crich

Posted on Sunday 28 October 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Derbyshire Dales MP Patrick McLoughlin, who is also the Secretary of State for Transport, paid a brief visit to the Crich Tramway Village on Friday 26th October. During his time at the museum, the MP took to the controls of Southampton 45 for a rare opportunity to drive one of the museum’s vintage tramcars.

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Blackpool Coronation 304 back in service – in snow!

Posted on Saturday 27 October 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The much-hyped debut in passenger service of the Lancastrian Transport Trust’s preserved Blackpool Coronation 304 at Beamish Museum finally took place on Saturday 27th October. This duly made 304 the very first of its class ever to carry passengers away from the Fylde coast, and also the first Coronation car to run in nearly two years.

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LTT commission independent ‘Strategy Review’

Posted on Saturday 27 October 2012 by Andrew Waddington

2012 has, without a doubt, been an extremely difficult year for the Lancastrian Transport. Amidst falling donations and a major deterioration in the charity’s relationship with Blackpool Transport, many of their trams have ended up in outside storage and the trustees have been placed under considerable pressure to ensure the continued survival and restoration of their vehicles. Plans to develop a more permanent base at Thornton Gate have, so far, failed to come to fruition leaving the Trust on shaky ground.

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Improved winter tram service for Blackpool

Posted on Saturday 27 October 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Blackpool Transport have revealed details of their winter tram service, with full timetables now available at www.blackpooltransport.com. This is a commendable move as sometimes in the past, timetables were not available until they had already been implemented; the illuminations are still shining and the revised service provision does not start until Monday 5th November.

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Good news from Edinburgh (makes a change!)

Posted on Friday 26 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

The latest progress report on the project to return trams to Edinburgh has recently been presented to the Council and it contains some good news with work now either on the revised schedule or, in some cases, actually ahead of it! The report also shows that the project remains on the latest budget and that there seems to be nothing to stop the line between the Airport and City Centre opening by summer 2014.

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Official update given on Metrolink extension beyond Oldham Mumps

Posted on Friday 26 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

After our brief update last week on the latest situation regarding testing beyond Oldham Mumps on the Manchester Metrolink extension to Rochdale, Transport for Greater Manchester have now given an official update on what is going on with a suggestion that passengers may be able to board a tram as far as Shaw & Compton from early in 2013.

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London Tramlink engineering works: 27th October to 1st November

Posted on Friday 26 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

More engineering works are taking place on London Tramlink between Saturday 27th Octoberand Thursday 1st November which will mean no trams will operate on the central Croydon loop, to allow some track replacement works to take place.

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Picture in Time 1: Glasgow 1017 at Summerlee

Posted on Friday 26 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

The UK tram and light rail is continually changing and this new weekly series of photos seeks to show some of the things which have changed over the past few years across the country as well as showing some images of trams which do not regularly feature on British Trams Online. The first few weeks will feature photos sent to us by Gary Conn and will have a decidedly Scottish theme, starting off at Summerlee and a look at Glasgow 1017.

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DLR service changes for World Travel Market: 5th-8th November

Posted on Friday 26 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

The World Travel Market event will be taking place at ExCeL London between Monday 5th and Thursday 8th November and in order to cater for the expected increase in passenger numbers a revised service will be in operation of the Docklands Light Railway throughout.

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Supertram 116’s livery amended

Posted on Friday 26 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

The all over advert livery for Genting Club on Stagecoach Supertram 116 has been slightly amended following the opening of their Sheffield branch. The text above the windows has been changed and now reads “For a Christmas Party like no other. The Best night out in Sheffield. Visit gentingclub.co.uk”. In addition following the accident the tram had at Attercliffe a few weeks ago the number one end currently has no number.

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More drop-in events announced for NET Phase Two

Posted on Friday 26 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

The next series of drop-in information events to inform local residents of the plans for phase two of Nottingham Express Transit are to take place in the run-up to Christmas it has been announced. Six sessions will take place at various locations on the route of the two new lines which are due to start operating in 2014.

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Live music to be performed on board NET

Posted on Friday 26 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

Bands and musicians will be performing live on board trams on the Nottingham Express Transit network on Saturday 27th October to help promote the Branch Out Festival which takes place the following day. The aim of the festival is to showcase Nottingham’s vibrant music scene. As well as performing on board trams some of the bands will be giving impromptu performances at various tram stops. More information on the festival can be
found at http://www.branchoutfestival.com/.

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Coronation 304 runs at Beamish!

Posted on Wednesday 24 October 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Following completion of commissioning work – including the fitting of a newly overhauled trolley base – Blackpool 304 became the first of the popular Blackpool ‘Coronation’ cars to operate away from the Fylde Coast, when it undertook its first test runs at Beamish Museum on the evening of Wednesday 24th October.

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In Pictures: Metrolink 1003 receives revised livery

Posted on Wednesday 24 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

Metrolink T68 1003 has recently returned to service featuring revised advertising vinyls  in the middle of its Yellow and Silver livery. You may remember that this tram was initially reliveried at the end of 2011 and featured advertising vinyls for Manchester’s Christmas Markets before this was altered in early 2012 to advertise a special exhibition at the
Imperial War Museum North. Now these vinyls have been changed again with the Imperial War Museum again the advertiser.  1003 remains the only T68 to have received the new colours and with the original vehicles now being withdrawn it would appear that this will remain so.

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Last chance to see 5 & 765 (for now!)

Posted on Wednesday 24 October 2012 by Andrew Waddington

A special Halloween event on Sunday 28th October will provide the last opportunity for a while to enjoy a three-car service at the Heaton Park Tramway in Manchester. As reported previously, both Stockport 5 and Manchester 765 will be temporarily withdrawn after the event to receive some well-deserved TLC over the winter months.

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More rarities for Red Oktober at Crich

Posted on Monday 22 October 2012 by Andrew Waddington

After a year that has been packed with interest and surprises at Crich Tramway Village, enthusiasts could be forgiven for expecting the staff and volunteers to take some time to recover, having provided some unforgettable scenes for tram enthusiasts to enjoy this summer – but no! One of the last events of the year, Red Oktober, took place on Sunday 21st October and featured two trams making rare appearances in the open air.

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Landslip causes MER service changes

Posted on Sunday 21 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

The Isle of Man has been suffering from heavy rain recently and unfortunately this has caused a landslip which is affecting services on the Manx Electric Railway between Baldrine and Laxey. These changes were introduced from the start of service on Tuesday 16th October and are expected to remain in operation until further notice.

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Douglas Horse Tramway passenger figures show a fall

Posted on Sunday 21 October 2012 by Gareth Prior

Douglas Borough Council have revealed that passenger numbers of the Horse Tramway  have fallen by 5% in 2012 with 53,318 passengers carried during the season which ended in September. This is the first fall seen in passenger numbers for four years.

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