Top deck of Edinburgh tram on its way to Fleetwood!

Posted on Monday 20 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

It has been announced that agreement has been reached between National Museums Scotland and the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust for the display of the top deck of an early Edinburgh tram at the Copse Road Museum when it opens to the public in 2013.

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NET 204 receives Glide into Nottingham livery

Posted on Saturday 18 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

2012 is fast becoming the year of the all over advert on the UK’s tramways and light rail systems with another tram in Nottingham receiving a vinyl wrap livery over the past few days. This time 204 is the lucky vehicle to receive the vinyls and it is advertising NET’s own “Glide into Nottingham” campaign trying to encourage more passengers to travel on the tramway. This advert is mainly blue – making a nice change from the recent red based adverts in Nottingham – and the centre car also features adverts for events in the City.

Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | 2 Comments

In Pictures: Cambridge Horse Car 7

Posted on Saturday 18 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

A few weeks ago we bought you photos of Ipswich 33 which has recently been  cosmetically restored at the Ipswich Transport Museum and made mention of the fact that the team responsible were turning their attention to Cambridge Horse Car 7 and we are now able to bring you a few images of this tram courtesy of Stephen Cobb.

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Posted in Ipswich Transport Museum | 8 Comments

In Pictures: Manx Heritage Transport Festival

Posted on Saturday 18 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

At the end of July the annual Manx Heritage Transport Festival took place on the Isle of Man with most of the island’s railways taking part in some form including the Isle of Man Steam Railway, Snaefell Mountain Railway and Manx Electric Railway. Although the MER was unable to run the previously advertised 12 tram service on the Saturday and Sunday of the event due to vehicle shortages but an intensive service was still able to operate much to the delight of those who attended the event. What follows is a little taster of the sights
the event had to offer in 2012.

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NET works to start on Wilford Toll Bridge

Posted on Saturday 18 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

Works on Wilford Toll Bridge as part of the construction of the Nottingham Express Transit Phase Two line to Clifton are due to commence later this month. Preparatory works are expected to commence from Monday 20th August providing that Nottingham City Council approve the plans for the line in this area. The bridge has listed status and as such any alterations have to be approved before they can be made but the outline permission was given as a result of a Public Inquiry in 2007.

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More Supertram Engineering Works for August Bank Holiday

Posted on Saturday 18 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

Anyone planning on spending any time around Sheffield over the August Bank Holiday  weekend should be aware that once again there will be track replacement works on Stagecoach Supertram on Sunday 26th and Monday 27th August and this invariably means that the weather will be wet! This time the area which will see track replacement will be on
Infirmary Road affecting the Yellow and Blue routes.

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73 more jobs advertised for NET Phase Two construction

Posted on Saturday 18 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

A further 73 construction jobs were advertised at the end of July to help with the building of Phase Two of Nottingham Express Transit, in a major sign that progress on the two new lines is happening rapidly. This last batch of jobs advertised is in connection with the laying of the new tracks and will join the 153 people already employed by Taylor Woodrow Alstom.

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Posted in Nottingham Express Transit | 1 Comment

DLR delays after track fault

Posted on Saturday 18 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

Services on the Docklands Light Railway through Canary Wharf were delayed for a time on Thursday 16th August following a track fault. Transport for London said that services from Lewisham to Stratford and Bank were being severely delayed whilst the problem was fixed but that all other lines were running as normal.

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Man hit by tram at Fieldway

Posted on Saturday 18 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

A man received a glancing blow from a tram at the Fieldway stop on London Tramlink during the morning of Tuesday 14th August requiring hospital treatment for minor injuries. The incident happened at around 0900 and saw the man having to be airlifted to hospital having received treatment from an Ambulance crew. His injuries were described as minor and non life threatening.

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Andrew’s Weekend in Blackpool: 10th-13th August 2012

Posted on Saturday 18 August 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The Blackpool tramway has undergone many changes since last season, with the new fleet of Bombardier Flexity2 trams providing the bulk of the passenger journeys, and most of the traditional trams now restricted to use on heritage coastal tours between Pleasure Beach and Little Bispham. Andrew Waddington spent three nights in town during August to experience the ‘new’ Blackpool tramway, and this day-by-day diary follows what happened over the course of the weekend…

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Major progress in bridge construction for Edinburgh Trams

Posted on Friday 17 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

Another major milestone has been achieved in the construction of the tramway in Edinburgh with beam installation for the last two bridges now completed meaning that all 12 bridges for the tramway now have their basic structures in place.

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NET & Premiere Buses combined ticket extended to new service

Posted on Friday 17 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

Following the takeover of service 228 by Premiere Buses the combined tram and bus ticket offer has now been extended to include this service which links Hucknall Library, Bestwood Village and Bulwell. For just £3.60 for adults or £2 for under 16s you can get a day’s unlimited travel on the 228 bus and the tram. The bus service runs every hour and links with the tram at Hucknall and Bulwell.

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UK Light Rail pioneer withdrawn from service

Posted on Thursday 16 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

The first of the new generation of trams in the UK has been withdrawn from service with
Manchester Metrolink T68 1001 taken out of service during early August becoming the fifth of the initial 12 to be withdrawn (although this has since increased to six).

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 2 Comments

New home for Leeds horse tram

Posted on Thursday 16 August 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The only surviving Leeds horse tramcar, Leeds 107, has been the subject of a long-running restoration programme in its native city, on which work has accelerated in the last couple of years. With the lower saloon now essentially complete, the time has come for the upper deck and truck to be fully assembled, but due to a lack of space around the car in the shed where it has been undergoing restoraton, it was essential to move the tram into a more spacious environment to allow further progress to occur.

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Posted in Leeds Transport Historical Society | 1 Comment

Jubilee Brush 290 nears completion

Posted on Thursday 16 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

Work on renovating Blackpool Brush 290 at Kirkham Prison by members of the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust in conjunction with inmates at the Prison is fast approaching completion with a move to its new temporary home next to Pleasure Beach loop expected soon.

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In Pictures: DLR Advertising Livery for 63, 74 & 94

Posted on Thursday 16 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

As mentioned a couple of days ago in one of our news stories two three car sets of  Docklands Light Railway units have received all over adverts for the Olympic Games. One
of these sets (they have tended to operate semi-permanently since receiving the vinyls) includes B92 units 63 and 74 and B2K unit 94 and advertises General Electric products including body scanners.

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Leeds 345 comes back with a bang!

Posted on Thursday 16 August 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The long-running remedial work on Leeds 345 in the Crich workshop has now been completed. After being reunited with its repaired truck towards the end of July, the tram received a few finishing touches but quickly commissioned for testing. Following extensive testing and further paintwork touching-up, it finally re-entered public service on Monday 15th October.

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TMS commissioned at Old Trafford Depot

Posted on Thursday 16 August 2012 by Gareth Prior

The major expansion of Manchester Metrolink is dependent on the introduction of the new signalling and Tram Management System (TMS) which will enable extra trams to
operate across the network more reliably but up until now this has proved to be very problematic which is one of the reasons for the delay in opening new lines. However during the past few days it has been reported on the Skyscraper City forum (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=94223497&postcount=16895)
that the new signals at Old Trafford depot are now in use which will hopefully be the precursor to TMS being activated across the network.

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Posted in Manchester Metrolink | 2 Comments

The Rocket has landed!

Posted on Wednesday 15 August 2012 by Andrew Waddington

A milestone in the history of the most unusual tram to ever run in Blackpool occured in the early hours of Tuesday 14th August, when the illuminated Rocket 732 returned to the promenade after a decade-long absence. As has been widely reported, the tram has been treated to a cosmetic restoration at Blackpool’s illuminations depot, for static display to help celebrate the centenary of the annual illuminations. This has included applying some fresh paintwork, replacing the light bulbs and fitting new ‘Tramnik One’ vinyls to the front end.

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Pioneer Flexity returns to service

Posted on Wednesday 15 August 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The first Bombardier Flexity2 type tram in the world, Blackpool 001, has finally returned to traffic following a lengthy lay-off. Following its unveiling to the world at a lavish ceremony 11 months ago, 001 became a fairly common sight over the winter on testing and training runs, before finally entering normal passenger service just before Easter 2012.

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