More Metrolink Delays

Posted on Sunday 22 April 2012 by Gareth Prior

Over the past few weeks there has been several more periods of disruption on the Manchester Metrolink due to tram failures, points failures…and ducks on the track! The Manchester Evening News ran stories on these periods of disruption making it all unwelcome publicity for the network, which is undergoing a major period of expansion.

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Edinburgh Lib Dems take a risk: vote us in and we will extend tram network

Posted on Sunday 22 April 2012 by Gareth Prior

The Liberal Democrats in Edinburgh seem to have taken a political risk in unveiling
plans for extensions to the currently unpopular tram network before it has opened. At the present time the trams are deeply unpopular in the Scottish capital with the large disruption there construction has caused and the fact that the project has been beset with issues from the start including an ever increasing budget and shrinking line. Nevertheless the Lib Dems believe that the trams will prove to be popular with the public and as part of their election manifesto have pledged to extend the system down Leith Walk and to Little France.

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Metrolink Service Performance Update

Posted on Sunday 22 April 2012 by Gareth Prior

The latest service performance statistics on the Manchester Metrolink system have been released on the TfGM Committee website – http://www.transportforgreatermanchestercommittee.gov.uk/download/4348/item_05_metrolink_service_performance.
This latest report gives details on periods 9, 10 and 11 between Monday 12th December 2011 and Sunday 4th March 2012.

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In Pictures: Mitcham track doubling

Posted on Sunday 22 April 2012 by Gareth Prior

The first of three planned closures between Mitcham and Mitcham Junction on the Wimbledon line of London Tramlink occurred over the four day Easter weekend. This led to a shuttle service operating every 15 minutes between Mitcham and Wimbledon with a replacement bus service between Mitcham and Mitcham Junction from where normal services resumed. The purpose of the closure was to allow work to be undertaken on the track doubling in this location.

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In Pictures: Gleadless Townend Trackwork

Posted on Sunday 22 April 2012 by Gareth Prior

Over the Easter weekend there were engineering works on Stagecoach Supertram
resulting in revised services and replacement buses. The work was concentrated on the crossover at Gleadless Townend. Click below for photos showing the work undertaken on a very wet 9th April.

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Standard 143 on the move again

Posted on Friday 20 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Following the announcement that the Lancastrian Transport Trust would be vacating its leased premises at the Brinwell Road industrial site in Blackpool, further negotiations have taken place resulting in this decision being reversed. This means that the trams residing there have been granted a further stay of execution and won’t be forced to endure a period of outdoor storage. More surprisingly though, the number of trams housed there increased by one on Friday 20th April, when Blackpool ‘Standard’ 143 returned!

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Metrolink T68 1011 becomes first to be withdrawn

Posted on Thursday 19 April 2012 by Gareth Prior

1011 has become the first of the T68s to be withdrawn from service on Manchester Metrolink after just 20 years service. As has been reported in the past few months following a number of high profile failures in traffic it has been Transport for Greater
Manchester’s aim to get 12 of the original Metrolink trams withdrawn from service to help improve reliability and 1011 was chosen as the first as it is in the worst condition of the fleet.

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Fare increases for Stagecoach Supertram

Posted on Thursday 19 April 2012 by Gareth Prior

From the start of service on Monday 30th April there will be some fare increases on Stagecoach Supertram with the £2.10 single fare increasing to £2.20 and the tram and bus
dayrider fare increasing from £3.70 to £3.90. All other fares will remain at their current levels for now.

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DLR service alterations for London Marathon

Posted on Thursday 19 April 2012 by Gareth Prior

This year’s London Marathon will take place on Sunday 22nd April and as a result services on the Docklands Light Railway will be altered to cater for the increased passenger
demand. Services from Tower Gateway, Lewisham, Beckton, Stratford and Woolwich
Arsenal will start earlier than normal at 0530 and some routes will see trains as often as every 2 minutes with three-car trains also in operation. Any runners or officials for the Marathon will be able to travel free on the DLR from early morning until 1700 on the day, all they need do is show their official Marathon tabard or race number.

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NEETT plan a new depot for their fleet

Posted on Wednesday 18 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust (NEETT for short) have become the latest tram-related organisation to launch an appeal to fund the construction of a new depot in which to house its collection of trams. The Sunderland-based organisation has enjoyed a rise to prominence recently thanks to its acquisition of some withdrawn Blackpool trams, and now plans are being made to ensure that these and other vehicles will be given a more secure future.

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TMS owned Boat runs at Blackpool!

Posted on Tuesday 17 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The restoration of Blackpool Boat car 236 (latterly known as 607) at Blackpool, ahead of its transfer to Crich for preservation at the National Tramway Museum, is now virtually complete and the tram has been released from the Paint Shop. The tram is now able to run under its own power – and on Tuesday 17th April, that’s exactly what it did!

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Blackpool ‘Boat’ 233: the past, present & future

Posted on Tuesday 17 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The Lancastrian Transport Trust have a lot to celebrate this month as their preserved Blackpool ‘Boat’ car 233 (ex-605) is now available for regular service in its new home at Beamish, the Living Museum of the North. Following completion of its British Trams Online sponsored repaint and other commissioning work, the tram debuted in service on Thursday 12th April and then ran extremely successfully throughout the four-day ‘Great North Steam Fair’ event.

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Manchester trams on TV

Posted on Monday 16 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Two artefacts from the collection of the Manchester Transport Museum Society appeared on primetime television within a three day period. Although the Society and the heritage tramway at Heaton Park, Manchester were not promoted as such this was nonetheless a treat for the organisation’s supporters, and as trams rarely feature on mainstream television it was most unusual to have two appearances so close together!

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Beamish push the Boat out!

Posted on Thursday 12 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The Lancastrian Transport Trust’s preserved Blackpool ‘Boat’ car 233 made its passenger debut in its new home at Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, on Thursday 12th April for the first day of the Museum’s annual Great North Steam Fair. Since arriving there on March 1st, 233 has been radically transformed following over two years of storage at Blackpool. Its faded, dust-covered paintwork has been replaced by a gleaming coat of 1930s style green and cream, thanks to sponsorship from British Trams Online.

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More Blackpool trams sold

Posted on Wednesday 11 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

A new player in the British transport preservation movement has stepped in at a crucial time to save some of Blackpool’s unwanted tram fleet. The North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust, who are based in the Sunderland area, have already acquired one Blackpool tram, Balloon 721, which left Rigby Road in March and is now stored at a top secret location. Now it is set to be joined by further Blackpool trams, as the Trust have announced that they have now bought Centenary car 647 and Twin Set 674+684 to join their growing collection.

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Operating fleet grows at Crich

Posted on Monday 9 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

With the main opening season now underway following the unwelcome snowfalls of last week, it is pleasing to report that Crich Tramway Village continue to operate more different trams with a total of eleven different cars having run in passenger service so far in 2012. Seven trams operated on Easter Sunday for the first of two annual 1940’s events – a high point for the year to date.

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Next stop, Blackpool North Station?

Posted on Monday 9 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Hopes have been raised that the suggested extension of the Blackpool & Fleetwood tramway could be a more realistic prospect than many people had thought, after Blackpool Borough Council announced that a feasibility study is taking place to investigate the possibility of re-introducing trams to the town centre. Old rails last used in the 1960s remain buried under asphalt could be uncovered and brought back into use allowing trams to run from the promenade to North Station.

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Birkenhead tramway takeover saga continues

Posted on Saturday 7 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The long ongoing saga of who will be responsible for the operation of the popular
heritage tramway at Birkenhead continues to move forward, albeit painfully slowly. A meeting has recently taken place with a view to further discussions taking place between representatives of Wirral Council, Merseytravel and the BEST Consortium, to find the best course of action for the future of the tramway and other local amenities.

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More old friends return in Blackpool

Posted on Saturday 7 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

The second day of Blackpool Transport’s new heritage tram coastal tours, Easter
Saturday 7th April, saw two more historic trams which had missed the entire 2011 season back in service on the promenade. The chosen cars on this date were Blackpool & Fleetwood ‘Box’ 40 and open-top Balloon ‘Princess Alice’ 706, both of which were used between Pleasure Beach and Little Bispham during the day.

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Boat 233 almost ready to set sail

Posted on Saturday 7 April 2012 by Andrew Waddington

Work on the repaint and commissioning of Blackpool Boat car 233 at Beamish Museum is now virtually complete thanks to the sterling efforts of both the Beamish Tramway Group and the BusWorks painter, who has been working long hours in order to have 233 ready for service quickly as the Lancastrian Transport Trust’s commitment to their tram’s future.

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