{"id":15250,"date":"2016-08-25T18:32:39","date_gmt":"2016-08-25T17:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=15250"},"modified":"2016-08-25T18:32:39","modified_gmt":"2016-08-25T17:32:39","slug":"oporto-c65-and-bournemouth-85-set-to-change-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=15250","title":{"rendered":"Oporto C65 and Bournemouth 85 set to change owners"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most elusive trams of the national collection is set to enjoy a rare period in the limelight ahead of a change of ownership. Oporto C65<\/strong> was acquired by the National Tramway Museum in 2005 but upon transfer from Portugal was immediately stored at Clay Cross and has not actually been seen in public since. However all that is now set to change with news that the tram is set to move to Beamish but not before it is one of the stars of Tram Day on Saturday 10th September.<\/p>\n

The annual Tram Day \u2013 previously known as Enthusiasts\u2019 Day \u2013 will also see other ownership changes with Chesterfield 8<\/strong> and the South Staffordshire Tramways Truck becoming official members of the national collection. But by far the most exciting tram set to transfer ownership (well in this writer\u2019s opinion anyway!) is Bournemouth 85<\/strong> which will move from the closed Museum of Electricity in Christchurch to Crich in the near future.<\/p>\n

Oporto C65<\/strong> was built in 1933 by the Public Transport Company of Porto and was originally used to transport coal. It was deemed surplus to requirements on its home system and was acquired by the Tramway Museum Society, making the move to Derbyshire in 2005. However instead of finding a home at Crich it was put into storage at Clay Cross and has remained there ever since. In the meantime Crich had also taken ownership of the Croydon Tramlink KLV which it was felt could provide more flexibility for maintenance work. A recent review of some trams in the collection decided that C65<\/strong> would find a more active future with another Museum and so a resolution was put forward to transfer ownership of C65<\/strong> to Beamish at the recent AGM. This resolution was passed and so C65<\/strong> will become the second tram to be transferred between the two organisations in recent years further cementing the good relationships enjoyed between tram organisations across the UK.<\/p>\n

However before the tram moves to the northeast it is to play a starring role at Tram Day which this year will focus on changes within the collection. It will be displayed alongside fellow Oporto trams horse car 9<\/strong> and electric car 273<\/strong> during the event. Further details of Tram Day are expected to follow ahead of the event \u2013 keep an eye on British Trams Online<\/em> for the latest news.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the transfer Paul Jarman, Assistant Director Transport & Industry at Beamish, said: \u201cWe are delighted to be considered by the Tramway Museum as a suitable home for No.65<\/strong> and it further strengthens the excellent working relationship that we have built up between the museums over the years. We have wanted to add a works tram to the fleet at Beamish for some years and the chance to obtain a complete vehicle such as this is a rare one indeed! It is our intention to overhaul and recommission No.65<\/strong> and use it as part of the very popular tram driving experience courses we run, also benefiting our existing fleet by alleviating the wear and tear on these trams. We very much look forward to the tram\u2019s arrival at Beamish and its entry into service in due course. This is also a great reflection on the mature collecting policy museums need to adopt to ensure their collections endure, with appropriate disposals every bit a part of that policy as new acquisitions and it is very pleasing to see the enhancements to the Crich Tramway Village collections which are taking place courtesy of the National Railway Museum\u201d.<\/p>\n

The transfer of Chesterfield 8 and the South Staffordshire truck will not see any changes for these two objects as they are already at Crich on loan and are major exhibits within the Great Exhibition Hall. Horse tram 8 has seen occasional use whilst at Crich but its outside appearances have been confined to special events over the past few years. As for the South Staffordshire truck although it is not an exhibit which gets the pulse racing as many of the trams do it covers an important part of tram history as it represents an important part of the history of tramway engineering from the early 1890s and allows us to directly compare how later tramcar trucks and bogies evolved from this form.<\/p>\n

It has also been confirmed that Bournemouth 85<\/strong> will soon be moving to Crich with ownership of this tram also being transferred from the National Railway Museum. 85<\/strong> remains stored in a closed museum and had an uncertain future until recently but its transfer will see it able to help to tell the story of the tramcar in the UK. 85<\/strong> is a 3ft 6in gauge tram built in 1914 and following closure of the Bournemouth system was sold on to Llandudno where it enjoyed several more years of service before being preserved and joining the collection at the Museum of British Transport.<\/p>\n

Bob Gwynne, Associate Curator of Collections and Research at the National Railway Museum, said: \u201cFollowing the closure of the Museum of British Transport at Clapham in 1973 this tramcar went to the museum in Christchurch. Administration of this loan in recent times moved from the Science Museum to ourselves and we\u2019ve been tasked with finding a new home for the vehicle since the museum at Christchurch closed. We\u2019re delighted that this significant survivor from the tram era will now have a permanent home at the National Tramway Museum, where it can play a valuable part in the story of travel by street tram.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laura Waters, Curator at Crich Tramway Village, said: \u201cThe changes that are taking place with our Designated collection of vehicles, reflects one of our guiding principles, which is to promote the permanent preservation of tramway vehicles and equipment, and to work with other organisations to achieve this. We have long established relationships with both Beamish the Living History Museum of the North, and the National Railway Museum, and the transfers we are doing now between the organisations, are just the next step in the care and preservation of the four items. Our collection here at the Museum continues to grow and change, which is an exciting and challenging prospect for everyone involved with the Museum. It never ceases to amaze me how rich and fascinating the history of tramways is, and that each time we add something to the collection, we get to share that intrigue and fascination with our visitors here at the Museum.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Oporto Works Car C65 sits in Clay Cross. On 10th September it will be star of the show at Crich for the annual Tram Day.<\/p><\/div>\n

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A familiar sight at Crich but now a permanent sight. Chesterfield 8 is set to be officially transferred to the national collection.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The South Staffordshire Tramway truck will also change ownership on 10th September. (All Photographs courtesy of Crich Tramway Village)<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most elusive trams of the national collection is set to enjoy a rare period in the limelight ahead of a change of ownership. Oporto C65 was acquired by the National Tramway Museum in 2005 but upon transfer … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15250"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15250"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15257,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15250\/revisions\/15257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}