{"id":56813,"date":"2025-01-05T08:48:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T08:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=56813"},"modified":"2025-01-05T08:48:40","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T08:48:40","slug":"east-anglia-transport-museum-the-big-winner-in-tram-of-the-year-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=56813","title":{"rendered":"East Anglia Transport Museum the big winner in Tram of the Year 2024!"},"content":{"rendered":"

The East Anglia Transport Museum in Carlton Colville can celebrate after they walked away with three of the categories at the British Trams Online Tram of the Year 2024! They received the most votes from the public in all three categories they were nominated for, with the only categories they didn\u2019t come out on top being the modern tram ones! Meanwhile, there was also cause for celebration for the Blackpool Tramway and Manchester Metrolink as they received the most votes in the remaining categories.<\/p>\n

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Once again, this year saw voting open for four weeks allowing the public to register their votes for their favourites and after the main \u201cTram (Heritage) of the Year\u201d category was initially a close fought race, the Christmas period saw Blackpool Brush Railcoach 634<\/strong> start to pull away and in the end over 50% of you decided that the Fylde Transport Trust single deck Railcoach had done the most to win the category.<\/p>\n

2024 saw the tram return to passenger service at the East Anglia Transport Museum after several years of restoration, firstly by former owner Andy Ashton and then the Fylde Transport Trust when they took ownership. The work was then swiftly completed at the East Anglia Transport Museum once the tram arrived there in late 2023. It ended up entering service at a special event over Easter 2024 (more on that event a bit later!).<\/p>\n

In a very strong year for contenders in this category, the stunning 10-year restoration of London County Council 1<\/strong> came in second place (after it entered service in September 2024, running for the first time in 57 years!) whilst another tram returning to action at Crich, Newcastle 102<\/strong>, was the third tram on the shortlist (a mere 24 years since that tram last ran!).<\/p>\n

The East Anglia Transport Museum also got just over 50% of the total votes in the \u201cEvent of the Year\u201d category and it was the launch of Blackpool 634<\/strong> which helped out there too. The Blackpool Tram Event took place over the Easter Weekend and the first day not only saw 634<\/strong> enter service but also saw three other trams with a Blackpool connection run: Marton VAMBAC 11<\/strong>, Standard 159<\/strong> and Sheffield 513<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Coming in second place for that category was the Manx Heritage Transport Festival which again pulled out all the stops for a packed programme of events. The opening of the North Station extension in Blackpool was third before two Crich events completed the shortlist: A Journey Through Time and Light and Tram Weekend.<\/p>\n

Two third of those who voted in the \u201cTramway\/Museum of the Year\u201d category decided that once again the East Anglia Transport Museum deserved that accolade. With Blackpool 634 joining the tram operating fleet, work also continues on the development of the museum and work resumed on the big restoration of Glasgow 488<\/strong>. It was also the busiest year for visitor numbers in history for the museum which is continuing to go places!<\/p>\n

The Crich Tramway Village was second in that category for a year which saw two long-term projects return to service (LCC 1<\/strong> and Newcastle 102<\/strong>) to join the most varied operating fleet anywhere within the UK.<\/p>\n

Moving onto modern tramways and the \u201cTram (Modern) of the Year\u201d saw two nominees and led to Blackpool 018<\/strong> getting the most votes. 018<\/strong> was the first tram which carried passengers on the North Station extension when it ran the pre-opening specials and that saw 62% of you decide that deserved that award. The other nominee was South Yorkshire Supertram 105<\/strong>, which returned to service after accident damage repairs for the first time in over three years.<\/p>\n

The final category was also by far the closest \u2013 \u201cTramway (Modern) of the Year\u201d. With just a single voting separating them Manchester Metrolink is your winner, beating Edinburgh Trams into second place. Both networks had seen passenger numbers continue to increase and both had record-breaking days during the 12 months under review. South Yorkshire Supertram wasn\u2019t too far behind as you celebrated its return to local authority control.<\/p>\n

Congratulations to all of this year\u2019s winners and those shortlisted in each of the categories. Thank you for everyone who took the time to vote. And don\u2019t forget to keep your eye out for anything which may be deserving of a nomination for the 2025 Awards!<\/p>\n