The mock-up tram which was used to offer a taste of the future in Edinburgh is now homeless, and potentially available to interested parties, according to an article published by the Edinburgh Evening News. With the city’s new tram system finally open for business, the mock display tram is now considered surplus to requirements and is presently in store at Lothian Buses’ Seafield depot pending a decision on its long-term future.<\/p>\n
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The large mock-up was made to show locals what the city’s new trams would look like, and was seen by around 74,000 when it was prominently displayed in the city centre. Although lacking wheels and mechanical parts, the 9 metre long\u00a0tram is fully fitted out internally and even the driving cab is kitted out with realistic-looking controls. As so much effort went into the construction of this life-sized model, transport bosses are keen to find a suitable new use for it rather than sending it to a scrapyard.<\/p>\n
A number of ideas have already been suggested for the mock-up tram’s future, including use at the Risk Factory at Chesser, where it could have been used to demonstrate the potential dangers of large railed vehicles to children. However, its large size proved to be a stumbling block and alternative ideas are now being looked at, with the most likely option currently being to use it as a novel tram ticket office at Edinburgh Airport. Another option would be to use it as a canteen, or to\u00a0offer it to a museum for display to represent Britain’s latest tramway developments, with the Riverside Museum at Glasgow being one suggested destination for it. Alternatively, perhaps it could be housed at the National Tramway Museum to represent the UK’s second generation tramways, and provide an interesting contrast with Edinburgh 35<\/strong> in the Exhibition Hall? Whilst a previous attempt to preserve a modern mock-up tram there ended with the item in question being disposed of, this would certainly help the museum to bring the story of the tram right up to date and would probably be of considerable interest to younger visitors in particular.<\/p>\n Whatever the future has in store for this tram, it is encouraging that Councillors and transport bosses are keen to re-use it in some form and hopefully a positive plan will be agreed upon and announced before too long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The mock-up tram which was used to offer a taste of the future in Edinburgh is now homeless, and potentially available to interested parties, according to an article published by the Edinburgh Evening News. With the city’s new tram system … Continue reading