It seems my weekly editorial was removed from the site at the request of person or persons unknown (but not hard to guess). Not one to accept enforced censorship it is reproduced once again below, with the added advantage that it appears once more in the News Feeds of followers to the site who may have missed it first time. It seems Trams Today can be slated on various forums but when a response is posted it causes offence…… After the excitement of the launch of LUT 159 at Crich last weekend, the following few days have been fairly quiet on the tram front, with little of interest happening. What news there has been has largely been unfortunate, with an accident in Blackpool, bombs found under Blundell Street depot and the suspension of services on the Southport Pier tramway due to structural defects with the pier itself. It has been possible to publish some positive news although this largely looks to developments yet to occur, such as the unveiling of the first new trams from Nottingham and Birmingham, both of which are almost completed at their respective builders in France and Spain. Closer to home, the announcement of the first ever open day to be held by the North East Electric Traction Trust at their Sunderland site should be an occasion to look forward to, providing the first opportunity to see their growing collection of trams in their new home. It seems that, although it has been a quiet week, some other tramway sites have been bursting with comments from followers, although, on one particular group, the discussion has largely centred around Trams Today rather than trams! Thankfully I am not a member of this Crich yahoo group so was able to ignore the vitriolic comments spouted by TMS working members such as Christoph Heuer and Nicholas Sturgess but, having been made aware of them, I feel the need to set the record straight. No, Trams Today is not aiming to destroy Crich (as if a site on Facebook would have that power), no Trams Today is not anti-Crich (as evidenced by the enormous amount of positive publicity given to the museum, including the review of the recent Capital event and glowing reports of various launches held last year), no Trams Today does not have a hissy fit if another site publishes a news story first (mainly because I have a full time job and a life and don’t sit at my computer all day waiting for a story to break) and no, Trams Today does not boycott stories already published by other sites – if it’s interesting and relevant it appears in the news section as soon as possible. No doubt these people will continue with their misguided and venomous campaign against this site, bringing Crich further into disrepute in the process and meanwhile Trams Today will continue unaffected and continue to bring you all the latest news and features as we have done ever since being launched – news that is both positive and negative. Onto more pleasant matters and next weekend should be a very eventful one, with two events being held at opposite ends of the country. In Croydon, a short distance from Tramlink, the annual Festival of Model tramways in being staged, which will see trade stands and model layouts galore and is bound to be as popular as ever. At the same time, further north, Centenary car 648 will be launched in its newly applied original livery when it operates on tour to the Fylde Tramway Society alongside Princess Alice 706. This is a suitable curtain raiser for Tram Sunday the following day when the heritage trams will once again return to use. Four trams are scheduled to be in action, with two acting as static exhibits throughout the duration of the festival and two providing a shuttle service on the northern section of the line, with all four returning to Blackpool in service after the event closes. Although he trams to be used have not yet been confirmed, with the recent spell of blazing hot weather it is almost a certainty that the Boats will feature heavily in the day’s proceedings. As expected, Trams Today will provide full and detailed coverage from Blackpool of all these events plus, hopefully, some views of the model tramway festival. With the theme of the FTS tour being ‘A Return to the Centenary’, this week’s cover photos appropriately feature two scenes from that momentous year, both of which have particular relevance to the two trams being used. The banner picture is of an almost new Centenary Car 641 heading through the streets of Fleetwood and carrying the special advertising panels celebrating the Centenary. The livery worn by 641 is the one in which 648 now carries in its role as a designated heritage tram. The profile picture this week also features a tram which carried adverts for that year’s celebrations – the newly restored Princess Alice 706 is seen on the centre track at Tower whilst scrapped Balloon 722 passes by. 706 will pass by the Tower again next week, once again on a private hire although the opportunity to stand on this piece of track is no longer available following its removal in 2008. As well as all the latest news, Trams Today will be continuing with our two features over the next seven days, with a continuation of the detailed look at events from 1973, featuring many preservation projects which were in their infancy forty years ago, many of which have subsequently reached completion whilst others have fallen by the wayside. The remainder of the Nottingham’s tram fleet will also be covered in detail over the week ahead, with further views of trams wearing both the original livery and the newer scheme as well as more distinctive advertising colours. As ever I hope everyone enjoys all the content coming up over the next seven days, especially all those who have joined the page in the last week. A warm welcome is extended to you and I hope you find the page both interesting and informative.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 06:27:58 +0000