Welcome to another weekly review of what has been an action packed seven days for the tramway world, with major announcements occurring almost daily. The beginning of the week saw attention almost exclusively focused on Crich, with a very successful Enthusiasts Day event held and the announcement that work was to begin on Oporto 273, returning another sidelined tram to the active fleet. Less welcome was the news that visitor figures are still declining at Britain’s premier tramway museum but, hopefully, changes planned for 2014 can arrest this decline and ensure that Crich begins its gradual climb back into profitability. The undoubted highlight of the week comes from Blackpool with the announcement that the long awaited extension of the system to North Station has made a major step towards becoming a reality, following the procurement of over sixteen million pounds from Transport for Lancashire. Who would have dreamed only a decade ago that not only would the Blackpool tramway have managed to dramatically reverse the year on year decline in the number of passengers using the system but that it would also be contemplating the first extension to the system for almost ninety years. Blackpool is definitely justifying its motto ‘Progress’ and after many decades struggling for survival is now, rightly, at the forefront of tramway developments once more. Equally pleasing has been the news that Jubilee Car 761, one of the only types of tram not currently represented in the heritage fleet at Blackpool, could soon be rescued from obscurity and return to the safety of Rigby Road. Although some obstacles need to be overcome before this is achieved, to have this car safely housed undercover will be a tremendous achievement and, even though the arrangement will initially be only temporary, hopefully one day it can become a permanent resident in its natural home and become a fully fledged members of Blackpool Transport’s ever expanding heritage fleet. We have also seen this week the bizarre move of T68 1011 into Manchester city centre for the Red Bull City challenge. Would anyone have ever envisaged a tram being used as a motorbike obstacle course? Its ultimate fate still remains uncertain but, with stripping completed and the tram now existing as two separate body shells its usefulness to Metrolink is over and its fall from grace could be swift; next week we may well be reporting the first second generation British tram to meet the ultimate fate at the hands of the scrap man. Although many positive developments have occurred this week, the low [point has undoubtedly been the departure of Boat 605 from Beamish and towards its new life in San Francisco. Much has already been written about this despicable action and now that it is a fait accompli there is little more to add. There is no doubt it will be looked after and cherished in its new home and will enjoy a long and successful career, however the manner of its departure will not be forgotten and its former owners will no doubt reap the results of their actions for a very long time to come. In the midst of all this hectic news coverage, Trams Today recorded its own major milestone when we welcomed our 2000th like. The ever growing following the page has attracted never ceases to amaze me; when the site was created almost two years ago I would have been pleased to have reached 500 likes but to see a continual increase to reach this astounding total has been very rewarding and justifies the effort put in to keep the page up to date with the latest news and features. Here’s to the continued growth of the page and, hopefully, we will soon be reaching a further milestone as we welcome member number 3000! At the time of writing the number of likes has reached 2002 which has prompted this week’s cover photos to feature images taken in that year. The banner picture is one of my favourite images ever taken in over 20 years of photographing trams and features a five car line up on the centre track at North Pier, with all of Blackpool resident vintage fleet included. About to make their way to Tram Sunday is Standard 147, Stockport 5, Sheffield 513, Bolton 66 and Box 40 with, out of sight of the camera, Coronation 660 bringing up the rear. The five double deckers represent an eclectic mix of trams and thankfully three out of the five are still resident in Blackpool today, 2002 was notable as the year in which Standard 147 returned to service in Blackpool after being imported back from America two years previously. Carrying passengers for the first time in April, it ran for only a few weeks without adverts to distract slightly from its immaculate appearance. The tram is seen at Fleetwood Ferry on its launch day having surprisingly been dispatched to the northern terminus as a special on one of its first journeys. Looking ahead to the week to come and, as well as all the latest news, our two regular feature will be continuing. We delve into the past with a look at all the events which occurred twenty years ago in 1993, focusing over the course of the week on happenings in Blackpool whilst our countdown of the entire fleet of the Tramway Museum Society also continues over the next seven days. I hope you all enjoy the content coming up over the week ahead and, as always, a big thank you to those who have contributed to the page through either allowing their photographs to be used or providing insightful and relevant comments on various articles.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 15:44:30 +0000
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