Thursday 31 December 2020

Reindeer Bus

Enviro 448 on Clifton Drive North at Squires Gate sporting a reindeer nose
Blackpool Transport ADL Enviro 448 was spotted on Clifton Drive North at Squires Gate on New Year's Eve, wearing a red reindeer nose.

Wednesday 30 December 2020

Stockholm Trams

Flexity Classic 2 heading towards the city centre along Strandvägen
Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden and has a tram system consisting of four routes. During a very brief visit in 2018 only route 7 was observed, and at the time it was mostly being operated by Bombardier Flexity Classic trams. The six Flexity Classic trams in use on route 7 were delivered new in 2011, and unusually they were actually owned by the Norrköping public transport company, and only leased by SL Stockholm. In December 2020 the Flexity Classics were withdrawn and transported to Norrköping, they are being replaced by CAF Urbos model A35 three section trams.

Flexity Classic 1 crossing the Djurgården Bridge on route 7

Flexity Classic 6 heading inbound along Strandvägen on route 7

CAF Urbos UXL 461 outbound on Djurgårdsvägen on route 7

1920 Stockholm A1 tram 76 on Strandvägen operating heritage line 7N

MAN A23 Lion's City G 4074 on route 2 to Katarina-Sofia

Stockholm Red Buses 4, a 2012 Volvo B9RLE with UNVI Urbis 2.5 DD body

Saturday 12 December 2020

Tram rail on Cleveleys Beach

Tram rail and wooden board remaining from an old groyne on Cleveleys beach

Whilst going for a walk along the beach at Cleveleys the other day, I noticed a line of steel girders sticking out of the sand where an old wooden groyne used to be, most of the wooden boards have long since rotted away and a line of large boulders have replaced the old groyne. On closer inspection these turned out to be no ordinary steel girders, but sections of old tram rail driven deep into the sand.

A short section of tram rail sticking out of the sand
An end view of a barnacle encrusted piece of tram rail
Tram rail with Norbreck Castle Hotel visible in the distance
Tram rail along the alignment of the old groyne (now replaced by boulders)