Heritage on Hire

Balloon 715 negotiating the rarely used crossover near the Tower

Railcoach 680 and Balloon 715 were used for a private hire on Monday 19th September. In the morning 680 made a tour of the system from Rigby Road depot to Pleasure Beach, Fleetwood and Starr Gate, before returning to the depot for a crew break. After lunch it was the turn of Balloon 715 which made various runs, venturing as far south as Starr Gate and Cleveleys to the north. Marton 31 was also hired for an evening run through the Illuminations.

A future Heritage Tour destination? Balloon 715 with "North Station Blackpool" displayed on the blind

Balloon 715 at Cleveleys with one of the new Enviro 400 City buses passing by

Railcoach 680 at Starr Gate terminus during its morning charter on 19th September

30th Anniversary Livery

BTS Volvo B7RLE 524 carrying its new 30th Anniversary green and cream livery, seen at Cleveleys

Wright Eclipse bodied Volvo B7RLE No. 524 has been painted in a 1990s style green and cream livery to commemorate 30 years passing since Blackpool Transport Services was formed. 524 has been in use on the service 7 between Cleveleys and Lytham for the last couple of days.

Midland Metro

Trams 30 and 22 passing each other at the junction of Bull St and Corporation St in Birmingham

Midland Metro is a 13 mile long light rail line running between St George's tram station in Wolverhampton and Grand Central Station, next to Birmingham New Street railway station. The tramway is operated by National Express using a fleet of 21 Spanish built CAF Urbos 3 articulated trams. Most of the alignment of the route uses the former Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level line, with street running at either end, along Bilston Road in Wolverhampton and in the streets of Birmingham city centre.
 

Tram 37 named "Ozzy Osbourne", among new office buildings on Bull Street in Birmingham

Tram 35 on the grass tramway reservation near the Snow Hill tram stop in Birmingham

Tram 28 running along Corporation Street in the heart of Birmingham city centre

35 at the Priestfield stop in Wolverhampton, which is the last station on the former railway alignment

Tram 22 passing The New Inn on Bilston Road in Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton bound tram 23 passing beneath a railway bridge on Bilston Road

28 showing its vertical articulation as it crosses the canal bridge on Bilston Road in Wolverhampton

Seville Trams

Seville 304 heading south on the catenary free Avenida de la Constitución

Seville is the capital of Andalucia in Spain, and since 2007 has operated a short tramway in the city centre that goes under the name MetroCentro. The line is only 2.2 km long with five stops, and since 2011 the section that runs through the historic quarter past the cathedral has been catenary free. The original cars that were purchased to operate the route were replaced in 2011 with five new Urbos 3 articulated trams manufactured by CAF. The new trams run in battery mode on the catenary free section, charging up at the tram stops via a pantograph that raises to connect with a short section of overhead.

Seville 304 on the Avenida de la Constitución with the cathedral at the right

Seville 301 arriving at the Archivo de Indias tram stop

Seville 302 leaving the Plaza Nueva tram station at the northern end of the line

Seville 301 northbound on the catenary free Avenida de la Constitución

Seville 301 charging its batteries via the pantograph at the Archivo de Indias tram stop

The Graca Circle

Route 12 Remodelado tram 577 on Rua Sao Tome at the junction with Graca Circle line 28

Probably the most famous tram route in Lisbon is the Graca Circle. The Graca Circle line is made up of two separate routes, the 12 and 28, both of which wind their way up from the city centre through the hilly Alfama district, before diverging and descending to meet up again at Praca Martim Moniz. These lines are like a twisting switchback, and are some of the steepest adhesion only tram routes in the world. Route 28 is the most popular of these two services with tourists, with the trams often running to capacity all day through the Alfama district. A shorter but equally hilly journey through Alfama can be made on the circular route 12, where the chance of finding a seat is much easier.
 

Remodelado tram 552 on the Graca Circle route 28 at Largo de Santa Luzia

Remodelado 577 at a tram stop on route 12 at Largo Portas do Sol

Remodelado tram 577 on route 12 with the Church of Sao Vicente of Fora in the background

Remodelado tram 579 descending the steep Rua Limoeiro on route 28

Remodelado tram 565 climbing Travessa Sao Tome on route 28

The interior of Remodelado tram 577 at the start of route 12 at Praca Martim Moniz

Lisbon Trams

Remodelado trams 562 and 543 passing each other on route 25 in the Praca do Comercio

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, and is famous for its hilly switchback tram system operated mostly by small 4-wheel trams run by Carris (Companhia Carris de Ferro de Lisboa) the Lisbon Tramways Company. Until the 1990s the system operated a diverse fleet of elderly trams including 4-wheelers, bogie cars and also trams with trailers. In 1995 ten modern three-section articulated trams were purchased from Siemens for the coastal route 15 to Alges, replacing the elderly bogie cars that were formerly used on this service. The remainder of the present day fleet is mostly comprised of 45 four-wheel 'Remodelado' trams, which began to be introduced in 1995, and are basically original 1930s 4-wheel tram bodies rebuilt and equipped with new trucks and electrical equipment, they are also single-ended and are fitted with both pantographs and trolley-poles, the poles being for use on the narrow, hilly routes. The standard fleet livery is yellow and white, although currently the majority of the trams are covered with adverts, there are also several dedicated 4-wheel tourist trams painted in a variety of colour schemes. The current system is comprised of five tram routes, the 12, 15, 18, 25 & 28.

Remodelado tram 578 on route 18 at Belem, closely followed by route 15 articulated car 509

Remodelado tram 551 on route 28, making the descent into the city through the hilly Alfama district

Remodelado tram 568 in standard fleet livery on route 15 at Belem, heading back towards the city

Route 12 Remodelado 564 and tour tram 735 pass each other in front of Lisbon Cathedral

Siemens articulated car 508 entering the Praca do Comercio on route 15 to Alges

Tour car 5 waiting at the tourist tram stop in the Praca do Comercio

Museum car 1 which is used to transport visitors around the Carris Tramway Museum

Enviro 400 City Bus in Service

Enviro 400 City Bus 405 turning into Victoria Road in Cleveleys on service 9 to Blackpool

I finally caught up with the Palladium Enviro 400 City Buses in service today, after being away on holiday for a week. I managed to capture a few photos in Cleveleys during some brief spells of sunshine this afternoon.

Enviro 400 City Bus 401 heading west along Victoria Road in Cleveleys

Enviro 400 City Bus 409 at Cleveleys Bus Station

A rear view of Enviro 400 City Bus 405 on Victoria Road in Cleveleys

DAF DB250LF 365 and Enviro 400 City 408 at Cleveleys Bus Station

Palladium branded Volvo B7RLE 530 and Enviro 400 City 409 at Cleveleys Bus Station