National Tramway Museum now open!

Posted by Chris Graham on 1st July 2022

Crich Tramway Village, home to the National Tramway Museum, has re-opened and is welcoming visitors once again.

The National Tramway Museum: Newcastle 102 is expected to return to service during the 2022 season.

After a difficult couple of years, the popular Crich Tramway Village – home to the National Tramway Museum – managed to open for some time during 2020 and 2021, though operating under government Covid-19 guidelines, which meant limited access to some of the facilities.

Now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, all the facilities are open again, although with continued measures to maintain high levels of hygiene.

The team at Crich look forward to launching refurbished tram, Newcastle 102, into service later in the season, following further checks.

LPTB 1622 is the only remaining working example of the largest class of tramcars from anywhere in the UK, and will be running complete with waist panel adverts similar to those it would have carried in London between 1912 and 1940.

LPTB 1622 is the only remaining working example of the largest class of tramcars from anywhere in the UK. (Pic: Peter Whiteley)

Another popular London tram, London United Tramways 159, originally built to an elegant Edwardian design to appeal to the fashionable West London districts of Hampton Court, Hammersmith and Wimbledon in 1901, has required some maintenance, but should join the operating fleet after final adjustments.

Engineering manager, Graeme Wrigglesworth, said: “The Workshop and Facilities Teams worked tirelessly over the winter on the maintenance and refurbishment of the trams, track, overhead lines and general infrastructure.”

There is an exciting programme of special events for the 2022 season, which sees the return of popular favourites such as ‘Memories of the 1940s,’ ‘Great British Seaside,’ ‘Classic Motorcycle Day,’ ‘Teddy Bears Picnic’ and ‘Steampunk Weekend,’ plus new events such as ‘Dinosaur Day’ and a weekend dedicated to ‘Yarn Bombing’.

London United Tramways 159 should soon join the operational fleet after some mechanical adjustments.

The ever popular ‘Tram Day’ on September 17th will feature many of the operational trams running, and offers the chance to experience the return trip into the beautiful Derbyshire countryside from a variety of trams, each with their own distinctive interiors and ride experience.

For more information, please visit www.tramway.co.uk

This news item comes from a recent issue of Old Glory, and you can get a great, money-saving subscription to this magazine simply by clicking HERE