Crich

Were what's being replaced original posts (i.e. rescues)? If so, they've had a good innings.

I recall one problem with the longevity of cast iron and steel posts having to do with the habits of our four-legged friends ....

 

Latest from the museum:

"We're pleased to report more progress on the current work being undertaken by Pod-Trak to address the safety issues outside the tram depots. The new traction poles have been installed.These are called “masts” in modern Tramway terminology. As well as being safe and effective, they should last for many more years."

 

https://www.tramway.co.uk/2022/06/29/trams-running-again-from-saturday-2nd-july-2022/

Reopening Saturday 2nd July.

 

Am I allowed to like this post...

 

Groan...

 

The news has just been announced to Tramway Museum Society members that the society is in the final stages of negotiating the transfer of Liverpool 762, Birkenhead 20 and Wallasey 78 from the Merseyside Transport Preservation Society, based in Birkenhead, to join the national collection at Crich. I believe these are the three remaining tramcars in operating condition owned by the MTPS, following Lisbon 730 being donated to Beamish.

A good boost for the Crich fleet but doesn’t bode well for the future of the Birkenhead line, although if the new operators ever do get up and running there’s still the two Hong Kong-built cars (owned by Wirral Borough Council, IIRC), and Liverpool ‘Baby Grand’ 245 (owned by Liverpool Museums) to draw upon.

Interesting to see history repeating itself, with Crich’s Liverpool ‘Green Goddess’ 869 having also previously been owned by the MTPS.

 

I don't think that 869 ever belonged to the Merseyside Tramway Pres Society. Crich paid the purchase fee to Glasgow Corporation & therefore remained owners of the tram,despite it being restored in Liverpool.

Bob.

 

Hi Bob, the version of the story that I had always been told (and is backed up by the history of the car on Crich’s website - https://www.tramway.co.uk/trams/liverpool-869/) is that the MTPS owned the car and following restoration sent it to Crich in 1979 for operation, but it was found to need further major work before it could run. An agreement was made that the TMS would carry out this work in return for being handed ownership of the vehicle.

 

The depot where 869 was restored was not far from where I lived and I visited frequently during the restoration. One of the long standing members told me that they finished the job, at which point Crich said thanks,we'll have our tram back now.

 

I don’t believe this member’s story is accurate, but I’ve heard this idea before that somehow ‘Crich stole 869’. This is all long before the idea of a heritage tramway on Merseyside was on the table, so if the MTPS were restoring 869 to operation then it will always have had to go outside of the area on loan to somewhere like Crich. When it was inspected by the engineers at Crich it was found the bogies were suffering from severe cracking which hadn’t been addressed by the MTPS, amongst other isssues, and at that point the MTPS would have been free to take it elsewhere, but instead apparently came to the very pragmatic decision to hand 869 over to the TMS to ensure it’s operational future, much as the present day society is doing with 20, 78 and 762. It was noted, incidentally, in the statement to the TMS membership, that if the conditions were ever right for these cars to return to Merseyside then this would be seriously considered

If 869 was a TMS-owned car from the outset, then surely a return to Crich for operation would have been known to be the objective during restoration, and it wouldn’t have been a surprise or been met with any ill feeling? Several TMS-owned trams in the 70s/80s were restored by local groups around the country under such arrangements.

 

869 definitely had the EMB lightweight bogie frames replaced with new ones-the design was well known for cracking, I understand some redesign work was done to prevent this. The original frames are at Clay Cross. It also had a new underframe, which involved lifting the entire body from the lower deck windows up in one piece. Neither were cheap jobs!