Liverpool tramcar returns to service on Wirral's Heritage route

A tramcar has returned to service after more than 55 years following a six-year restoration project.
Tramcar 245, which is the last surviving Liverpool Baby Grand, will carry paying passengers for the first time since it stopped service in 1957.
The 70-seater vehicle will run on Wirral's Heritage tramway after it was restored by the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society.
Chairman Terry Martin said it looked "absolutely stunning".

Source

Lovely bit of nostalgia. Before my time . watched a few vids of the old trams and the trolley buses ...great history

Am I right in thinking that the tramway is still only 1,200 yards long? You'd hardly need to pack your butties for that would you?

Last I heard was that Peel Holdings had rejected the extension of the tramway to Wirral Waters and the trams were about to shut through lack of funds.

The was also a kerfuffle about use of property at Pacufic Road iirc

I'd love to know what the current situation is.

It is a shame that the tramway wasn't extendec along the old haymarket line

Thanks for the info D.D. At least they are still running and looking great. I saw the trams in the transport museum a few years back and all the instructions in the drivers cab were in Chinese, do you know if that's where they were manufactured or were the Chinese instructions an add on?

The first two cars to be delivered to B'head when the first stage of the tramway opened were indeed made in China. Basically Hong Kong cars painted in B'head livery. You are quite right Lud, a lot of the electrical equipment was labelled in Chinese - maybe some of it still is? Stuff in the cabinet under the stairs at one end. These first two cars are (IMHO) hideous boxes and look nothing like British trams at all. Still at least they got the tramway going, so can't winge too much I suppose.

Doesn't 245 look a beauty? Memories of riding on them when a small schoolboy to Bowring Park (6A) and Page Moss (40). A fantastic turn of speed on the reservations! Happy days.

Thanks for that Pinz.

Thanks to the trams, many of the roads on the outskirts of Liverpool are extremely wide, because the trams used to run on tracks in the middle, often hedged in, with a full width carriageway on either side.
Here's an example at Page Moss, the destination of the tram shown.


https://goo.gl/maps/ts6JX

By amazing coincidence, at least one of our members lives at that location you linked Chris. I've parked there a number of times without realising trams were the reason for the layout.