Heaton Park Tramway
Encyclopedia
Heaton Park
Heaton Park, covering an area variously reported as , 247 hectares, , over and is the biggest park in Greater Manchester, England and one of the biggest municipal parks in Europe. The park comprises the grounds of a Grade I listed, neoclassical 18th century country house, Heaton Hall...
, Manchester.
The tramway was briefly closed after thieves stole overhead cables on 17 October 2011, engineers worked flat out to get the tramway fully operational again, within a week.
History
Shortly after Heaton Park was bought by Manchester Corporation the tramTram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
way was extended into the park and the first tram arrived on 31 May 1903, bringing visitors from Manchester. By 1934 buses were taking over from trams and the tramway was disconnected from the main system and covered in tarmac for use by buses.
The Manchester Transport Museum Society (MTMS) was founded in 1961 with the aim of creating a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in which to exhibit the society's collection for public display. It was decided that Heaton Park would be a suitable site for the museum and proposals were made to the Parks Department of Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
.
The route
The initial idea, to construct a tramway from Grand Lodge to Heaton Hall, was considered too expensive, as it would require remedial works to carry it across the railway tunnel. A new scheme was proposed to open up the old Manchester Corporation Tramways spur from Middleton Road to the old tram shelterTram stop
A tram stop is a place designated for a tram to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Tram stops share most characteristics of bus stops, but because trams operate on rails, they often include railway platforms, especially if stepless entries are provided for accessibility...
300 yards (270 m) inside the park. The original track was buried under a layer of tarmac
Tarmac
Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...
which was cleared and the tram shelter restored to form the centre of the society's operations. Work was completed in 1979 and the Heaton Park Tramway was officially opened on the 28 March 1980.
The operation based upon the original siding
Rail siding
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...
has been extended using track salvaged from elsewhere, largely on a right of way to a new terminus
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
by the boating lake. Plans exist for a further extension as far as the hall. Major restoration of the depot
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
and museum complex was completed in 2007.
Trams
The tramway currently has an operating fleet of three electric trams. A Manchester 765 single deck combination car dating from 1914, a single deck Replica Blackpool Vanguard number 7 and Stockport open top tram number 5 which arrived on 25 August 2011.The tramcars
The operating fleet includes the following:- Manchester Tram number 765: a 1914 Manchester 'California' type tram
- Stockport Tram 5: an open top double deck tram dating from 1901 (arrived 25 August 2011)
- Heaton Park 7: fictitious livery, formerly Replica Vanguard 619
A number of cars in store include:
- Blackpool 752: A 1920s Blackpool works car which left the tramway on 26 August 2011 and was put into open air storage at the East Lancashire Railway
- Manchester 173: A 1901 double deck Manchester tram
- Rawtenstall 23: A 1912 Rawtenstall tram
- Blackpool 623 (286): A 1937 Brush car
- Blackpool 680 (280): A 1935 Railcoach, rebuilt in 1961
- Blackpool 702 (239): A 1934 'Balloon'
- Blackpool 708 (248): A 1934 'Balloon'
Trams that have visited the line include:
- Blackpool & Fleetwood 40: A 1914 Fleetwood tram
- Blackpool 225: A 1934 Blackpool tram
- Oporto 196: A 1935 Oporto tram, on loan from Beamish
- Marton Box 31: A 1901 Blackpool Open Top Double Decker From Beamish (The First Decker to run at the park since 1925
- Blackpool 706: A 1934 Balloon, on loan for 4 days
Trams on loan
- Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company L53Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company L53Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company L53 is the only surviving complete Eades horse tram. It was built in 1877 for the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company.-Design:...
: The only Eades Reversible Horse Tram left is on loan to Bury Transport Museum - Leeds 6: Formerly Hull 96, now on loan to Beamish
Projects
Current projects are the restoration of Manchester Corporation Tramways open top tram 173 built in 1901, Fund raising for a new depot building to provide storage for all of the collection of trams is ongoing.External links
- http://www.museumofmuseums.org.uk/exhibitors/heaton-park-tramway