Historic London Tram - Watching & Riding; Day & Night!

[@TimSailorman]

Great stuff! The sound of 1858 is real music in my ears. Regards from Germany!

[@Electra7241]

This film really hits the spot. Well done Carlton Colville and the movie maker. Peter Davies certainly did the right thing. It's great to see a London tram properly displayed with adverts on it. If only this tram could be loaned to Blackpool. The trolley heads could surely be cranked and fixed so as to negotiate the frogs, as long as the trolleys were never turned that is. Same with 331, "1622" and, in future, LCC No 1. It would be an echo of Blackpool's conduit beginnings.

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

David Holt Thanks for your kind words. It was my pleasure to visit the EATM, film this and make it available for others to enjoy. I feel sure that Peter Davies and everyone else involved in the saving of what we now see as historic vehicles plus their second lives at transport meseums are (would have been) thrilled to see events such as these with entire families coming to enjoy such fantastic late summer evenings. But it is tinged with sadness in that people need to travel to a living museum to see such transports in action - when they should still be in daily use in our towns and cities. Everything was replaced with fume belching diesel buses...I do not know if London 1858 will ever make it to Blackpool. Maybe though Beamish would be better as rather than acting as a leisure themed visitor ride for which passengers must pay a special fare it would be open to all visitors to the site and meeting real transport needs.

[@Electra7241]

I'm running the movie again as I write this, just listening to the wonderful sounds, bringing back memories deeply ingrained into my very soul from the days when I rode extensively on London trams as a nipper. Nothing sounds quite like a London tram when driven properly. Absolutely delicious. Many thanks again. And I agree about Beamish, but at the same time there ought to be a way of running London trams at Blackpool on new infrastructure. Where there's a will there's a way.

[@Bruce-h8w]

I forgot to mention - upstairs at the front hung the warning DO NOT SPIT! Those were the days.

[@Bruce-h8w]

I fear I was sick on a 46 tram, somewhere around 1944! They swayed a lot.

[@NextSound170]

The old tracks are at Fulwell and Brixton Garages for those wondering 😎

[@wharris302]

The acceleration on that thing...wow

[@grahamfeakins9486]

Two points + general, praiseworthy comment - (1) Reversible tramcar seats such as those shown were always set (shoved over) by the conductor at the end of a route to face forwards and the passengers had no choice. (2) Contrary to your comment about folk on board during the night scene chatting rather than listening to the tram sounds, isn't that just the sort of thing you would have heard on any London tram, especially after tipping out time at the pubs of inner South London?! To me, it is most authentic. I remember as a small boy a London tram parked outside Chessington Zoo after the first generation London tramways had been abandoned and I cried my eyes out when it 'disappeared'. It was No. 1858! Little did I know then that the admirable work at EATMS and elsewhere would see that London tram running again. As well as the clip itself, thanks for captions, which are (otherwise...) most informative for those who have not seen or knew anything about the first generation London trams running.

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

Graham Feakins Thanks Graham.Having read your comment I have gained a fresh understanding of what I filmed. I'm too young to have travelled on a London tram in normal public service but of course when people have been out for the evening they are often in high spirits - as seen in the film.I recall being in Bournemouth aged about 6 or 7 and when we wanted to return to the hotel I made a fuss because I wanted to travel on a bus which had arms on its roof!. I knew what trolleybuses were because I'd seen them when on holiday in Europe (ditto trams). I also understood their benefits, such as quietness and zero air pollution. I was with my mother and a grandmother both of whom were not impressed by my desire but it just so happened that the trolleybus went were we wanted to go... so my wish was fulfilled. To my dismay the next time I was in Bournemouth the system had closed and the wires were being dismantled.

[@jimbrittin5580]

@@CitytransportInfoplus Great stuff. As children visiting our South East London relatives our favourite was the 66, which terminated at Forest Hill. Were always allowed to reverse the seats on arrival!

[@rajendran7037]

Super.

[@tph2558]

I would love to see one of these HR2,s doing their stuff on Blackpool promenade getting up to speed to Fleetwood WoW I wish

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

+tommey tucker You are not the only person to think this way but the EATM would need a LOT of convincing to even lend this tram somewhere else.

[@Duraganthelion]

What was the maximum speed of these trams? It looks like at 3:20 this one was up to a fair bit of speed.

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

I am unsure what their maximum speed was. As far as I am aware they were not fitted with speedometers. However ... I heard of a late night Feltham tram, perhaps in the Streatham area, being stopped by the police for speeding. The tram was going at 52 mph - in a 30 mph zone.

[@rajendran7037]

With bell

[@johnjephcote7636]

Why were the headlight masks removed? The wartime masks were kept until the end in '52.

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

sorry, I have no idea

[@borismedina8818]

Is it still open ?

[@CitytransportInfoplus]

The museum is expected to reopoen after lockdown, here is a link to their website - the correct page that shows which days it plans to be open in 2021 www.eatransportmuseum.co.uk/times-prices

[@rajendran7037]

Varen

[@rajendran7037]

No cinema

[@rajendran7037]

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