The weeks following the summer holidays often remain busy and that has been no exception this year.  Whilst behind the scenes, work has progressed along the lines usually reported here (and which we’ll pick up again next time), there has been a lot of on-site activity too.

Below: Oporto 196 and Sheffield 264 (the former undertaking driver refresher training, the latter in service) were the first two trams to pass each other in operation, since closure of the tramway in March 2020.

Below: We have relocated our stored buses, Newcastle trolleybus 501 and West Riding Leyland Cub 560 from the boat store in the Regional Museum Store, where the space is required for Tyne & Wear Museum’s own use (we were essentially long-term squatters!).  501 is now in the tram depot, whilst the Cub is stored temporarily pending a location being prepared for it.  Here is the trolleybus, back in the familiar territory of the tram depot.

Below: Newcastle 114 has been placed onto the pit in order for its motors to be re-fitted as part of it’s overhaul completion and eventual re-entry into service.  The motors are placed into the pit, then lifted using a cradle that is assembled within the lower saloon.

David Williams Photo Charter

On Thursday and Friday this week, we hosted a David Williams photo-charter, where a group of transport enthusiast photographers make a contribution to the museum in order to secure particular vantage points or items from the collection for them to photograph in appropriate settings.  The additional income is particularly welcome at the present time.  Quite a lot of the charter activity was visible to museum visitors too – hopefully giving them quite a bit of extra value for their tickets.

Below: We started in the Colliery, with No.1, No.18, No.1370 and Glyder.  We also included motorcycles, buses, trams, horse-drawn vehicles and the Waggonway within the itinerary, concluding with Sunderland 16 on Friday evening.  I won’t caption each image – they are familiar subjects, but it was great to coordinate all of these artefacts into something of an enhanced operation over the two-days; a good warm-up session for our transport weekend on the 25/26 of this month…

These photographs are just phone shots – the participants capturing much better images, some of which I hope to be able tp share here in due course.