Heaton Park Tramway

15/09/2022

There could only be one picture that we could share today as our look back at tramway history in the area. The day the 17th of July 1992 when the late Queen came to open Manchester's new Metrolink system in St Peter's Square.

09/09/2022

IMPORTANT NOTICE

In line with the rest of our colleagues and friends throughout Heaton Park and the wishes of Manchester City Council, as a mark of respect due to the loss of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, we will not be running a public tram service both this weekend (10/11) and next weekend (17/18), nor will our museum be open.

This does NOT affect our Taster Tram Driving Experiences that are taking place tomorrow - if you are one of these people, please rest assured your session is not affected, please arrive at the time noted on your booking.

For our membership, this also does NOT affect our Annual General Meeting.

We understand that this may cause some disappointment - we thank you for your understanding at this time of great sorrow for the nation and join us in offering our sincere condolences to the Royal Family.

08/09/2022

Rest In Peace HM Queen Elizabeth II
1926 - 2022

We send our deepest sympathy to the Royal Family and pay tribute to the Queen’s extraordinary life of public service.

08/09/2022

We're off the the Showground of the North by tram today. Belle Vue, that wonderland just outside the city centre that entertained millions over the years and also put a good few coppers in the coffers of the tramway operators. Here Salford Car 215 waits on the tramway siding on nearby Mount Road ready to head off back across the city on one of the last joint cross city workings in 1937 in this lovely image by Alistair Gunn.

03/09/2022

Another item of lost property from today. A child’s hoppy. Aged 3-4.
Both are in the tram shed if you wish to claim them tomorrow

03/09/2022

03/09/2022

Is anyone missing this? It would be gggrreeaatt if we could reunite it with its owner. There’s no Frosties inside though lol.

03/09/2022

And we’re open for business

03/09/2022

Co-operation. Working with and round the park run team this morning so their hundreds of runners can still get their 5k runs in while we get set up for the model trams event. Hopefully some of them will hang around after now they’ve seen the trams out.

01/09/2022

Oldham like many of the former cotton towns surrounding the city of Manchester had trams which not only worked services within the town but also ran into the city working jointly with Manchester corporation. Oldhams car 7 is seen on one of those joint services the no 20 outside Hollinwood depot at the borough boundary in c1937. It’s an area now vastly changed with the coming of the M60 but oddly enough the pub and a few of the houses behind 7 cling on to this day when all else has been swept away.

29/08/2022

Day 3 of the bank holiday weekend and 765 is prepared and ready for service.
We’ll be running from 12-4.30 from the lakeside to Middleton road and back if you wish to join us.

28/08/2022

With our friends at Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester operating Stockport 97 as one of the buses on shuttles to their wonderful museum from the park today (leaving the park at quarter to the hour until 16:45), we felt it only right to put our Stockport 5 out!

We'll be running the tram from 12:00 until 16:30! Unfortunately our museum and shop are closed due to lack of volunteers - we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

27/08/2022

Kicking off our three day weekend in style! Blackpool 623 will be in operation today from 12:00 until 16:30 for anyone who needs their fix of the seaside in Manchester!

Our tramway shop will be open but due to some maintenance work, the museum itself will be closed. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

25/08/2022

thinking of our upcoming photocharter evening in October and finding these images made us think of the challenges of getting good images of the trams in the dark in past times. With very slow film speeds it took a good deal of effort to get something even half decent. Mr Gunn's image of an Ashton car in Piccadilly is a great effort and the other of an unknown Manchester car late at night by the Cathedral is not a bad try too. Come and join us on the 22nd of October and see how your digital camera or phone gets on.

22/08/2022

We are delighted to announce that Manchester 4127 will be attending our Photography Evening on the 22nd October!

This vintage vehicle, built in 1950 by Daimler and Metro-Cammell, is attending with thanks to the Manchester 4100 Group, part of the Tameside Transport Collection.

Some more details will be announced about the evening soon - including when tickets will go on sale! Stay tuned to the page.

21/08/2022

Updates from the workshop – August 2022 – Heaton Park Tramway

Here is a quick update on what has been going on in the workshop over the last few months.
https://hptramway.co.uk/updates-from-the-workshop-august-2022/

Posted on 19th August 202219th August 2022 by hptadminUpdates from the workshop – August 2022 Hi All, Apologies for no recent updates, its been a very busy year for everyone at the tramway. With several of our younger working members studying up for exams to others who are progressing well with ca...

21/08/2022

Today's service car, after a little time away having some love and attention from our Engineers, is the wonderful open topper, Stockport 5!

You will also see Hull 96 out and about today - this tram is on training duties and won't be in passenger service.

Our museum and shop are OPEN today - see you soon?

20/08/2022

Today's tramcar is Blackpool 623, the youngest member of our fleet at 85 years old!

Please note that, due to a lack of volunteers, our shop and museum are unable to open today - we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

18/08/2022

Almost an On this day in history post too. August the 15th 1906 saw the opening of Manchester's tram route towards Altrincham reach Brooklands and Timperley. Altrincham itself wasn't reached until May the following year.
Car 316 built by Milnes did the honours and already shows detail changes since its delivery 3 years earlier. Gone are the wire lifeguards under the platforms and the 4 sided glass destination displays have been replaced with much more flexible destination boxes with the linen roller blind. Even the name of the undertaking has gone from the waist panels, with just the scroll monogram replacing it. 316 would soon undergo bigger changes with a major rebuild to produce a balcony covered car.

16/08/2022

Do YOU want to come volunteer with us as part of our Operations Team?

If so, we are operating a Guard Induction session this Sunday - if you think this a role you'd enjoy, please get in touch with the page, we can run through the details and we can get you booked in.

The role involves assisting the driver in the safe operation of the tram, as well as turning the trolley pole and selling tickets and interacting with our passengers.

Membership of the society is required for insurance reasons, this can be arranged on the day.

Only a limited number of spaces are available!

14/08/2022

Today's tramcar (in slightly warmer conditions than in the photo below!) is Hull 96.

CORRECTION - thanks to a heroic volunteer, the shop and museum are OPEN today.

If you think you can help us in any volunteering capacity, please speak to a member of the tram crew today or message our page - we have lots of roles available to suit any time commitment.

13/08/2022

Another warm and sunny day to enjoy here in the park. Hull 96 is doing the honours today and the shop and museum are open too. Hope to see you there

12/08/2022

Heaton Park Manchester

Can you spare a minute or two to fill out this survey about our park. Thanks

12/08/2022

Please remember if you're visiting us or the park in general over the weekend NOT to bring your BBQ - save it till you get home. Thanks

11/08/2022

We are pleased to announce we will be running a Photography Evening on Saturday 22nd October! This will be a unique opportunity to photograph our tramcars in the hours of darkness.

Stay tuned to the page for more information - it is sure to be a good one!

11/08/2022

sees something different today. A tale of a royal visit and a low bridge. Browsing through the collection, we came across this first image of two trams decorated for the Royal Tour of Lancashire of July 1913. An event which is well documented both in photographs and on film, but one of the trams looks different in that it has a full canopy to the upper deck - not something normally seen on Manchester's open top trams - they were what's known as short canopied. However reading further, it seems a small number were rebuilt like this to work the route 10 from Alexandra Park to Cheetham Hill. As until the roadway under the railway at Victoria and Exchange stations just beyond the Cathedral was lowered in 1925 only open toppers could pass under the bridge. The second image also shows one of these few cars running along Deansgate in service.

07/08/2022

At the risk of sounding like a broken record please please please the tramway is not a safe place for your photoshoot. We’d hate to ruin anyones big day but this is just not a safe thing to do. You wouldn’t think of doing it on the Metrolink tracks well we hope you wouldn’t.

07/08/2022

Today's service is brought to you by the number...

Please note our museum is closed today due to a lack of volunteers - if you think you can help us, please drop us a message or come see us at the tramway!

06/08/2022

Today's tramcar is the lovely Hull 96 - a rare day out for our smallest tram!

We'll be in service from 12:00 until 16:30.

29/07/2022

A reminder that due to a lack of volunteer availability, we will be CLOSED this Saturday (30th July) and no tram service will operate. Our museum will also be closed.

We can only apologise for the inconvenience this may cause our visitors - a number of our hard working volunteers are on a hard earned holiday on the Isle of Man for their Transport Festival this week.

We plan to be open on Sunday as usual.

If you think you can help with our volunteer shortage, please get in touch. We have a number of roles to suit any age with as little or as much time as you can commit!

28/07/2022

takes us to Bury this week where adverts for health remedies seemed to be a feature on the town's big red bogie cars. Car 9 stands at the Tottington terminus in this post war image taken not long before the system closed in 1949.

25/07/2022

Due to a lack of volunteer availability, we are sorry to announce that we will be CLOSED this Saturday (30th July) and no tram service will operate. Our museum will also be closed.

We can only apologise for the inconvenience this may cause our visitors - a number of our hard working volunteers are on a hard earned holiday on the Isle of Man for their Transport Festival this week.

We plan to be open on Sunday as usual.

If you think you can help with our volunteer shortage, please get in touch. We have a number of roles to suit any age with as little or as much time as you can commit!

21/07/2022

takes us to Stockport this week - to the top of Lancashire Hill, with balcony car 24 about to start the steep decent into the town centre, as fully enclosed car 29 heads up Sandy Lane to Reddish. Car 24 has the prominent H H markings on its dash panels, showing it was one of the cars permitted to work under the low railway bridges in Bredbury on the route to Hyde jointly worked with the SHMD cars. This is one of several images taken at this location in the mid 1930s by local photographer CA Young now in the society's collection.

19/07/2022

Volunteers are our lifeblood, as without them the tramway could not operate, as we're a totally volunteer run society. Many members give huge amounts of time, some only a few hours each week or month, but we're grateful to them all.
Have you ever thought you'd like to get involved? Whatever your skills or non, a friendly welcome is assured and you could help make a huge difference to running the tramway for locals and enthusiasts alike.
If you'd like to join us feel free to drop us a message.