Excuse me while I fasten up my anorak in this cold weather. I understand Stagecoach were happy to lend Coronation Street a tram for their 50th anniversary disaster, as long as the drama made it clear that neither operator or driver were in any way to blame for the "accident". The tram used was Number 1015, built in 1992 by Firema of Italy, an 84-seater with a single arm pantograph. The original livery of white, dary grey and blue, with blue doors, was for some reason covered up with vinyl of the more current yellow and silver. And the number was changed to 1030. The wrappings have now been taken off, and 1015, undamaged by the experience, is back on the real tracks.
This is more than can be said for 3001, the first of the Austrian Bombardier series, introduced in 2009. The two-car tram was in a collision with a lorry on the Eccles line at the junction with Langworthy Road, Salford way back in February, and in September it was sent to Vienna for specialist repairs. It might not be back until the New Year. However, Metrolink still have 10 other new yellow trams in stock, all waiting for the new operating system (that seems to have be-devilled the MediacityUK stop) to pass muster and be fully implemented.
Information from British Trams Online, Tramways Monthly, and the Manchester Evening News.
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