Centenary of tramcar saved from scrapheap
A VINTAGE tramcar is providing rides to people in Derbyshire 100 years after it first ran.
Leeds 345, now based at Crich Tramcar Village, first entered service on March 27, 1921.
In 1939, the tram was rebuilt by Leeds City Transport, which involved a conversion from an open balcony car with reversed stairs, into a fully enclosed tramcar with direct stairs, platform doors and added vestibules. The original trolley pole was replaced by the current bow collector and new faster motors were installed. The upper deck bulkheads were removed, and seats upholstered at the same time.
Officially withdrawn from service on September 17, 1948, while still in operational condition, the tram was converted into a joiners’ shop for Leeds City Tramways.
It was acquired by Leeds Transport Historical Society in 1959, which saved it from the scrapyard for preservation, and was transported to Crich on December 18, 1959.
In 1963, Leeds 345 was intended for restoration in its original condition as an open-balcony tramcar, but then in 1978 it was resolved to restore it as a ‘convert’ car, so demonstrating the changes made in 1939.
After a period in off-site storage, it returned to Crich in 2002 and entered service in 2006 after a full restoration in the museum’s own workshops.
Malcolm Wright, volunteer at the tramway museum since 1964 and Tramway Museum board member said: “It is a delightful tram for visitors to enjoy a journey, just as the citizens of Leeds did in the 1930s”.
Subject to a successful commissioning examination, the tram is planned to be in operation during the 2021 season.