Heaton Park Tramway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Heaton Park Tramway

Tram number 765 in Heaton Park
Operation
Locale	Heaton Park, Manchester
Status	Open
Operator(s)	Manchester Transport Museum Society
Infrastructure
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Statistics
Route length	0.52 Miles

The Heaton Park Tramway is a special tram line that keeps old trams running. It is located inside Heaton Park, a big public park in Manchester, England. A group called the Manchester Transport Museum Society runs the tramway. This group is a registered charity.

Usually, you can ride the trams on Sunday afternoons from March to mid-November. They also run on Saturday afternoons from May to mid-September. Sometimes, the tramway might close if there are big events in the park. It was also closed for a while because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is open again now!

History of the Tramway

Heaton Park used to be a private park around Heaton Hall. In 1902, Manchester City Council bought it to make it a public park. Soon after, a tram line was built into the park. This line connected to the main tram system on Middleton Road.

A large shelter was built at the end of this tram line. The very first tram arrived there on May 31, 1903. By 1934, buses started to replace trams. The short tram line into the park was then disconnected. It was covered with tarmac so buses could use it.

Bringing Trams Back to Heaton Park

The Manchester Transport Museum Society (MTMS) started in the early 1960s. Their goal was to save old documents and items about public transport in Manchester. One of their first big projects was fixing up an old tram, Manchester Corporation Tramways 765. They hoped to run it in Manchester again. Heaton Park seemed like a good place for this.

In the 1970s, the society talked to the city council about their idea. Their first plan was to build a tramway from Grand Lodge to Heaton Hall. But this was too expensive because it needed work to cross a railway tunnel. So, they suggested a new plan. They wanted to reopen the old tram line that went from Middleton Road to the old tram shelter.

The original tram tracks were buried under the tarmac. The society cleared the tarmac away. They also fixed up the old tram shelter. It was changed into a depot (where trams are stored) and a museum. All the work was finished in 1979. The Heaton Park Tramway officially opened on March 28, 1980.

Since 1980, the tramway has been made longer three times. They used old tracks from other places to do this. Now, the line is 0.52 miles long. The newest part was added in 2011. It reaches the boathouse and the lake. A new tram depot was built at this end of the line. Also, the original depot and museum were greatly improved in 2007.

Tram 765 from Manchester and Tram 5 from Stockport at Heaton Park.

The Tramcars You Can See

Permanent Collection of Trams

Here are the trams that are part of the Heaton Park Tramway's main collection:

Images	Original System	Car Number	Status	Year Built	Notes
	City of Hull Tramways	96	Operational	1901	This tram was first built in 1901 for Hull. It was an open-top double-decker. Later, it was changed into a single-deck work tram. It came to Heaton Park and was restored. It has been running here since 1988.
	Blackpool Tramway	623	Operational	1937	This tram started service in Blackpool in 1937. It was changed several times over the years. It stopped running in Blackpool in 2009. It moved to Heaton Park in 2011 and has been running since 2012.
	Manchester Corporation Tramways	765	Operational	1914	Built in 1914, this is the only electric tram from Manchester still running regularly. It was designed for routes with low bridges. After being used as a farm building, it was saved in 1960. It has been running at Heaton Park since 1979.
	Stockport Corporation Tramways	5	Operational	1901	This tram was built in 1901 as an open-top tram. It was later given a roof. After being used as a hen house, its lower part was found and saved. It was fully restored in 1996. It moved to Heaton Park in 2011 and was relaunched in December 2020 after a big restoration.
	Blackpool Tramway	619	Operational	1987 (1935)	This tram is a copy of an old Blackpool and Fleetwood Vanguard tram. It was built in 1987 using parts from an older tram from 1935. It ran in Blackpool until 2008. It came to Heaton Park in 2010 and returned to service in December 2022 after a major check-up.
	Rawtenstall Corporation Tramways	23	In storage	1912	This single-deck tram was built in 1912 for Rawtenstall. It stopped running in 1932. Its parts were brought to Heaton Park in 2010. It is currently in pieces, waiting to be restored.
	Oldham Corporation Tramways	43	In storage	1902	This tram was built in 1902 as an open-top double-decker. In 1933, it was changed into a single-deck tram. It was saved by the Manchester Transport Museum Society after being stored outside for over 60 years. It needs a lot of work but can be restored.
	Manchester Corporation Tramways	173	In storage	1901	This double-deck tram was built in 1901. It was later given a roof. It stopped service in 1931 and was used as a garden shed. It was restored in different places and moved to Heaton Park in 2013. It uses parts from an old tram from Oporto.
	Blackpool Tramway	702	In storage	1934	This is one of Blackpool's Balloon double-decker trams. It started service in 1934. It was first open-top, then fully enclosed in 1942. It last ran in Blackpool in 2009. It moved to Heaton Park in 2014.
	Blackpool Tramway	752	In storage	1928	This tram was built in Blackpool around 1928 to grind rails. It was saved by the MTMS in 2008. The plan is to paint it back to its original red color and give it its first number, 1.
	Manchester Metrolink	1007	In storage	1991	This tram is one of the first AnsaldoBreda T-68 trams built for Manchester Metrolink in 1991. It was the first Metrolink tram to run through the city center in 1992. It stopped service in 2014. It is currently stored but will move to Heaton Park soon.
	Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company	53	On loan to Bury Transport Museum	1877	This tram is the last one left of over 500 trams designed in 1877. It ran in Manchester until 1903. This tram has a special design that uses the horses' power to turn the tram body around. This saved time at the end of the line. The remains of tram L53 were found in 1970 near Glossop. It arrived at Heaton Park in 1998. Its restoration was finished in 2008. Since 2010, it has been on display at the Bury Transport Museum.
	Blackpool Tramway	680	On loan to Blackpool Tramway	1935	This tram started service in Blackpool in 1935. It was changed into a towing tram in 1961. It was loaned to Beamish Museum in 2013. It arrived at Heaton Park in 2015. It is now on loan back to Blackpool Tramway.
	Manchester Metrolink	1023	On loan to Crewe Heritage Centre	1992	This was one of the first T68 trams used when Manchester Metrolink opened. It stopped service in 2014 and was saved. In 2020, it moved to the Crewe Heritage Centre. It will stay there until a new depot is built at Heaton Park.

Trams That Used to Be Here

Here are some trams that were once part of the collection but have since moved on:

Other Visiting Trams

Some other trams have visited the line for special events or displays. These include:

• Blackpool & Fleetwood No. 40 (a single-decker built in 1914).
• Blackpool No. 225 Boat (an open-decker built in 1934).
• Oporto No. 196 (a single-decker built in 1935).
• Marton Box No. 31 (an open-top tram built in 1901). This was the first double-decker tram to run at the park since 1925!
• Blackpool No. 706 Balloon (an open-top tram built in 1934).

Future Plans and Projects

The big repairs (overhauls) for Stockport 5 are now finished. The main focus for the tramway is now Vanguard 619. Soon, they will start asking for money to make the Lakeside depot bigger. This will create space for the T68 tram that is being saved to move to the tramway.

Future plans also include fixing up more old trams. These are Manchester Corporation Tramways open-top tram 173 (built in 1901), Blackpool Balloon 702, Oldham 43 (built in 1902), and the Blackpool railgrinder No. 752. There are also plans to make the tramway even longer. The goal is to extend it towards the Heaton Park Metrolink stop.