The Heaton Park Tramway
The Heaton Park Tramway is a heritage tramway that operates within Manchester. The tramway is operated by the Manchester Transport Museum Society, a registered charity.
The tramway operates on Sunday afternoons between March and mid-November and on Saturday afternoons between May and mid-September.
Heaton Park was originally the private estate surrounding Heaton Hall, that was sold to Manchester City Council in 1902 for use as a municipal park. Shortly after the park was bought by the council, a branch of Manchester Corporation Tramways was built 280 yards (260 m) into the park from the existing tramway on Middleton Road. A large waiting shelter was constructed at the end of this branch, and the first tram arrived on 31 May 1903. Around 1934 buses replaced trams and the tramway into the park was abandoned and the tram reservation surfaced for use by buses.
The Manchester Transport Museum Society (MTMS) was founded as a registered charity in the early 1960s, with the aim of the preservation of documents and artifacts relating to public transport in the Manchester region. An early project of the society was the restoration of Manchester Corporation Tramways 765, which had been found on a farm near Huddersfield.
Following restoration of 765 and operation at the Crich Tramway Museum the MTMS were looking for an operating site around Manchester.
In the 1970s the society approached the city council with this idea. The initial plan, to construct a tramway from Grand Lodge to Heaton Hall, was considered too expensive, as it would require remedial works to carry it across the railway tunnel. A new scheme was proposed to reopen the old Manchester Corporation Tramways spur from Middleton Road to the old tram shelter. The original track was buried under a layer of tarmac which was cleared and the tram shelter restored and modified to form a depot and museum. Work was completed in 1979 and the Heaton Park Tramway officially opened on March 28, 1980.
Since 1980, the museum tramway has been extended further into the park on three occasions, and it is now some 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long. The most recent extension was in 2011 and reaches the boathouse and lake. A new tram depot has been constructed at this terminus.
Read MoreThe tramway operates on Sunday afternoons between March and mid-November and on Saturday afternoons between May and mid-September.
Heaton Park was originally the private estate surrounding Heaton Hall, that was sold to Manchester City Council in 1902 for use as a municipal park. Shortly after the park was bought by the council, a branch of Manchester Corporation Tramways was built 280 yards (260 m) into the park from the existing tramway on Middleton Road. A large waiting shelter was constructed at the end of this branch, and the first tram arrived on 31 May 1903. Around 1934 buses replaced trams and the tramway into the park was abandoned and the tram reservation surfaced for use by buses.
The Manchester Transport Museum Society (MTMS) was founded as a registered charity in the early 1960s, with the aim of the preservation of documents and artifacts relating to public transport in the Manchester region. An early project of the society was the restoration of Manchester Corporation Tramways 765, which had been found on a farm near Huddersfield.
Following restoration of 765 and operation at the Crich Tramway Museum the MTMS were looking for an operating site around Manchester.
In the 1970s the society approached the city council with this idea. The initial plan, to construct a tramway from Grand Lodge to Heaton Hall, was considered too expensive, as it would require remedial works to carry it across the railway tunnel. A new scheme was proposed to reopen the old Manchester Corporation Tramways spur from Middleton Road to the old tram shelter. The original track was buried under a layer of tarmac which was cleared and the tram shelter restored and modified to form a depot and museum. Work was completed in 1979 and the Heaton Park Tramway officially opened on March 28, 1980.
Since 1980, the museum tramway has been extended further into the park on three occasions, and it is now some 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long. The most recent extension was in 2011 and reaches the boathouse and lake. A new tram depot has been constructed at this terminus.
