|
NETTrams.net – The
unofficial website for By
|
||||
|
9th March 2004 –
First day of public services Menu |
||||
|
Photo Pages |
Reports |
|||
|
A tram ride to
Hucknall – a drivers view |
||||
|
Photos
provided by: Chris
Archer, Alasdair Baxter, |
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
BBC
News - Tram network opens for business NEP – City
trams get big thumbs up (10th March) NEP - A
bit of a crush … but no complaints NEP – Tram dream becomes
reality NEP –
Minister “Future of transport is in your hands…” NEP – Early risers make their
historic journey NEP – Old meets new for
passengers NEP – Trams are ready to roll Dispatch(Hucknall
weekly paper) – Tram-Tastic! The Guardian - Nottingham's new tram system gets on track Light Rail Now - Nottingham Opens Latest New British |
||||
|
|
||||
|
Your Webmaster’s Report,
from the “latest news” page posted on the day. The Sun Shines on a Glorious NET, NET opens to the
public. Today at 05:58 NET
opened to public services, tram 203 departed Phoenix Park with a full load made
up mainly of well wishers, tram enthusiasts, the local press (television,
radio newspaper), and more importantly the curious locals trying out the tram
including a dear old lady who got the tram back to Highbury Vale where she
lived. Many of the enthusiasts
had travelled far and wide to be there including Mr Croydon Tramlink, Prior to departure
and during the tram journey to Station St the press were interviewing all and
sundry. Including live radio
broadcasts by somebody on a mobile phone going on about “Inspector Blakey” –
a character from a 70’s TV programme “On the Busses”. The first ticket sold was officially
photographed and appeared in the lunch time edition of Nottingham Evening
Post along with a special 16 page colour supplement. I brought the second (a PP to Cinderhill
single – how many of those were sold!), the second (PP to Bulwell Link bus,
again how many were sold from PP?) and the fourth my day ticket. The local
television news and radio programmes all reported on the event at the
breakfast time bulletins. The result
of the publicity was, following a brief lull after the morning rush the trams
were packed solid all the way down the line.
The P&R car parks were full at Phoenix Park and Hucknall and
nearly full at the Forest. Only Wilkinson
Street which is a bit “off route” remained quiet. After lunch the trams were a bit quieter –
but not much. The most humorous
sight for me was about 10:25, at the Forest tram stop, there was a queue
waiting for the tram into the City. It
started at the city end of the tram stop and continued up the hill towards
the city. Obliviously the Park and
Riders will need to get used to the multiple points of entry on trams and
conductors, they have been conditioned to pay on entry for to long. The more historic
first tram from Hucknall left there at 06:02, with tram 214 and was equally
packed when it arrived at Station Street. The first tram from
Station Street, tram 204, left at 06:00 for Hucknal which was waved away by a
NET official with a flag, with between 40 and 50 people on board. By lunch time the
well disciplined service of NET began to slip with a number of delays
occurring. This gave rise to 3 trams
occupying all the platform faces at Station Street at one time! Further service disruption occurred about
5pm due to David Lane crossing barriers failing in the down position. Passengers on the tram held at David Lane
were given a complimentary day ticket for another day. By 6:30 the BBC East Midlands News
programme was reporting live that all was running well. |
||||
|
|
||||
|
Your Webmaster’s Commentary The headline I chose
for the day’s event for the site update that evening, “The Sun Shines on a
Glorious NET”, summed up nicely my feelings of the day. It was a glorious day and its wonderful to
see coming to fruition a tram system that I had observed being built over the
last two years. It was a long day
getting up for the first tram and
riding the trams and taking photos until about 2:30, before heading home and
preparing the first reports for the website. |
||||
|
|
||||
|
"You're doing WHAT???!!!" was my wife's response when I said I was going to dust off the anorak to ride the first Nottingham tram this morning. She stayed in bed: I was up and about at around 0430 and arrived at Phoenix Park at around 0545, to find quite a crowd had gathered, including some people who had gathered elsewhere 38 years 252 days before to ride the last trolleybus and some people who prior to this had only been names on a mailing list. The contingent from sath lunnon must have arrived the previous day............ In due
course, 203 hove into sight from Cinderhill and we all cheered and clapped (for the
TV). We piled aboard and cheered and
clapped AGAIN (this time for BBC Radio
Nottingham) as the tram pulled away and we
made history. The radio really went to
town with its coverage: as well as the
live broadcast from the first tram right from the depot (the
station having opened up half-an-hour early to cover the whole shebang)
there was a "race" between a tram rider, a motorist and a
Robin Hood Line passenger (who won, naturally)
and at eight o'clock, instead of the usual
"pip, pip, pip, pip, pip, peep" for the time signal,
there was "clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, cla-dang"!! We were oblivious to all this, being at the opposite end of the tram from the media and enjoying the view out of the front. As we left Cinderhill, the lass on duty at the Control Centre announced on the radio "Nottingham Express Transit is now operational. Whooppee!" – a sentiment we all echoed. More passengers were collected as we journeyed towards town, but as yet they were all thrill seekers. I think the conductor (with brand-spanking-new cash bag) was a little overwhelmed: my ticket was timed at 0717, ‘cause it was that time before he got to the front of the tram! On
arrival at Station Street, I nipped over to the station (where the trams are included
on the station's direction signs) and was delighted to
find the buffet open and coffee on sale.
This was the cause of me being
probably the first person to break a bylaw on the tram, as drinking
is not permitted. The driver didn't
seem to mind too much, anyway. Some of our party had set off on the 0629
to Phoenix Park, instead of waiting
for the 0640 Hucknall service, but a swift use of the mobile phone resulted
in them hopping off at Old Market Square and coming
back! We
tootled out to Hucknall and I was very impressed with the tram's turn of speed. The local radio was going on about finding
a nickname for the trams: on this morning's
showing, in my book they would be worthy
carriers of the name "Green Goddesses" as they are faster than
the Liverpool ones were! By the time we started back from Hucknall,
normal commuters were starting to show up,
including a pair of school children from
the High School, prompting us to say "Look, REAL Passengers!" By
this time, I had to think about getting to work, so having got back to David Lane (to
make sure I'd covered ALL the track) I took a tram back
to Phoenix Park, leaving the other gricers to head off to Tramwiches
for breakfast and to find the park-and-ride site well and truly full of cars
- a good sign for the future. Brian
L Dominic |
||||
|
|
||||
|
Report on the David Lane Crossing incident On the opening day
I had stopped off at David Lane to take some photographs and noticed that
around 1600 when the barriers fell for the northbound Robin Hood train they
did not lift afterwards. I boarded 212
at around 1610, bound for Station Street, and we sat there as you well
know. At 1630 the local police arrived
to try to sort out the traffic on Vernon Road, much of which was ignoring the
red lights and moving forward in bursts.
The traffic on David Lane was executing three point turns on the tram
side (I could not see what was happening on the other side of Vernon Road)
and a 36' coach almost demolished the barrier close to the tram tracks and a
road sign on the pavement before deciding that there was not enough room to
turn round and driving off down Lincoln Street in contravention of the no
entry sign. The driver and
conductress kept passengers updated on the situation and the controller was
broadcasting using the P.A. at the stop to say that all trams were stopped
from Station Street to Hucknall and Phoenix Park and vice versa. No doubt you heard this wherever you were
at the time. Around 1640 the
conductress started to hand out complimentary vouchers, for free travel on
another unspecified day, torn from a booklet.
Mine has serial number 002770.
At 1647 we obtained the proceed and everything started moving
again. Things seemed to be
more or less back to normal by the time I left to catch my train to London at
1830. John Kaye, Epsom |
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||