Steam on Manchester Metrolink

This is probably going to get filed under the WIBN or Daft questions bin, but it came to me last night. My son goes to football training in Wythenshawe, Manchester on Monday nights and the road runs alongside the Manchester Airport tram route for part of the way and it got me thinking "could you run a steam loco on it?"

It is connected to Network Rail at the Altrincham end, and also to the ELR at the Bury end and the ELR do occasionally run ballast trains on the Bury line for Metrolink, on one occasion a J94, Swiftsure, was used on one as far as Whitefield, other workings have used Class 37s and an 08.

Could something like an L & Y pug or a Barclay 0-4-0ST get round the curves on this to go via the city centre or onto the Ashton/Manchester Airport lines, in theory?

 

Tramway rails (especially embedded ones) and wheels tend to be a different profile to standard gauge railway equipment. This could well be an issue for town centre running.

 

Open to correction but I think that Manchester uses a standard rail wheel profile and not a tram one. The various new tram systems don't seem to have standardised very much.

 

Sure a Duchess would fit through with a little persuasion, the question is would anyone look up from their phones?

 

IIRK there is a number which is an issue height wise with anything coming from the Bury end to the City Centre.

 

Yes, it does, as when the Bury and Altrincham lines were converted the track was not relaid and the trams ran on the pre existing track, which was 60 foot jointed lengths. The two other tram lines I have seen, Blackpool and Heaton Park, both have grooved tram rails in the segregated, non street running sections, with a shallower groove

 

I've often wondered this, but figured that it was almost certainly Not Going To Happen.

 

MSC No 32 Gothenberg, as its alter ego Thomas, appeared at an open day at Queens Road Metrolink depot in the early days of Metrolink. It travelled from Bury to Queens Road in the early hours. I believe it paid a quick visit to Manchester Victoria and shocked a number of boozed up members of the public, who were in the area at the time.

 

Yes the expression on folks faces was a sight to behold. The driver was one @IanRiley, ably assisted by ex ELR GM Andy Morris, Colin Gibbons and me sharing the firing. We took a GW Toad as I recollect. Great fun especially at MCV.

 

Any run round facility at the Victoria end then or did you propel the Toad back to Bury?

 

Aye, just found the Queens Road bit on U-Tube. It was 1994. Thomas's face had the moving eyes made by Steve Diggle and myself. Memories!

 

Many years ago (circa 1997-99) I went on a steam special in Germany, the title of which translated as "Cologne round trip". We boarded at Köln Hbf and set off, I'm unsure exactly where we went but I do recall us (a) going down what appeared to be part of the tram system, (b) stopping in the middle of nowhere (presumably on some little-used freight branch) for a runpast, with the punters quite happily milling about trackside (no PPE), and (c) being piloted by an industrial diesel through the middle of a chemical works. And eventually, somehow, it ended up back at Köln Hbf. Can't remember the loco but it was a big tank engine (as in, big by German standards, massive by UK ones). It was great fun, and quite unlike any other steam special I've ever been on before or since.

 

I wonder what the mainline registered locomotive with the widest RA is? Possibly Tyseley's 7752/L94, which is ironic when you consider the RA problems other GW classes have.

 

Wasn't it just outside cylinder GW locos which had restricted RA?

 

As I recall from almost a quarter of a century back as it turns out, and Christ where did that time go?, we propelled it back to Queens Road depot where we went for servicing. Then we set off bunker first back to Bury with the Toad in tow. We reached home at first light just as the crews for Sunday ELR duties arrived which created some confusion as we headed up the neck back to the yard!
We also gauged GW1450 if memory serves with a view to some Sunday shuttles which never materialised, sadly. I do recall 1450 had a mainline test run one night around the Oldham loop pre Metrolink though or is my mind playing tricks?
An Austerity has since been down the Metrolink from Bury on PW duties as a hire loco instead of the usual 08. After my time at ELR though so can't add much more.

 

I was involved with taking Berlin 3006 to Metrolink for tyre turning this christmas. I can confirm that the metrolink system is designed to take railway profile wheels on the reserved track-the theory being you can hire in tampers/ro-rail plant etc rather than buying your own. Ironically, this stops any heritage trams running at metrolink-due to the vastly different back-to front of flange measurement, the point checkrails don't work. Alas, our visions of a Rekowagen going round confusing Mancunians was not to be.

 

No wonder the great intoxicated were confused...................

Any chance of a link??

 

Ye Gods, those eyes.

The Band of Hope must have had a few new members the following morning!

 

'You ain't seen me, right'