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Reduction in mileages for Beamish fleet reveal impact of coronavirus
OF THE many statistics being used to highlight the impact of the coronavirus on our heritage attractions, the recorded annual mileages of the Beamish Museum tram fleet for 2020 are among the most telling.
Like many attractions, the County Durham open-air museum closed its doors for four months during the first national lockdown and did not reopen them until late July, albeit with restricted capacity. It closed again during the second English lockdown in November, but subsequent Tier 3 restrictions resulted in it only reopening the grounds during December, with no trams in operation.
Comparison
The annual tram mileages therefore truly reflect the small window of operation the fleet saw during the year, especially when compared to the previous year.
Ex-Sheffield Corporation double-deck balcony car No. 264 regained its crown as the highest mileage tram of the year, clocking up 1,275 miles in total. This is in stark contrast to the 5,850 miles it covered in 2019, which itself was down on 2018’s total of 7,825.
The second highest figure of 775 miles was recorded by Sunderland Corporation double-deck car No. 16. The allweather car tends to see more use during inclement weather, but again its 2020 mileage was significantly down on the 5,300 miles covered in 2019.
Limited
Ex-Oporto single-deck car No. 196 finished the year with 475 miles clocked, while 1901-built ex-Blackpool open-top car No.31–the highest mileage tram of 2020 – only covered 325 miles. Hurst Nelson-built Newcastle Corporation‘A’class car No. 114 was not used at all during the operating season.
To put these mileages into perspective, the fleet achieved a combined total of 2,850 miles, which was only a little more than the 2,775 miles recorded by No. 196 in 2019; the lowest mileage of any resident Beamish tram that year.