Manchester Metrolink | Tracking the Light

A Tale of Two Tram Cities

Metrolink is a popular name used by modern urban passenger rail systems.

As a follow-up from yesterday’s post, I’ve included more images from my Manchester visit earlier this month (August 2014).

The present Metrolink colour scheme on the cars is a contrast from the 1990s-era trams that I experienced on my visit in 2000. Those were painted off-white with black and aqua-green stripes. While on this visit, I saw a few of the first generation trams stored at a depot, these no longer appeared to be in service. Too bad, it would be interesting to get photos of the old and new side by side.

I found Manchester Metrolink convenient to travel on and easy to photograph. Tram frequencies were very good and for the most part the trams were well patronized, but not overly crowded.

In my photography I tried to include the environment around Metrolink and not just focus on the railway. Among the more interesting places to make images was in the city centre where the trams run in the streets that were crowded with pedestrians.

Here the Lumix LX7 is an ideal tool. The camera is inconspicuous and allowed me to get some dramatic angles without difficulty. A mix of bright sun and sluicing rain made for dramatic changes in the quality of light.

Eccles. A burst of sun after a prolonged shower.

A cafe in the Manchester City centre allowed me to get a bit of lunch and stay dry. — A cafe in the Manchester City centre allowed me to get a bit of lunch and stay dry in between cloud bursts. While the sun is out in this image, minutes before it was gushing rain.

The Lumix LX7 allowed me to get some low angle views to accentuate the damp streets and reflect the clouds in the windows of the tram.

Crowds wait at Market Street in the Manchester City Centre.

A bit of glint graces the back of an outbound tram near Manchester Piccadilly Station.

Tomorrow: the second tram city in this story!

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A Tale of Two Tram Cities.

I had the opportunity to travel and photograph two tram systems in two similar cities in two very different countries, with just a short plane ride and an overnight stay between my experiences. To compare and contrast; to ride, travel, and make photographs.

Manchester is a large city that was at the heart of its industrial revolution. It was an early railway centre and an inland port. Declining industry changed the place. But since the 1990s, Manchester has developed a modern tram network called Metrolink that appears to have greatly contributed to a revitalization of the city centre.

I first visited Manchester in the year 2000 when Metrolink was still relatively new and only in its infant stages of development. In the intervening years from then to now, the system has been improved and much expanded. The older trams appear to be out of service and a new fleet is now plying the rails. More lines are planned or under construction.

Manchester Metrolink's Piccadilly Station is beneath the mainline railway terminal of the same name. Lumix LX7 photo. — Manchester Metrolink’s Piccadilly Station is beneath the mainline railway terminal of the same name. Lumix LX7 photo.

Metrolink is a growing system. Even at its present size, it offers a citywide transport system that is more extensive than possible to fully experience in one afternoon. Lumix LX7 photo.

Ticket machines on the platforms make paying for your journey relatively easy. Lumix LX7 photo.

The system has re-used portions of old railway and integrated historic railway alignments with modern construction. During my most recent visit I found the trams clean, well patronized and well run.

This visit was in mid-August 2014 and the weather was changeable; pouring rain one minute and sunny the next; conditions that are challenging for photography while providing dramatic lighting effects. Although I made a few colour slides with my Canon EOS 3, most of the images I exposed were using my Lumix LX7.