A SELNEC Central bus and a Metrolink Tram in Manchester

A mix of the present and the past of travel in Manchester city centre.

I spotted this double decker bus in a SELNEC Central livery in Manchester city centre today. It was interesting to see it being passed by a Metrolink tram.

SELNEC was the Passenger Transport Executive in the area from 1969 until it was renamed Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) in 1974.

The SELNEC Central area covered Manchester and Salford. There were also SELNEC Northern and Southern.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) itself ended in 2011 when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

Related blog posts:

• Vintage SELNEC bus in Stockport
• A SELNEC Central bus in Manchester
• One of the last buses out of dodge
• A vintage SELNEC bus in Eccles
• SELNEC
• GMPTE
• TfGM
• Bee Network
• Metrolink

A tram at Manchester Piccadilly Metrolink tram stop (October 2026)

A look at a Metrolink tram at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop.

A tram at Manchester Piccadilly Metrolink tram stop

A double Metrolink tram (3046 and 3007) to the Etihad Campus departing from Manchester Piccadilly tram stop on Saturday 17th October 2026.

You can see a compilation of Metrolink trams at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop - Platforms A & B in September 2026 in this video.

Manchester Piccadilly Metrolink tram stop

Check out my rail, tram, train and transit system playlists for more:

• Trams
• Metrolink
• Bee Network
• Transit Systems
• Trains

Related blog posts:

• Metrolink tram stop at Manchester Piccadilly railway station
• Metrolink
• Trams

The Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle upon Tyne (October 2026)

A look at various Class 555 trains and the Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle upon Tyne on Thursday 1st October 2026.

Class 555 trains at West Jesmond station on the Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle upon Tyne

Related blog posts:

• Trains
• Trainspotting
• Newcastle upon Tyne

Video:

• Tyne and Wear Metro in Newcastle upon Tyne (October 2026)

Trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)

A look at trams in Warsaw, Poland in September 2026.

Trams on Marcina Kasprzaka in Warsaw, Poland. Operated by Tramwaje Warszawskie.

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Light rail
• Poland
• Warsaw
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland in 2017

Videos:

• Two minutes of Trams in Warsaw, Poland (2017)
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland in September 2026
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland in September 2026
• Tram 4276 in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Tram 4223 in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Buses and trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Trams at night in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)

Shorts:

• Konstal 105N2k2000 and Pesa Swing 120Na trams in Warsaw, Poland (September 2026)
• Hyundai Rotem 140N trams in Warsaw, Poland September 2026

Metrolink trams in the East Didsbury area of South Manchester (September 2026)

A look at Metrolink trams in the East Didsbury area of South Manchester in September 2026.

Manchester Metrolink trams running between East Didsbury & Didsbury Village tram stops on the South Manchester Line in the evening of Thursday 24th September 2026.

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Light rail
• Metrolink

Videos:

• Metrolink trams in the East Didsbury area of South Manchester (September 2026)
• Metrolink trams at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop - Platforms A & B (September 2026)
• Trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester (September 2026)
• Manchester Metrolink trams 3120 & 3146 from East Didsbury to Didsbury Village (September 2026)

Shorts:

• Manchester Metrolink tram leaving Didsbury Village tram stop towards East Didsbury (May 2026)
• Manchester Metrolink tram arriving at East Didsbury tram stop (May 2026)

YouTube Playlists:

• Trams
• Trains
• Transit Systems

Trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester (September 2026)

A look at trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester in September 2026.

Metrolink trams at Altrincham Interchange

A Metrolink tram in Altrincham

A Metrolink tram at Navigation Road tram stop and railway station in Altrincham

Trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester on Friday 4th September 2026.

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Light rail
• Metrolink
• Altrincham

Videos:

• Trams and trains in Altrincham, Greater Manchester (September 2026)
• Class 66 Freightliner train at Navigation Road station in Altrincham (September 2026)

Shorts:

• Northern Class 156 train at Altrincham Interchange station (September 2026)
• Metrolink tram at Altrincham Interchange station (September 2026)

YouTube Playlists

• Trams
• Trains
• Transit Systems

Metrolink tram stop at Manchester Piccadilly railway station

A look at some Metrolink trams at Manchester Piccadilly railway station.

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Trains
• Metrolink
• Manchester

YouTube Playlists

• Trams
• Trains
• Transit Systems

Videos:

• Metrolink trams arriving & departing Platform A at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop (September 2026)
• Metrolink trams at Manchester Piccadilly tram stop - Platforms A & B (September 2026)

Metrolink tram stop 'buffers' and dead-ends

A look at some of the 'buffers' at the end-of-the-line of Metrolink tram stops.

Metrolink tram at the end-of-the line at Media City UK tram stop in Salford in November 2019

East Didsbury Metrolink tram stop end-of-the-line in Parrs Wood, Manchester in May 2026

Eccles tram stop end-of-the-line on the Manchester Metrolink in August 2019

A Portaloo at the Metrolink tram stop in Rochdale in December 2019

A Solar Loo at the Metrolink tram stop in Rochdale in June 2021

Are there other types of dead-ends on the Metrolink network?

Related blog posts:

• Trams
• Trains
• Metrolink
• Tram videos on YouTube

Tram videos on YouTube

Check out my trams playlist on YouTube.

Chester Zoo's monorail

A look at what remains of the monorail at Chester Zoo.

Unfortunately we were two years too late to have a ride on the monorail at Chester Zoo when we visited yesterday.

However, as a big fan of monorails it was interesting to see sections of the track still in place

There were quite a few 'ends of the line' too!

A bench underneath the monorail

Monorail, monothingy

One of my favourite monorails.

But where is it?

One of the monorails I've travelled on during my travels

The Tyne & Wear Metro turns 40 today

The Tyne and Wear Metro light rail system is 40 years old today.

The The Tyne & Wear Metro system opened on this day in 1980. The network was opened in stages between 1980 and 1984 with the trains running on a mixture of old railway routes and new track to bespoke stations.

A Tyne & Wear Metro train crossing the Queen Elizabeth II bridge in Newcastle upon Tyne

The first route to open was Haymarket to Tynemouth.

A Tyne & Wear Metro service heading into Newcastle from Byker

Street art on the Tyne & Wear Metro

We were in Newcastle and Gateshead for the World Transplant Games last year and while in the area went Space Invader hunting. Three of the mosaic tile pieces by the French street artist Invader can be found at Gateshead Interchange Tyne & Wear Metro station.

Space Invader NCL_21 downstairs in Gateshead Interchange metro station

A closer look at Invader NCL_21

NCL_19 is above ground at Gateshead Interchange

Invader NCL_20 is deep underground at Gateshead Interchange

Trams in Warsaw, Poland

A view of some trams in Warsaw.

Emily knows me so well and brought me back this great snap of some trams in Warsaw, Poland following her recent trip to the country.

The older of the two trams could well be the Polish tram equivalent of the dreaded Pacer Railbuses we have here.

You can see how efficiently the trams and traffic operates in Warsaw in the video below.

We haven't got any trams in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport yet, but we're surrounded by areas of Greater Manchester that do have tram lines. Some stations share both heavy and light rail operations.

We've seen quite a few trams on our travels over the years.

One of the trams next to the abandoned Crazy Golf course at Starr Gate in Blackpool

Related videos:
- ABC Weekend Television Tram at Blackpool Illuminations October 2016
- Tram at Manchester Victoria railway station January 2017
- Two minutes of Trams in Warsaw, Poland February 2017

Related blog posts:
- Train nerdery