The Brighton Tram 53 Society

The History of Brighton Tram 53 Society

The society was actually formed in May 2010, after some earlier meetings. Guy Hall, the chairman, had first seen the tram in December 2009 and after deciding that an effort should be made to restore the tram, he drew up a small leaflet with help from his artist friend, Mark Harrison and handed it out at Brighton Model world, February 2010.

This gave a brief outline of the project and contact details for anyone interested in joining. As a result, !3 people met in the Hope Pub in Brighton, at the end of February 2010 and from there it was decided to see if we could form a group capable of restoring the tram.

May 2010 saw the first official meeting and over the year, a first version of a constitution was developed and meetings took place. May 2010 also saw the first official work parties on site and after a very long time, 53 started getting some tlc. 53 was on a farm and the farmer said he had bought it and was prepared to lease it to us, which lead to a problem in the first two years, ownership. Leasing was totally unacceptable and after extended talks, an agreement in March 2012 was reached for the society owning the majority of 53. It meant that as we restored 53, we owned more of the tram. Membership continued to grow, and a real morale booster occurred later in the year.

In the summer of 2010, we were given a tram, which was brought down to us, free of charge and became our workshop and office, former Graz tram 225. The idea was that we had room and also a potential spare parts donor. The farmer was impressed and though he continued to be quite patronizing, nevertheless, he could see results. We also did some remedial work on 225 and it was in use till 2021, when after being stripped of anything useful, it was scrapped.

One of the early questions was, should it be a cosmetic restoration, or should 53 run again? The resounding answer was restored to run again! We also got an initial costing of £12,00 to restore the body and this encouraged us to continue, as that was not a huge sum to raise. That did prove to be a gross under estimation later on. From this period, we also started publicizing our efforts and attending shows to raise money. Over the years we have bought mugs, t-shirts, metal badges, bags and other items to tempt the public and part with cash. We have also sold books, second hand model railway and tram items, pens and even a pair of full-size railway signals. We have raised over £135,000 to date as a result.

From 2011, we attended all sorts of shows regularly, to raise money and also to publicise the project. We currently have about 74 members. A very big step was to get charitable status in 2013; this gave us gift aid and also recognition as a serious concern. Going back 2012 we had an agreed and finalised the constitution which has stood us in good stead by avoiding any internal problems or conflicts that have sometimes bedeviled other societies. From the start we have had good organization and a committee with some very able people, from treasurers to secretaries.
Another milestone in 2013 was enclosing the shed 53 reside in and fitting proper electrics. A local firm kindly sponsored all the electrical fittings and we had enough able folk to fit it all safely. As work progressed, we needed to protect it and the original wiring/lighting had proved unfit for serious work. Regular meetings and updated accounts ensured that we kept in the black at the bank, we had opened a charitable account earlier.

From 2013, we spent a lot of time looking for spare parts and information on 53 and in 2015 we acquired two tram trucks, a compressor and some controllers. We bought as truck of the Hastings tram group and the rest was donated by the national tram museum at Crich. By this time, we felt established, so it was a matter of keep pushing for money, parts and information. At shows we had established regular contacts and new members, and it was always nice to report progress on the project. By now, we had started stripping down 53 and assessing what needed replacing or repairing. Thanks to digital cameras, thousands of photos have been taken of every stage of the work. One our members was a draughtsman and drew up proper plans of 53 for future generations and to serve as reference. This period was very critical because the stripping down part is the most difficult to ensure continued enthusiasm. It has be done, but you had to use your imagination a lot to see the projected result. Again, enough able people turned up and it was quite a moment when we started reassembling 53.

As the tram was rebuilt, there was a real sense of wonder and each open day, which we had started in 2016, brought encouragement and donations. These occur at least once a year for providing public access and fund raising. Membership stayed steady during this period, sales and donations also kept the momentum going. We know that it was vital to keep our profile in the publics head. Donations came from all sorts of folk and the record was a cheque for £20,000, a staggering amount. Costs rose dramatically as new metal and wood was fitted, but we managed to get some good deals and we are very kindly sponsored by Craftmaster paints, which has saved us a huge amount. Other people such as carpenters and sheet metal welders, have charged us very small amounts for some superb work.

We now have a tram to be proud of and we also have tram 1, the works car, to restore. This has been the story then up to now, organization, fund raising, research and persistence. We have been continued work on the tram, appearing in the press, on tv and radio and attending suitable shows, where we can raise money and publicise our project. The first generation of members are ageing and we will need at some point a new generation to take over the project, which has come so far in 16 years.

Membership