THE Mayor of Bolton took a nostalgic journey back in time - courtesy of heritage transport aficionados.

Cllr Linda Thomas found herself on a trip down memory lane when she attended the Greater Manchester Mayors’ Civic Day to Greater Manchester Transport Museum, Science and Industry Museum to her own personal highlight, the Heaton Park tram depot.

For the town’s first citizen was able to stand on the driver platform of the the tram, where nearly 100 years ago after serving and injured in World War One, her grandfather Spencer Slater drove the tram through Heaton Park at Grand Lodge.

Growing up on the Prestwich side of Heaton Park, Cllr Thomas recalls her family telling stories of her grandfather working on the Heaton Park Tramway shortly after he returned home from World War One.

She said: “My grandfather fought in World War One and had a bullet wound.

“He was also a widower with four children and was told he did not have long to live as he met my grandmother while working on the tram route.

“It’s nice to see the family history. To think that if he didn’t work on that tram, he may never have met my grandmother and I may not have been here.”

The tram route did not run when Cllr Thomas was growing up, so this is the first time she has been able to visit this experience.

She believes that the exact tram that her grandfather drove is now in the museum.

Cllr Thomas added: “It’s also nice to visit these sites and thank these charities who are volunteering at these museums as it’s been difficult with the pandemic.”

The civic day was organised by the Greater Manchester Heritage Group, and Cllr Thomas described it as an “unforgettable day”.