More trams into preservation

605, 632 and 703 have been acquired by LTT. They also have 687 for spares.

 

125th Anniversary of Blackpool Trams

A week of events will take place between Thursday 23 and Wednesday 29 September. Ten visiting trams are coming from museums around England, plus examples from the Blackpool Transport and the Lancastrian Transport Trusts vintage collections. About 20 vintage trams will be in use during the week – as well as `normal’ fleet – most of which are in their 70s!

The celebrations are launched on the Thursday with a “Welcome Evening” in the conference room at Uncle Tom’s Cabin featuring presentations, a quiz and a Hot Pot Supper with time to socialise at a cash bar.

Friday 24th is turned over to the enthusiast groups who are putting together a package of tram tours. The Friday also sees the World Fireworks Championships and museum trams are expected to join the famous Illuminated Trams on tours of the World Famous Illuminations. Local preservationists, the Lancastrian Transport Trust will be organising one of its popular `Beer and Buses’ events out into the Fylde countryside.

Saturday 25th will see the biggest vintage tram operation ever attempted in the town with up to 10 vintage cars rostered on a special service operating up to every ten minutes during the day.

Sunday 26th will provide a rare opportunity to see behind the scenes at Rigby Road Depot – including the 75 year old tram depot, the workshops and the bus garage. A selection of trams will be on display at the front of the tram depot; while the bus yard will showcase the vintage bus collection of the Lancastrian Transport Trust and other preservations – plus of course the modern fleet of Blackpool Transport. Inside the bus depot will be entertainment, tram models and transport memorabilia stalls.

Sunday will also see a repeat of the vintage tram service and a shuttle service to/from the tram depot will also be in operation.

Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th will see further events organised by the enthusiast groups. Wednesday 29th marks the anniversary of the official opening and will feature a short parade of Blackpool trams, further tram tours and the week will conclude with an Anniversary Dinner at the Chequers Plaza Hotel.

The vintage trams expected to feature in the event – subject to availability – include the following Blackpool cars:

Marton Box Car 31 of 1901 from Beamish Museum
Fleetwood Box Car 40 of 1914 owned by Crich Tramway Village
Standard 143 from LTT
Standard 147 from Blackpool Transport
Open Boat car 600 of 1934 from Blackpool Transport
English Electric Open Top Balloon 706 of 1934 from Blackpool Transport
English Electric Balloon 717 of 1935 from Blackpool Transport
English Electric Railcoach 279 of 1939 from Lancastrian Transport Trust
English Electric `Marton VAMBAC’ 11 from East Anglia Transport Museum
Two Coronation Cars 304 of 1952 from Lancastrian Transport Trust and 660 of 1953 from Blackpool Transport
Blackpool OMO car 8 from Lancastrian Transport Trust

And the following cars from other systems:

Stockport 5 of 1901 c/o Stockport 5 Tramcar Trust and a Blackpool resident
Bolton 66 of 1901 c/o Bolton 66 Tramcar Trust and another Blackpool resident
Manchester 765 of 1914 from the Manchester Transport Museum Society (Heaton Park Tramway)
Liverpool `Priestley Bogie’ 762 of 1930 from Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society (Birkenhead Tramway)
Sheffield 513 of 1950 also a Blackpool resident on long term loan from Beamish

Up to six visiting trams from the Crich Tramway Village (home of the National Tramway Museum) will also take part – full details of these have not yet been finalised (but TMS is talking about the following: Standard 40, Pantograph 167, Johannesburg 60, LCC 106, Porto 273 and Leeds 399).

Shortly www.blackpooltramevents.co.uk will go live with details of the events and other bits and pieces through the year.

 

New Trams

artist’s impression of the new Blackpool trams:

 

Link to Bombardier page

 

1950s BCT Transport Guide Cover – Download

click here to download a zipped TIF-file showing the front & back of a 1950s BCT transport map (one day we may scan the map as well…)

 

1950 Lytham St. Annes Timetable – Download

We have scanned a 1950 LSA timetable and made a pdf file out of it.

• click here to download the file

 

1934 Dick Kerr Sales Leaflet – Download

We offer you two zipped TIF-files that contain reduced scans (slightly restored) of an original sales brochure/leaflet advertising the new EE luxury tramcars. The original is folded twice.

• click here to download the file containing the inside pages
• click here to download the file containing the outside pages

 

1950s Advertising Portfolio – Download

Here you can download a zipped TIF-file of a montage showing 5 (2 tram/3 bus) black and white photos that have hand painted added-in colour advertising panels (stuck onto the original photos) to show potential customers where adverts could be placed on the BCT buses and trams. This is what one today would probably call a portfolio. 

 

• click here to download the file

 

Tram Liveries

Advertising is a prominent feature of the Blackpool trams. Tramcars with all over advertising were introduced in 1975. Most of those liveries are quite nice to look at and they do generate additional income for the company. More recent contracts use so-called “contra vision” adhesive film that covers everything including the passenger windows (there are small holes in the film that allow a restricted view out when you sit by the window). We usually list the dates of the contract/operating season (this means some cars may run around in the “expired” livery for some more weeks/months awaiting a repaint).

Select a page below to see the various liveries carried by the trams:

• Fleet Liveries
• Advertising Trams – Balloon Cars
• Advertising Trams – Centenary Cars
• Advertising Trams – Railcoaches
• Advertising Trams – all other cars

 

Birkenhead Trams

Not on the Fylde Coast but for a time operated by Blackpool Transport this standard gauge (1435mm) Birkenhead Heritage Tramway museum line was opened at the end of 1994. Two brand new trams were purchased from Hong Kong to run from Woodside Ferry through the old dock estate along Shore Road to Pacific Road where the first depot and a small transport museum was located (now closed and under conversion into offices). The line was extended from Pacific Road to Egerton Bridge in 1996 and later further to the new depot in Taylor Street. The Hong Kong cars and the line are owned by the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. The track and the two HK trams were leased by Blackpool Transport Services Ltd. for 7 years. This lease expired in April 2002 but was extended and in September the licence and the staff transferred to Wirral Borough Council. We will continue to report about this little tramway, even though the Blackpool connection no longer exists. Visit the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society website for further details & operating hours. 

• click here for the fleetlist

 

Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramroad Company

An interurban standard gauge (1435mm) tramway was opened in 1888 connecting Fleetwood with North Station, Blackpool. From the start it used the conventional overhead wire method. The single deck cars in service closely resembled the ones used on the Manx Electric Railway on the Isle of Man. Street running sections were to be found in Fleetwood and Gynn Square to North Station (via Dickson Road) only. After being taken over by Blackpool Corporation on January 1st 1920 nothing much changed but the old rolling stock was withdrawn in the 1930s. After closure of the Dickson Road route the Tramroad is now an important part of the remaining Starr Gate to Fleetwood service operated by Blackpool Transport Services Limited.

• click here for the fleetlist