The King's Coronation Parade

The King's Coronation Parade approaching Manchester Square

To celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III, a cavalcade of trams along the Promenade was planned for Sunday 7th May, the day following the Coronation at Westminster Abbey in London. The heritage trams selected to take part in the King's Coronation Parade assembled on the inner and outer loops at the Pleasure Beach prior to the cavalcade. Passenger boarding began at 1345, with the trams departing at 1415. The eleven trams that took part in the procession were Boats 227 & 600, Brush 621, Railcoach 680, Bolton 66, Western Train, Trawler, HMS Blackpool and Balloons 717, 707 & 700. Seven of the trams carried paying passengers, with the route commencing at the Pleasure Beach, followed by a short pause alongside the Comedy Carpet in front of the Tower for photos, before continuing on to Little Bispham and then returning to the Pleasure Beach. Following the parade, four of the trams operated mini tours between the Pleasure Beach and North Pier.

Boats 225 & 600 with Brush 621 on the Pleasure Beach loop

HMS Blackpool arriving at the Pleasure Beach for the tram parade

The Western Train and Boat 225 at the head of the assembled trams

The parade of trams all gathered at the Pleasure Beach

Passengers boarding the parade trams on the Pleasure Beach loop

Boat 600 passing the Manchester with its flag waving passengers

Boat 600 leads the cavalcade of trams through Manchester Square

Balloons 717, 707 & 700 at Manchester Square, bringing up the rear of the tram parade

Balloon 717 heading north at Manchester Square

Balloon 707 near New Bonny Street

Balloon 700 at the rear of the King's Coronation tram parade

Brush Car 621 northbound at North Pier

Bolton 66 passing Regent Court on its way to Little Bispham

The Western Train heading north at Cocker Square

The Western Train at Cabin heading back to the Pleasure Beach

Railcoach 680 passing the demolished remains of the New Hacketts Hotel

The Trawler southbound at the Cabin

FTS tour to Fleetwood on Balloon 713

Balloon 713 parking up on the loop at Fleetwood Ferry

The first day of the Fylde Tramway Society Convention weekend this year on Friday 28th April included a guided visit around Rigby Road tram depot, followed by a tram tour on modernised Balloon 713. The first leg of the tour saw 713 departing Hopton Road with the FTS party onboard, before heading north for a short stop at Fleetwood Ferry. 713 then travelled all the way to Starr Gate, followed by a run north to Thornton Gate before returning back to the depot. The photos in this report were taken during the first leg of the tour to Fleetwood Ferry.

713 sat at the front of Rigby Road depot in readiness for the FTS tram tour

Balloon 713 at the northbound Heritage Tour stop at Cabin

713 turning right into Pharos Street at Fleetwood to collect the FTS party

The view across to Knott End from BTS Enviro 441 in Bold Street

713 turning into Lord Street from BTS Enviro 441 on route 14 to Blackpool

Balloon 713 at Fisherman's Walk as seen from the top deck of BTS Enviro 441

Reduced Tram Service due to a Hotel Fire

Flexity 016 terminating at the North Pier tram stop before heading south again

A reduced tram service was in operation in Blackpool, commencing on the afternoon of Monday 24th April until Tuesday afternoon. A fire, which broke out at the New Hacketts Hotel on Queen's Promenade on Monday afternoon, resulted in a section of the promenade from Gynn Square northwards being closed, to allow the emergency services unrestricted access in order to be able to fight the fire. A restricted tram service was put into operation, running between Starr Gate and North Pier. To supplement the hourly number 1 bus service, two additional buses were added running on a tram replacement service, these being Enviro 400s numbers 414 & 415. Trams ran as far as the northbound North Pier tram stop, just before the Metropole Hotel, before changing ends and using the crossover to regain the southbound track. Note all the photos used in this report were taken on the morning of Tuesday 25th April.

Enviro 415 at Talbot Square on a tram replacement service

Flexity 006 using the crossover at North Pier to return south on the Tuesday morning

Enviro 414 heading north on a tram replacement service near the Imperial Hotel

Flexity 016 returning back south again via the crossover at North Pier

Queen's Promenade closed at Gynn Square, with the fire service still damping down the fire

Easter Saturday in Blackpool

Bolton 66 on the 1110 Promenade Tour, passing Flexity 018 at North Pier

Sun, Sea and Trams. Easter Saturday saw glorious weather for early April, which brought crowds of visitors to Blackpool. Five heritage trams were in use during the day, with four in service and one on driver training, plus the Western Train also made an appearance during the evening. The trams being used on daytime Heritage Tours were Bolton 66, Balloon 700, Brush 621 and Boat 600, 621 also operated the afternoon "Real Ale Tour". Brush 631 was noted out and about for much of the day on driver training.

Brush 621 turning at Little Bispham while operating the 1400 Real Ale Tour

Brush 631 at Central Pier on driver training duties

Balloon 700 on North Albert Street in Fleetwood during the afternoon Coastal Tour

Bolton 66 southbound at Central Pier during the 1110 Promenade Tour

Boat 600 with a near capacity load at Little Bispham on the 1410 Promenade Tour

Flexity 003 passing Balloon 700 during its layover at Fleetwood Ferry

Transpora North West's ex Blackpool Dennis Trident E20 BTS on service 22 to Blackpool Zoo

BTS ADL Enviro400 No. 459 with its overall advert for Heart radio

National Express Volvo B11RT Caetano Levante 2 BV67 JXM at Central Coach Station

An open-top bus ride to Cleveleys

Sightseeing Manchester Dennis Trident V168 MEV heading towards St. Annes on service 21 in Blackpool

Transpora North West were operating an open-topper on their Coastliner 21 service on Tuesday 4th April due to the sunny weather. The bus in use was V168 MEV, an Alexander bodied Dennis Trident in full Sightseeing Manchester livery, formerly with Golden Tours and Stagecoach London as their 17168. A very pleasant ride was experienced from West Street in Blackpool along the sea front to Cleveleys Bus Station.

Sightseeing Manchester Trident V168 MEV just after arriving at Cleveleys Bus Station

Sightseeing Manchester Dennis Trident V168 MEV with two Flexity trams at North Pier

Trident V168 MEV passing Transpora North West ADL Enviro400 LX57 AXR

Sightseeing Manchester Dennis Trident V168 MEV and Flexity 003 at Bispham

Dennis Trident V168 MEV at Norbreck with Balloon 700 passing by on a Coastal Tour

Trident V168 MEV turning onto Princes Way promenade at Little Bispham

Sightseeing Manchester Dennis Trident V168 MEV at Victoria Square in Cleveleys

Archway Travel's new yellow School Bus

Archway Travel's Volvo B9TL GX09 ZZV heading out of Fleetwood on an afternoon school run

Archway Travel's latest double decker is GX09 ZZV, a Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, which is still running in the colours of its former operator, Yellow Buses of Bournemouth. The livery is the reverse of Archway's normal school bus colour scheme, ie yellow with red lettering and flash, as opposed to their usual red livery with yellow lettering and flash. The vehicle was supplied new to Bus Vannin in the Isle of Man in 2009, as fleet number 162 (JMN48R), and moved to Bournemouth in Dorset in 2020.

Archway Travel's Volvo B9TL GX09 ZZV returning along Denham Way to their Fleetwood depot

A line-up of Archway's school buses at their premises on Copse Road in Fleetwood