Beach Bus 26 Open Topper

LK08DXP approaching the Pleasure Beach on a return trip to Marton Mere on 10th April

During the recent sunny weather, Transpora North West have been using an open-top bus on their Beach Bus 26 service to Marton Mere Holiday Village. On 10th April ADL Enviro 400 LK08 DXP was in use on the 26, the bus being new to Metroline of London in 2008 in closed top condition. Service 26 is usually busy in the mornings bringing tourists from the holiday park at Marton Mere into Blackpool, with return trips being mostly empty on the early runs of the day.

LK08DXP on Clifton Drive, passing The Big One roller coaster at the Pleasure Beach

LK08DXP passing the wooden roller coasters along Bond Street at the rear of the Pleasure Beach

LK08DXP on New Bonny Street near the Tower in Blackpool town centre

LK08DXP heading west along New Bonny Street towards the Promenade

LK08DXP inbound along Preston New Road with a full load from the holiday park at Marton Mere

LK08DXP passing 'The Velvet Coaster' Wetherspoons pub near the Pleasure Beach

New Volvo MCV Evora buses for Archway

Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora BU25YSE leaving the Affinity shopping outlet at Fleetwood on service 74

Archway Travel of Fleetwood have purchased a batch of new Volvo B8RLE buses with MCV Evora bodywork to supplement their fleet. Several of the Evoras have been noted running on the 74 and 75 routes this week, with a number of their ADL Enviro200s being cascaded onto the St. Annes area 76 and 78 services, which Archway took over the operation of at the weekend. Only one of the Evoras was noted wearing the 'Fylde Villager' route branding graphics (BU25YSE), the rest of the buses seen were in plain white with the red Archway flash at the rear. All the photos in this report were taken on Tuesday 1st April.

Evora BU25YSE arriving at the Fleetwood Affinity shopping outlet on service 74

A rear view of Evora BU25YSE leaving the Fleetwood Affinity shopping outlet

Evora BU25YSH northbound on service 75 at Bourne Way in Thornton

Evora BU25YSG on Bourne Way in Thornton heading for Fleetwood on service 75

Evora BU25YSD southbound on Lord St in Fleetwood on service 74 to Preston

Optare Versa Hybrid enters service with Archway Travel

12m Optare Versa Hybrid AA59WAY on Denham Way in Fleetwood on 25th March

A 12 metre Optare Versa Hybrid 57 seat school bus has entered service with Archway Travel of Fleetwood, the high capacity being achieved by way of a 3+2 seating arrangement. The bus was previously in use with Transport for Greater Manchester, being one of a large batch of Versa Hybrids ordered by TfGM for their local school operations.

Optare Versa Hybrid AA59WAY returning from school service 527 to Elswick

Conventional Optare Versa AA53WAY (formerly Stagecoach VX57OEU) on 25th March

New Stagecoach Dark Blue Livery

Scania N230UD ADL Enviro400 15237 approaching Preston bus station on 6th March

Two buses in the new Stagecoach corporate dark blue livery were noted in Preston this week. 

The blue livery began to be trialled in a handful of locations around the country last year, and two Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire buses have now entered service in the new colour scheme. Scania N230UD ADL Enviro400 15237 (YN65XEM) and Scania K230UB ADL Enviro300 28711 (YN14FVC) were in operation in Preston this week, sporting the new rather plain dark blue livery. The unrelieved overall blue colour scheme on these buses is in stark contrast to Stagecoach's previous colourful 'Local' and 'Beachball' liveries.

Scania K230UB ADL Enviro300 28711 nearing Preston bus station on 6th March

Stagecoach 15818 wearing the 2020 'Local' livery in April 2021

Stagecoach 15472 displaying the colourful 'Beachball' livery on Church St, Preston in 2021

Stagecoach 15247 in the amber yellow 'Long Distance' livery in Preston in 2021

Blackpool Trams in the Snow

Flexity 018 heading south past the Grosvenor Casino on Thursday 9th January

A light dusting of snow, combined with sub-freezing temperatures, on the Fylde Coast early on 9th January meant that the white coating persisted for a few hours before being melted away by the sun. A trip into Blackpool (as my local Cleveleys tram track was in deep shade) produced some sunny shots of Flexity trams on a pristine snow covered Promenade. Unlike Sunday 5th January, when the trams stayed firmly in the depot after a two inch snowfall, a full normal tram service was in operation.

Flexity 016 heading north at the Pleasure Beach

Flexity 017 approaching the Gynn Square stop

Flexity 006 passing South Pier on its way to North Station

Flexity 015 passing the Odyssey illuminations display near the Tower

Flexity 007 turning left into Talbot Square with Enviro 231 on service 1

Flexity 017 leaving North Station on its way to Starr Gate

Snow on the Fylde Coast but no trams ventured out

Blackpool Enviro 581 in Cleveleys at 0740, on the 0734 service to Lytham

Blackpool and the Fylde Coast received a covering of snow during the night of 4th and 5th January. The conditions would have been ideal for photos of the Flexity trams running through the snow in the morning, but sadly Blackpool Transport decided to keep the trams in the depot, despite operating bus services, issuing the following message at 06:50 "Due to the current snowfall and the safety issues it is causing the tram service is suspended until further notice." A situation update was posted at 10:07 "Due to the snow on the ground our trams are still not running as it is unsafe to do so." Cancelling the tram service seemed to be rather an overreaction, especially as their buses were running ok on snow covered roads. Trams run on rails so they can hardly skid off their route like a bus can.

Cleveleys tram station at 0755, but unfortunately no trams in the snow as BTS cancelled the service

A Pictorial Celebration of the Last Five Years of Heritage Trams in Blackpool

Balloon 700 and Boat 600 passing each other near the Metropole Hotel in August 2024

On the 6th December Blackpool Transport published a message on their Heritage Tram Tours website regarding the future of the heritage operation.

"Following a thorough review, we have made the difficult decision to suspend our Heritage Tram Tours. Operating the Heritage Trams alongside our modern fleet has become increasingly challenging, with issues such as depot space, tram movements, general safety and maintenance conflicts making it difficult to continue running the service effectively. This decision was not taken lightly, but we believe it is the most practical step to support the evolving needs of our business and maintain the overall efficiency of our operations."

Suspend could mean a pause in operations, a lengthy stoppage or a complete suspension of the service.

Following the initial ambiguous message, Jane Cole (the Managing Director of BTS) issued an update on 10th December which contained the following statement:

“I can confirm that the future of our heritage trams is safe and we aim to have them back on the Promenade next year. However, before that can happen there are a number of complex operational issues that need to be addressed."

While the M.D.'s expressed sentiments would appear to be laudable, the phrase "We aim to have them back" does not necessarily mean that the heritage trams will in fact be back, just that they aim to do so. As with any suspended operation, the longer that the suspension drags on, the easier it is for it to become a permanent situation if too many other factors conspire against it. 

Click the link below to see the full Heritage Tram Tour announcement.

https://blackpoolheritage.com/heritage-operations-update/

While it is to be hoped that this isn't the end for our wonderful heritage tram service, a gallery of most of the heritage trams that have seen use over the last five years is shown as a tribute.

Brush Car 621 at Anchorsholme crossing in January 2020

Balloon 723 heading south past the Imperial Hotel in August 2024

Boat 600 passing the Alice in Wonderland illuminations tableau near Lowther Avenue in August 2022

Brush car 631 at Ash Street in Fleetwood, on the last heritage tour of the weekend on 26th September 2021

Balloon 715 southbound on North Albert Street in Fleetwood in June 2021

Standard 143 leaving the Pleasure Beach loop while out on test in April 2022

Centenary Car 648 passing Cafe Marina on North Albert Street in Fleetwood in August 2022

Boat 227 passing the Spitfire at Gynn Square in August 2020

Standard 147 at Gynn Square on a Promenade Tour in August 2020

Balloon 718 pausing at Bispham on its way north to Fleetwood in September 2023

Blackpool's oldest tram, Bolton 66, passing the newest tram, Flexity 018, at North Pier in April 2023

Balloon 701 northbound on the Golden Mile in January 2020

Centenary 642 at North Pier on its way to Starr Gate in September 2021

Railcoach 680 at Bispham, with a BTS ADL Enviro400 City passing by in September 2023

Balloon 707 making its debut on heritage service in March 2020 after a repaint into green and cream

The Western Train at Cabin heading to the Pleasure Beach in May 2023

The frigate passing through Cleveleys, returning from a trip to Fleetwood in August 2022

The Trawler southbound at the Cabin in May 2023

Balloon 723 received a special vinyl wrap for The Magical Express Tour in November 2021