FTS 2014 Depot Visit

On entering the engineering side of the depot it was obvious how much of it had been taken over by the heritage fleet

The first event of the Fylde Tramway Society's 2014 Convention weekend was a guided tour of Starr Gate depot on the morning of 3rd May. The visit presented a unique opportunity to view several trams from the heritage fleet which are currently based there, due to the ongoing traffic light works at Manchester Square which is causing access restrictions to Rigby Road Depot. Heritage trams in residence at Starr Gate during the visit were Centenarys 642 & 648, open-top Balloon 706 Princess Alice, Balloons 700 & 717, Boats 227, 230 & 600, Twin Set 272+T2, plus Engineering Car 754 sat outside, all of these trams being on the engineering side of the depot. In the running shed half of the depot were Flexities 009, 011, 012 & 014, Bolton 66, Standard 147 and Brush Car 631. There was also a spare pair of Flexity bogies and a new fibreglass cab end stored at the rear of the engineering side of the depot. See Blackpool Trams on Flickr for more photos taken during the depot visit.

Boats 230, 600 & 227, Balloons 717 & 700 and Twin Set 272+T2 filling the rear of the engineering side of the depot

Balloons 717 and 700 and Twin Set 272+T2 parked at the rear of the engineering half of Starr Gate depot

Boat cars 230, 600 & 227 stored at the rear of the engineering side of Starr Gate depot

Balloons 700 and 717 and Twin Set 272+T2 parked at the rear of the engineering half of Starr Gate depot

Centenary 642, open-top Balloon 706 and Centenary 648 parked at the front of the engineering side of the depot

A spare pair of Flexity 2 bogies stored at the rear of the engineering side of Starr Gate depot

A spare fibreglass Flexity 2 cab end stored at the rear of the engineering side of the depot

A stark contrast in tram designs, with modern Flexity trams and heritage cars parked side by side in Starr Gate depot

110 years of tramcar development on display with 1901 built Bolton 66 and state of the art Flexity 2 trams 009 & 014

Brush Car 631, Standard 147 and Bolton 66 stored in the running side of Starr Gate depot