Saturday, 11 April 2015

Ballooning Saturday

Balloon 717 southbound at the Tower on the blue timetable Heritage Tour service on Saturday 11th April
Saturday April 11th saw three of the heritage fleet Balloons being used on the tramway. Routemaster liveried Balloon 701 was in use during the afternoon on an enthusiasts private hire, at the same time Balloons 717 and 706 were running on the blue timetable Heritage Tours between North Pier and the Pleasure Beach. The heritage service had started out the day with Centenary Car 648 in use alongside Balloon 717, however after lunchtime it was decided to swap the Centenary tram for something more befitting the sunny (but very windy) conditions, so open-top Balloon 706 Princess Alice was brought into operation for the afternoon shift.

Open-top Balloon 706 in Heritage Tour service on a sunny but very windy afternoon in Blackpool on April 11th

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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous12 April 2015 at 17:38

    I wish that they would use some of the other modified balloons; 707, 709, 713, 718, 720, 724. I know these are technically 'B fleet' trams but so are 700, 711 and 719. It would just add a bit of variety to the line up. It's good to see 701 being used though

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    1. Alan Robson12 April 2015 at 21:12

      The general public want to see and ride something that looks like a traditional Blackpool tram, and when there are only two heritage trams in service (green timetable days), modernised purple trams with electric folding doors probably wouldn't have same attraction.

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  2. Anonymous13 April 2015 at 11:01

    Why have they had 700, 711 and 719 out loads then? Also 642 is hardly traditional it was out almost everyday before the flexitys arrived. Except for when it was in the repair shop. I just want to see more balloons from BTS. When I was younger in the 90's and early 2000's most of the trams in service were balloons. It's just my opinion anyway 😛

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