Blackpool 130th - Rigby Road Depot

Engineering Car 754 seen on Blundell Street while it was being used to shunt display trams into postition on Sunday

As part of the Tramway's 130th  celebrations, a series of depot tours were organised for both the Saturday and Sunday, with these having to be pre-booked in advance. All the tours were completely sold out well before the event, with several heritage trams being strategically positioned around Rigby Road depot especially for the open days. On Sunday the depot tour first visited the electrical compound, where Balloon 700 was stabled, waiting to take up its duties on the depot shuttle service. A visit to the paint shop saw Dennis Trident 333 in grey primer paint before being painted into fleet livery, OMO Car 8 was also on view in the paint shop, although this tram is very much a long term project due having a fractured underframe, and it could be 10 years before it re-enters service again. Next door in the body shop, preserved Leyland Atlantean 364 was awaiting attention, alongside it was unvestibuled Standard Car 143. Standard 143 had a significant amount of restoration work done to it while under the care of the Lancastrian Transport Trust, and there is a possibility that this tram's restoration could be finally completed over the coming winter in time for it to enter heritage service in 2016, if the necessary finance is made available. Moving on to the fitting shop there were two more long term projects on display, Brush Car 259, the former permanent way tram, and Railcoach 279, which is to be restored back into its original streamlined English Electric configuration.

The main storage shed at Rigby Road, with Unimog 938 and the red rotary snowbroom attachment off Unimog 939

OMO Car 8 was on display in the body shop, this tram is now a long term project due to a fractured underframe

Dennis Trident 333 in grey undercoat in the Paint Shop as part of a full repaint into fleet livery

Leyland Atlantean 364 and unvestibuled Standard 143 on display in the body shop

Former PW Brush Car 259, this very long term project could see the recreation of a Brush Car in original condition

English Electric Railcoach 279 in the fitting shop, showing the work that had been undertaken on the tram by the LTT

The Rocket was positioned on the depot fan for display on the Sunday

Twin Set 676/686, which is currently in storage, pulled out onto the depot fan for display on the Sunday