Expansion of the Heritage Fleet

Newly arrived former LTT Balloon 715 and Brush cars 632 & 259 seen at the front of the depot on 17th December

The recent rounds of tramcar movements in Blackpool over the last six months has seen a major expansion in the number of trams that will potentially be available for Heritage Tour duty in the future. While some of the new arrivals still require a considerable amount of restoration work, and others are currently basket cases (ie former works car 259), some of the arrivals can hopefully be put to use again in the not too distant future. Among the trams that have returned to Rigby Road depot recently are Brush cars 632 & 259, Coronations 304 & 663, Balloon 715, English Electric Railcoach 279 (679), OMO car 8 and Standard 143, all these trams should eventually be joining the operational heritage car fleet. Brush car 622 and Jubilee 761 are currently being stored for their owners, and are not destined to join the heritage fleet. See this full fleet list for a more detailed breakdown of all the heritage trams that are currently at Blackpool.

Another view showing 631, 711, Trawler 737, 715, 632, 701 & 259, all part of the heritage fleet apart from Balloon 711

New Classic Bus Route 80

Former Stagecoach Volvo B10M R899 XVM at Talbot Square on the new Route 80 to Preston on 16th December

On 9th December Classic Bus North West began operating a new service, route 80, which runs between Blackpool and Preston. The new service starts from Corporation Street in Blackpool and operates via Victoria Hospital, Hardhorn, Poulton, Great Eccleston, Elswick, Inskip, Cottam and Ashton. The service runs hourly in each direction on a Monday to Saturday daytime basis, between Blackpool and Preston. Lancashire County Council will continue to support the two hourly Monday to Saturday evening and Sunday service between Poulton and Preston. Classic Bus North West will extend these subsidised journeys through to Blackpool on a commercial basis, whilst future funding decisions are made, offering an initial seven day a week service throughout the whole route.

Classic Bus's Red Rocket service to Manchester saw Olympian N325 NHG operating the 10:30 departure on 17th Dec

More tram moves at Rigby Road

761 chained down to Scotts low loader in preparation for making the journey from storage in Fleetwood to Rigby Road

Blackpool Jubilee car 761, which is owned by the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust, was finally moved from the open storage yard in Fleetwood where it has sat since 2011, and it is now securely dry stored in Rigby Road tram depot, albeit on a temporary basis. The tram has not been transferred to the heritage fleet, the ownership of it still remains firmly with the Fleetwood trust. 761 cannot be used on heritage tours and will not run while it is stored by the Fleetwood group in Blackpool.

After Scotts Heavy Haulage had unloaded Jubilee 761 in Blundell Street, they then prepared for loading another tram, this time for a much longer journey to Beamish museum in the North East. Former trailer towing car 680, owner by the Heaton Park Tramway group, is departing from storage in Blackpool to spend the winter season on the tramway at Beamish. Before the tram could be loaded, Scotts had to dismantle the loading ramp and shorten the extendable trailer again (it had been stretched for moving the longer Jubilee car from Fleetwood). After the loading ramp had been rebuilt, 680 was loaded under the cover of darkness in preparation for an early morning start for the long trip north to Beamish.

680 chained to Scotts low loader in preparation for the long journey north to Beamish early on the following morning

The last of the LTT trams return to Rigby Road

Brush cars 632 and 259 hiding in the long grass of the storage yard at Marton in Blackpool on 10th December

Tuesday 10th December saw a busy day of trams moves for Scotts Heavy Haulage in Blackpool. Balloon 715 had already been loaded up the previous evening at the storage yard in Marton, and had spent the night on the back of Scotts low loader next to the tram depot in Blundell Street. Scotts made an early start before dawn unloading 715, and the tram was propelled by the small fork lift truck of BTS into Rigby Road depot just after 9.00am. The next tram to be moved from the yard was Brush car 632, and in order to access this tram and Brush car 259, Balloon 704 was dragged across the storage yard by Scotts low loader. Brush car 632 was loaded up and transported back to Rigby Road, finally entering the depot at 14:35. This only left Brush car 259 to collect from the yard, the tram was loaded as dusk fell and arrived back at Rigby Road in darkness at around 6.00pm. For more photos of the LTT tram moves on 10th December see Blackpool Trams on Flickr.
 

Balloon 715 being unloaded early in the morning after spending the night on Scotts low loader in Blundell Street

Scotts low loader passes Bloomfield Road football ground as it returns Brush car 632 back to Rigby Road depot

Brush car 259 basks in a brief spot of sunshine after the tarpaulins had been removed in readiness for transport

Brush car 259 being pulled onto Scotts low loader as dusk fell over the storage yard at Marton

Balloon 704 is not part of the transfer of LTT trams to BTS, but had to be moved to clear the tram movements

Coronation 663 returns to Rigby Road

663 on Scotts low loader with the trailer wheels on full lock as it reverses out of the former LTT depot at Brinwell Road

Coronation 663 became the last tram to leave the former Lancastrian Transport Trust premises at Brinwell Road in Marton on 9th December, when it made the short journey to Rigby Road depot to become part of the growing heritage fleet of Blackpool Transport. 663 had only days to go until a deadline for it to be removed from the former LTT depot (now Heatons Engineering Ltd), so it was with great relief that Scotts Heavy Haulage extracted the tram from the building and transported it the short distance to Blundell Street ready for unloading. Coronation 663 has had a nomadic existence for the last 37 years since it departed Rigby Road for preservation back in 1976, residing at various locations around the country, and even suffering flood damage to the bogies while being stored at Lytham. 663 will now join Coronations 304 and 660 at Rigby Road depot. For more photos of 663's move see Blackpool Trams on Flickr.

Coronation 663 on Scotts low loader on Lytham Road in Blackpool on its way back to Rigby Road tram depot

Coronation 663 on Scotts low loader making the turn from Hopton Road into Blundell Street

The front bogie of 663 finally touches down again on Blackpool rails, 37 years since it left for preservation in 1976

Balloon 716 for £8000 ono

Balloon 716 in its last full year of passenger service, seen on the core Fleetwood to Starr Gate route in July 2002

Balloon 716 has unexpectedly turned up for sale on a well known auction site. The tram was withdrawn from service in summer 2003 due to corrosion problems with its underframe. 716 was then stored in the depot for several more years, being used as a spare parts tram, before it was purchased by Ptarmigan Transport Solutions of Perth, and transported to Scotland where the intention was that it would be used as a site office. Unfortunately Ptarmigan Transport Solutions has recently gone into liquidation and there is now an urgent need to dispose of the tram, either for reuse or scrap. The asking price for 716 is £8000, although offers will also be accepted.

Balloon 716 for sale on eBay on 8th December, the auction end date is 17th December. Get your bids in quickly!

Storm Damage in Blackpool

Flexity 012 heading for Fleetwood on 6th Dec, past promenade surfacing ripped up by the sea along the Golden Mile

Severe gale force winds together with a high autumn tide caused a tidal surge which breached the new sea defences along Blackpool Promenade on 5th December. Much of the Central Promenade was completely overwhelmed with water, which covered the road and tramway to a depth of several inches, and was even lapping at the fronts of the hotels on the other side of the carriageway. Tram services were curtailed on the tramway south of North Pier, and later in the day they were restricted to the section betwen Bispham and Ash Street in Fleetwood. Neither buses or trams were able to use the Central Promenade for majority of the day. The sea was so powerful that it tore up a large section of paving surface from the new promenade, between Central Pier and the Lifeboat Station, rolling it up like it was a large carpet. The day after the flood there were still piles of seaweed left in front of Rigby Road depot, that had been washed all the way down Lytham Road and Hopton Road by the sea and into the depot.

A large area of rubberized promenade paving surface that had been ripped up by stormy seas on 5th December

Looking north towards the Lifeboat Station, showing the large area of paving that had been ripped up by the storm

A large sheet of the promenade paving surface that had been ripped up and wrapped round one of the large pebbles

Piles of sea washed seaweed sat in front of snowplough equipped Balloons 701 & 723 at Rigby Rd on December 6th

The gale lashed sea overwhelmed the new sea defences, the flooded prom seen at Waterloo Rd tram stop on 5th Dec