Sunday the 6th November saw the seasonal operation of the Blackpool tram system come to an end for 2011. It also signalled the end of
full time operation of the vintage fleet of trams that will be replaced in the main, by brand new state-of-the-art single-deck versions next
year. A vintage operation will continue but nothing like what has been in existence since the system was opened a very long time ago.
It was on the 29th September 1885 that a conduit current system was opened from Cocker Square along the Promenade to Station Road at the
South Shore. However, this did not prove to be a success and was later replaced by an overhead wire system which has since run to the present
day. But as time and indeed the trams rumbled on, the fleet gradually aged to a point where something had to be done to upgrade the
infrastructure or the whole system would have had to close. Thus the decision was made to completely overhaul the whole operation, which
included the introduction of a new fleet of trams. These will be sixteen Bombardier Flexity 2 built in Austria and Germany and represent
a £100-million investment funded jointly by Blackpool Council, the Department of Transport and the Lancashire County Council. These will begin
service at Easter 2012 be 100% low-floor and operated from a completely new facility built at Starr Gate on the south side of the town.
In the meantime the fleet of tramcars in recent years was known by a variety of names. Boats were single-deck open-toppers built in 1934 by
English Electric fleet numbers 600-607; Brush were single-decks from 1937 numbers 621-637; Centenary cars single-deck one-person-operated East
Lancs built 1984-1988 numbers 641-648; Progress Twins single-deck power plus trailer units rebuilt in 1958-1962 from English Electric numbers
671-680 and trailers 681-687; Balloons double-deck cars by English Electric 1934-1935 numbers 700-726; Jubilee class double-decks rebuilt in
1979 from Balloon class number 761 and 762; and finally the Millennium class double-decks rebuilt from Balloons in 2002-2005.
So with all this in mind there follows a selection of images of the vintage fleet taken between 1985 and 2007.
1-2. Two views of the iconic Blackpool Tower taken first from the North Pier side of the Promenade with fleet number 642 in the foreground,
then from the South side with tram number 702 in the picture. Both were seen in the month of May, although 642 in 2002 and 702 in 2005. The
former tram was a Primrose/Brush with a 52-seater East Lancs body and along with other similar vehicles the batch were built between 1984 and
1988. 702 was an English Electric vehicle again one of a batch built somewhat earlier in the period 1934/5.
3. July 1985 and tram number 8 trundled south from North Pier towards the Tower in the wake of one of the double-deck fleet. Unseasonable
weather at the height of Summer kept the crowds at bay as it passed over a set of points, watched over by grinning features erected in preparation
for the annual illuminations. This vehicle was rebuilt from an earlier Railcoach vehicle by English Electric with a Blackpool Corporation body.
It re-entered service in 1974 and ran for ten years until it was damaged in 1984. Repaired it returned to service but was eventually withdrawn
for the last time in 1992. The vehicle is currently owned by the Lancastrian Transport Trust.
4-5. Trams 632 and 636 respectively were Brush bodied 48-seater centre entrance
vehicles built in 1937 with English Electric mechanics. Both illustrated here at
the North Pier in July 1985. The latter 636, was obviously decorated to
celebrate an anniversary of Warburtons the Bakers, whilst the former 632,
perhaps the less said the bitter. Decorations for the forthcoming illuminations
event were in place with a happy apple peering down on 632.
6-7. Representing a more up to date image of the fleet is single-deck tram
number 641 and double-deck 762. 641 was built along with seven others during
1984-1988 being another of the Primrose/Brush type with an East Lancs 52-seater
body. Illustrated on the Promenade in July 1985, note the state of the track
especially the one nearest to the photographer; certainly started to shows signs
of age. 762 built in 1979 was an English Electric/Blackpool Corporation
collaboration again with East Lancs bodywork that seated 56 upstairs and 44
downstairs with a centre entrance/exit. The Pleasure Beach was the location in
July 1985 and made an interesting comparison with the older vehicle to the rear.
8. Two single-deck trams pass each way along the Promenade, in the distance one
of the former rebodied Railcoaches bound for Fleetwood. However, of greater
interest though must surely be number 765 in the foreground. This Manchester
Corporation Tramways vehicle from 1914 by the United Electric Car Company was on
loan in a livery that celebrated 350-years of the Post Office.
9. Amongst the fleet were several open-topped trams 606 being one of them. There
were seven of this type built in 1934 with centre entrance/exit English Electric
56-seater bodywork with mechanics from the same source. Sixty-one years later
and the vehicle was still hard at it in revenue-earning service on the Promenade
one fine day in September 1995.
10-11. For the 1995 season number 646 appeared in this all-over advertisement for the long running Coronation Street television soap. At
that time there was some sort of interactive event at the Sandcastle leisure facility on the South Promenade that featured sets and stars from the
programme. At some stage or another one of the trams featured in the programme itself, when one of the ‘baddy’ characters at the time was killed
off beneath the wheels. Tram 686 along the Promenade in October 1995 in the standard Blackpool Transport fleet livery of green and cream. As the
notice above the windscreen stated it was doubled up as a Progress Twin car set, the other one provided the power, 686 operated as a trailer set.
This was a Maley & Taunton/Brush built vehicle from 1985, and once again East Lancs provided the bodywork. A rather surprised ‘egg’ looked down
as the set passed by, they obviously being a major feature of the illuminations in 1995.
12-13. Several vehicles feature in this image (left), but they provide an interesting comparison in design and livery. Early Autumnal sunshine
beamed down on the fleet as they plied their trade up and down the Promenade, especially on Balloon tram number 703 an all-English Electric
centre entrance/exit double-decker from the 1934/5 period. At that time these provided the backbone of the fleet. 703 appeared in this livery
with rather more green than usual which certainly stood out in the crowd of other fleet vehicles, such as the sister tram behind and the
Leyland Atlantean bus over the road. Amongst the batch of all-English Electric built trams was number 706 in open-topped form (right) and made a
fine sight in 1995 as it picked up passengers on the Promenade bound for the northern terminal point at Fleetwood. Whether it still exists
is unknown, but the shop over the road is certainly no longer around, the Woolworths chain has long gone.
14. Crashing white-tipped waves and slightly leaden skies accompanied Primrose/Brush tram 646 as it carried its East Lancs body northbound
towards Fleetwood in May 2002. To the rear of the vehicle one can make out the North Pier pounded by the waves, the obelisk, the Tower, and
in the far distance the ferris wheel down at the South Shore.
15. In May 2002 tram 762 a joint English Electric/Blackpool Corporation collaborated vehicle featured an allover yellow advertisement for a
local branch of the Wilkinson store chain. Dual doors featured on both sides of the East Lancs bodywork with seating for 56 upstairs and 44
downstairs. Of note is the advertisement to the right of the vehicle, which promoted the BBC series of Spooks, which itself has allegedly just
been brought to an end after all these years. Although if you saw it, in my humble opinion they left the barn door flung wide open.
16-17. Two more images of the East Lancs bodied Primrose/Brush trams built
during the East Lancs 1984-88 period. September 2007 and 642 and 647 trundle
respectively north and southbound along the Promenade. 642 bore an all-over
yellow livery of the standard variation of the Metro Coastlines livery, similar
to that on the bus fleet, whilst 647 was almost lost amongst all the other
illumination colours on display around it on the Promenade. An Optare Excel bus
in the then Metro livery can also be observed.
18-19. Two images of the English Electric Balloon class cars 701 in a fussy all-over advertisement for a local hotel, whilst 703 bore the
pleasant standard green and cream Blackpool Transport livery. Both were southbound for the Starr Gate terminus.
20-21. The Millennium class were several cars rebuilt in the period 2002-2005 from older Balloon class vehicles, which originally dated
from the mid-1930s. 707 in a basic black colour promoted the Coral Island leisure facility, whilst 709 did the same for the Sea Life Centre.
22. English Electric Balloon class 719 from the 1930s was still active in September 2007 and carried this startling advertisement for a new
ride experience at the Pleasure Beach. And talking of rides, it looked like someone was being taken for one on the roof.
23. And finally as they say. Number 619 was a replica of a Blackpool & Fleetwood Vanguard tram which was created in 1987. Originally built in
1937 as Railcoach 282, it became number 619 when the fleet was renumbered in 1968. Later withdrawn from service in 1972 it returned for a period
of service from 1973 to 1987 in one-person-operated form.