The plans to bring the Illuminated Rocket 732 back to the rails of the Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramway are continuing. As previously reported Blackpool Council are discussing with the Lancastrian Transport Trust – who actually own the vehicle – about transferring the tram back into their ownership, with a “mothballed” tram being used as bait.
Unfortunately, if the restoration did go ahead – which would be to a “museum standard” – no passengers would be able to be carried because of health and safety concerns with the angle of the saloon. It is estimated that the restoration would cost approximately £150,000.
Bryan Lindop, from Blackpool Transport, said: “We are in the process of launching interesting proposals with the Illuminations Department to carry out a museum standard restoration of this tram car. By bringing the rocket out of storage we want the public to see that it is still here in Blackpool. The rocket and the Western Train were definitely the most unique cars of a fleet of five that were built from 1959 to 1965. It would be wonderful to see it back on the Prom."
Michael Wilcox, head of Illuminations at the Council, added: “We get more queries about the Rocket Tram than any other part of the Illuminations. Obviously, this scheme is costly but the public can play a part in bringing a piece of Blackpool's history back to life. We are in the process of setting up a Friends of The Illuminations group to work on such projects. We visualise the future of the Illuminations show being more interactive, people have told us they want to see the rocket return, so that is what we will aim towards. The group would help us shape the future of one of the country's best, free attractions."
If everything goes according to plan the restoration would be undertaken jointly by Blackpool Transport and the Illuminations Department with completion likely by 2009.
Source: Blackpool Gazette