Our latest edition of Picture in Time heads to Blackpool again as we take a look along Blundell Street in 2004 with a view of by then long withdrawn OMO 8 which was stabled briefly during works in the shed at Rigby Road.
It became something of a tradition for me to take a walk down to Rigby Road Depot on the last morning of my annual pilgrimage to Blackpool (it seems strange to think that not so long ago I seemed to think a week in Blackpool each other was enough!) to see what was going on and whether there were any photos to be had. Most years it was fairly standard fare but on 18th September 2004 it was anything but! With some track cleaning taking place in the depot it had been necessary to drag out some withdrawn trams including Works Brush 259 (which was stabled in front of the Electrical Compound), Balloon 716 (which to my annoyance when getting the film developed I managed to completely muck up the photo by chopping off the top of the tram – oh to have a digital camera then so I would have known at the time!) and OMO 8, as seen here in these photos. To add to the scene Engineering Car 754 was also on Blundell Street as it had been used to tow and push the OMO into position.
At this point in time 8 had been withdrawn for over 12 years (having last run in May 1992) and had become part of the burgeoning Lancastrian Transport Trust collection in 2002 but remained at Rigby Road until 2005 until it moved to the LTT’s Brinwell Road facility following some cosmetic attention. It returned to Rigby Road in time for the 2012 125th anniversary events when it played an operational role in the cavalcade before later that same year it was used on an enthusiasts tour. A further move away from Rigby Road followed before it headed back the other way once again having become part of the enlarged Blackpool Heritage Trust fleet. It currently remains stored in the depot waiting for its chance to shine as part of the heritage fleet again.
These three photos (not the highest quality unfortunately) show 8 on Blundell Street looking rather sorry for its self. The Balloon in the distance is 716 which itself had been withdrawn in 2003 and was to never run in service again.
All Photographs by Gareth Prior