It has been revealed that Marton Box 31 will make its first passenger-carrying appearance since returning to Blackpool on Easter Sunday, 27th March. The tram will operate a special premium-price ‘inaugural run’ during the morning, and is then scheduled to operate heritage tours for the rest of the day with normal fares applicable.
31 has of course visited Blackpool twice before in recent times, and arrived for its current stay earlier this month with Standard 147 heading to Beamish in exchange. Following commissioning, Marton 31 will be launched on Easter Sunday. The tram is due to operate the 1000 Pleasure Beach to Fleetwood tour on this day, with special fares in place of £10 per person solely for the first return trip to Fleetwood and back. This additional charge will help to offset the high costs of transporting the car to Blackpool for the season, and normal heritage day tickets will not be accepted on this trip. It is not possible to reserve a place on the first tour, and tickets will be sold on the tram, so anyone wishing to travel on it is advised to arrive at the Pleasure Beach loop in good time. This will mean an early start for some, particularly as the clocks go forward that weekend! Note that this will be our first chance to ride on 31 on home turf since 2010, and its first passenger journey to Fleetwood since 1998!
After returning to the Pleasure Beach, 31 is scheduled to enter normal service and will perform heritage tour duties for the rest of the day, with normal pricing structures applicable. The tram is then expected to see regular use throughout 2016 and is sure to be an extremely popular addition to the pool of available cars for use on the heritage service.
I hope its in action during the summer as I’ll be there for a week long Holiday!
It’s on loan for the year, so surely that is to the end of the lights at least. I would imagine it will be out more or less every day Heritage runs.
Weather permitting of course!
It ran in all weathers at Heaton Park!
It was particularly fun in the snow, as the guard on the back platform the resistance box was a fantastic place to sit
I’ll second that from the other end! Was great fun, looking forward to getting a little drive of her while she’s back home for a visit!