As reported previously, a series of national commemorative events to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme will be taking place in Manchester’s Heaton Park next weekend, on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd July. With the tramway already confirmed to be playing a key part in this major event, Blackpool Vanguard 619 has received new vinyls on its roof advert boards acknowledging the anniversary.
619‘s new adverts read ‘Heaton Park 1916 – 2016 Somme 100’ and have been applied to the large boards fitted to the roof sides. These were previously blank, having been used to promote the Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramroad Centenary and also advertised Steel Appeal who had provided its wrought iron railings fitted in 1998 when the car was last overhauled in Blackpool. As well as being a nice touch to a very poignant and important event which the tramway is a part of, they also serve a double purpose in covering up the peeling paintwork which served as a reminder of the car’s spell of outdoor storage prior to completion of the new Lakeside Depot!
It remains to be seen whether 619‘s new vinyls are removed after the Somme commemorative events or are retained for the remainder of the year, although with the tram expected to receive workshop attention in the fairly near future – presumably once the current work on Stockport 5 is completed – they are unlikely to last for very long.