Its been a long time coming, but the much-anticipated return to service of the illuminated Trawler 737 in Blackpool is now just a few days away. With the major refurbishment of the tram now nearly complete, it has been confirmed that it will be operating two very special tours on the evening of Friday 7th October to celebrate its re-launch.
The Trawler saw only limited use during 2014 and didn’t run at all in 2015, but over the last ten months its appearances has been transformed with a major overhaul which will introduce new state-of-the-art lighting features to the tram. Apart from a sneak preview to those who enjoyed a tour of the workshops last weekend as part of the tramway’s anniversary spectacular event, 737 has been kept hidden since work began but all that will soon change and the car is set to return to the promenade looking much brighter than ever before!
The tram is to be launched on Friday 7th October with two very special tours. The first of these is scheduled to depart from Hopton Road at 1700 and, after picking up from the North Pier & Tower heritage tram stop, 737 will then head to Fleetwood. After that will follow a long run to Pleasure Beach before the tram heads back north as far as Little Bispham to turn and return to Pleasure Beach for about 2000.
After a short break, the tram will depart again with a second special tour at 2030, heading again for Fleetwood and then it will run to Pleasure Beach for the final time that evening with a finish time of 2230 approximately.
Tickets for the tours MUST be reserved in advance, by contacting Emma Tingle at Blackpool Transport on 01253 209521 (weekdays after 1300 only), or by emailing heritage.trams@blackpooltransport.com – please also specify which trip you would like to travel on, and if the first, whether you intend to board at Hopton Road or North Pier. A ticket for the inaugural run is priced at £15 whilst the second run is priced at £10 – all tickets come with a souvenir booklet to commemorate this special occasion.
The Trawler will presumably then settle down into regular use for the remainder of the illuminations season, and its appearance looks certain to turn heads and provide one of the highlights of the year for the tramway.