Following an enforced absence due to the winter closures of recent years, the Fylde Tramway Society’s annual Christmas tour of the Blackpool tramway on board an unusual member of the resident tram fleet is set to return for 2012. Twin Set 272+T2, recently repainted in its original cream livery with green lining-out, has been chosen to operate the tour and will be making a very welcome return to Fleetwood Ferry.
Due to staff shortages, very few private hires have run at Blackpool this year, as Blackpool Transport have quite rightly prioritised operating a good level of service for the general public. However, with a slightly reduced output for the winter (mainly due to the absence of the heritage tours), the company has agreed to the FTS hiring a tram. The Christmas tour will take place on Saturday 29th December with tickets priced at £10 for adults, and £5 for children. Although both Fleetwood ‘Box’ 40 and Bolton 66 have operated tours to Fleetwood this year for their supporters, this is the first chance that members of the public have been given to ride on a genuine heritage tram to Fleetwood Ferry in the light rail era, and should therefore be a very popular tour. Unfortunately BTS have not allowed the tour to run to Starr Gate, but nonetheless this should be an excellent event.
No Twin car has made it to the northern terminus when 673+683 – now privately preserved on behalf of the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust – ran on a private tour on the last day of the 2009 season. This will also be 272+T2‘s first appearance north of Little Bispham since it joined the heritage fleet and regained its old livery and fleet numbers. Such a historic occasion will be a fitting end to what has generally been a very succesful year for the rejuvinated Blackpool tramway, and hopefully it will be well supported. It is also to be hoped that BTS will be able to commit staff to more events of this nature during 2013, giving more opportunities to ride on vintage trams in now unfamililar places.
Update 23/12/12: the FTS tour with Twin set 272+T2 in Blackpool next Saturday is almost fully booked with less than 10 seats left! Please email chrisrowe37419@googlemail.com is you haven’t booked yet to reserve a space, as there will probably be no seats free on the day. Also if you have already booked and haven’t received your ticket yet, don’t panic! The tour organiser will have a list of everyone who has paid with him, so there is a back-up plan if the Christmas post delays their arrival.
Does anyone have any information on the times and the route of this tour as I can’t seem to find them anywhere on the FTS website.
11am from North Pier. No further details of route other than above.
Still nothing on FTS website – is there a way to book and be sure??
Ive heard this tour is now free, is this correct?
Definitely not. Hiring trams in Blackpool is very costly and therefore running free tours would not be a viable option, especially for a charitable organisation such as the FTS. Personally I think that £10 is a very reasonable price to pay for a Twin car ride to Fleetwood – and incidentally, it’s now been announced that 272+T2 will be running to Fleetwood twice during the tour!
I have now updated the above news story with a contact email address for the Fylde Tramway Society Tours Officer, for the benefit of any readers who would like to book a ticket but who are not members of the FTS.