A new role for Blackpool Balloon 701

In a surprising development, Blackpool Balloon 701 has been fitted with a snowplough in case of severe weather over the course of the winter months. 701 has never been used in this capacity before, but both of the previous plough cars – 702 and 708 – have been sold to the Manchester Transport Museum Society, leaving another tram to take over this role.

Obviously, the fact that the Blackpool tramway has been closed for the last couple of winters has meant that no snowplough-fitted trams have been required, but with a healthy winter timetable now in operation, the old tradition of fitting basic snow clearing equipment to Balloon cars has returned. 701 is a very welcome choice for this role: the tram hasn’t run since the end of the 2010 season, and is not considered part of the operational fleet at the moment. When the tram was seen in the Fitting Shop recently it was feared that it may be donating parts to other trams, but instead it seems that it has been prepared for possible use in the event of heavy snowfalls – something which rarely happens in Blackpool, but many enthusiasts will no doubt now be hoping for! The choice of 701 is also appropriate as it carries a plain yellow livery from a previous all-over advert, matching Engineering car 754! The tram has also had its Metro Coastlines stickers, previously displayed on the lower deck side panels, removed.

It is not expected that 701‘s new role will be followed by a return to passenger service, at least in the short term, but it is pleasing to see that an unrefurbished Balloon car has found a useful purpose on the upgraded tramway, and hopefully this will ensure that 701 survives for many years to come.

701 is seen at Pleasure Beach during its final year of passenger service (so far at least). The date is 25th September 2010, and 701 is seen heading towards the northbound tram stop for another promenade special. (Photo by Andrew Waddington)

 

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1 Response to A new role for Blackpool Balloon 701

  1. Ken Walker says:

    I remember seeing in one of the books on Blackpool trams, can’t remember which one, a photo of 3 balloon cars coupled together on snowplough duties on the prom. An impressive sight!

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