Blackpool Coronation car 304‘s extended stay at Beamish Museum finally came to an end on Thursday 7th March, when the tram was loaded up for transportation back to Blackpool. The Lancastrian Transport Trust owned tram arrived back on the Fylde the next day – but an unfortunate chain of events culminated in it being dumped in outside storage once again, dashing hopes of an improvement in the fortunes of this celebrity car.
It will be recalled that 304 first spent some time stored outside at Jackson’s bus yard on the outskirts of Blackpool when it was evicted from Rigby Road last September. Thankfully, Beamish Museum stepped in and a short-term operating loan was arranged which saw it return to service in the North East during the autumn. This ended slightly prematurely when 304 suffered a minor derailment at Pockerley, but even this did not dampen what had been a major highlight in the tram’s sixty-year career. It was understood that part of the loan agreement had been that the car would be removed from Beamish premises before Christmas, but this deadline had long passed by the time that a return trip for 304 was finally arranged. As a result of this, 304 had to spend several weeks standing outside their tram depot, which was sadly too small to house all of the trams on site.
When the Coronation tram finally returned home on Friday 8th March, it was initially taken to the depot of Classic Bus North West, but the low loader could not be manoevured into the available space and therefore Plan A was soon abandoned. It was then on to Brinwell Road, home of several other LTT-owned trams, but once again the lorry struggled to access the site. It is not known why this was such a problem, as sister Coronation car 663 is accomodated inside and was obviously unloaded there somehow, but for whatever reason this plan was also dismissed and it was back to the drawing board again. A return to Jackson’s yard was also ruled out, and with options running out, arrangement was made at very short notice for 304 to be deposited at an industrial estate on the edge of Fleetwood. The twist in the tale is that 304, the LTT’s most prized exhibit, is now standing alongside several of the trams owned by a ‘rival’ preservation group, the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust. Relations between these two organisations in the past is believed to have been rather frosty, presumably highlighting the desperate situation in which the LTT have found themselves.
It is very pleasing that the LTT and the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust have seemingly put their differences to one side, and done what is in the best interests of an irreplaceable historic Blackpool tram. However, to see 304 back in open storage is extremely disapointing and it remains to be seen whether more suitable accomodation can be found for the car. With all due respect to the FHLT and its collection, 304 is clearly much more valuable than any of their trams, having been extensively restored to full running order in 2002 thanks to considerable assistance from Channel 4’s Salvage Squad TV series. To see the tram fall from grace like this must be heartbreaking for all those who were involved in its transformation, and as enthusiasts we must now consider what can be done to try and help secure a brighter future for 304.
One small bright spot in this sad tale, is that 304 was returned to its old stamping ground on a low loader provided by Scott’s Heavy Haulage, a company who are no strangers to tram moves, but who have been absent from such work since last summer. At one time it was rumoured that Scott’s had withdrawn from moving trams, but this latest move confirms that happily this is not the case. With Beamish and Heaton Park planning several tram moves in the months ahead, there could be a lot of business around the corner for a reliable and reasonable haulage company and Scotts certainly fit the bill.
It is my own view that these two local tram groups work together and save some of blackpools heritage.if only the picture takers would put down their cameras and support these groups,either moneywise or physically instead of attacking them,im sure it would be appreciated.it takes a lot of time and effort to start up a museum.
Fine. I’m just curious as to how you know that we don’t? I certainly do (moneywise).
Yes. Thanks for that Ken. I too have been involved in and supported preservation for 42 years.
Thank you gentlemen for your quick response.yes,like yourselves I have contributed for over fifty years to groups and charities.the point I was making is that there has been very little support for these two groups.although the ltt is and has been receiving financial support,the fhlt hasn’t.this group was organised two years ago by two local chaps and has done wonders in getting sponsers to purchase former blackpool trams.however,no local support .as I said before,it is all very well taking photo shots of trams being moved on low loaders but what is required is financial and physical help from the tram followers who live in and around the blackpool area.we are living in extreme hard financial times and I would not expect people to come over to blackpool at great cost to help esp when they have families and food to put onthe table.I would however expect tram lovers who live around blackpool to help if there is any chance of getting a museum set up.up to now there has not been any help and full credit is due to the two chaps working on their own for all the work that has been done so far.
I do agree that some practical (or financial assistance) might go down well and did comment as much when that much criticised tour took place a few months ago.
However, and I know I will be shot down for committing heresy here, it’s my belief that 2 years ago there were far too many of the surviving trams taken on. The effect of there being so many duplicates is to dilute the meager resources that do exist and there is some common sense in suggesting a thinning out. For 2 groups located so close together to duplicate each other’s efforts is just counter productive. They need to put their differences behind them and cooperate to produce a single coherent collection that tells the story of Blackpool’s tramway heritage.
Regarding financial support for organisations the trouble is there are so many preservation groups out there now and comparatively few enthusiasts to contribute that some are bound to suffer. It’s a catch 22 situation really; do you give your money to an established group who have achieved a lot or do you give it to a group who haven’t achieved a great deal but need the money so that they can achieve something? It’s human nature that you are more likely to give your cash to the established group whereas the other group might need it more.
Is there too much duplication in preservation now? Probably! But will there be in a few years? Probably not!