Wednesday 13th March saw an unusual winter appearance by an open-top tram on the Blackpool system, when ‘Princess Alice’ 706 operated a private hire. The tram was spotted on the promenade early in the evening, with several passengers taking advantage of some unseasonable sunshine on its top deck.
Open top Balloon car 706 had a difficult season in 2012. After being fitted with transponder equipment from one of the many newly withdrawn cars in the fleet which had been sold off after the 2011 illuminations, 706 was one of the first trams to see use on the new heritage coastal tours at Easter 2012, but its performance after that was somewhat erratic thanks to a series of minor electrical faults. The tram required attention to its compressor on at least two seperate occasions during the course of the year, and also required numerous replacement fuses as it struggled to cope with the increased voltage on its native tramway. It last graced the promenade in August – making its early return to use for 2013 even more surprising and welcome.
Full details of 706‘s year debut are not available, and anyone who knows any more about the nature of its outing is encouraged to contact us. However, the private hire is believed to have been completed succesfully, and therefore we must hope that ‘Alice’ will enjoy a much better year in 2013 than she did in 2012. Although not officially confirmed yet, the heritage tours are expected to resume operation at the Easter weekend and if the weather is kind, 706 must stand a good chance of being used then, having obviously been prepared for service.