With just hours to go until the Easter holiday weekend marks the start of heritage tram operation in Blackpool, we are pleased to publish the provisional list of which trams are due to operate over the four-day weekend. Please note that all vehicles listed below are subject to change. Note that cars listed to operate heritage tours will work between Pleasure Beach and Bispham apart from a single journey to Fleetwood (further details provided below), and that the heritage cars can only load and unload at designated heritage tram stops.
Unfortunately, Standard 147 is currently unavailable due to a minor defect and with Brush Railcoach 631 still under attention at Starr Gate depot, the available pool of enclosed trams that are suitable for use on heritage tours has been somewhat depleted. Nonetheless, it is still planned to use four different cars on each day and hopefully this programme should provide plenty of interest for both hardcore enthusiasts and the general public alike. Full timetables and details of fare structures can be found at www.blackpooltransport.com.
Good Friday should kick off with Fleetwood Box car 40 making its first public trip to Fleetwood Ferry since completion of the tramway upgrade, with departure from North Pier booked for 10:36AM. For the remainder of the day car 40 and Bolton 66 will run tours between Pleasure Beach and Bispham, with 66‘s final run of the day being extended to Fleetwood. Two heritage specials will also be used, and these will not run to a set timetable, but are expected to mainly operate between Pleasure Beach and North Pier. The first day should see ‘Princess Alice’ 706 and Balloon 717 perform this role.
On Saturday, Balloon 717 and Box 40 are due to appear again with 717 in charge of the morning Fleetwood journey and 40 doing the late afternoon run. Trams to be used on specials are not confirmed at the time of writing and are likely to depend on the weather.
Easter Sunday should see Bolton 66 on the AM Fleetwood run and either 706 or 717 as the second tour car, with Box 40 plus one another (probably the other one of 706 & 717) on specials.
The weekend action will hopefully conclude with Twin set 272+T2 making its year debut, and the duo will run to Fleetwood in the morning. Box 40 should also be back on tours with both 66 and 717 expected out on specials.
It is not known what plans exist to cover for any of the above trams in the event of a breakdown or other issues, with one possibility being the use of ‘B Fleet’ double deckers, although this is merely an educated guess. Both operational Boat cars 230 and 600 are also serviceable and may be used if the weather is better than expected – although sadly this would appear rather unlikely!
Our sincere thanks go to Andrew Blood of the ‘Trams Today’ Facebook page for allowing us to republish this information, and also to Bryan Lindop of Blackpool Transport for making this available in the public domain. Hopefully the historic trams will be well patronised over the Easter period, and we urge as many of our readers as possible to sample a heritage tram ride in Blackpool over the next few days. The long-term survival of these trams on their native system could well be in our hands!
Now that is exciting! With a range of ticket options to suit all needs! Well done BT hope it is a success.
I’ll be there. A good choice of tickets, which will hopefully get the enthusiasts and the general public on board. I’d hate to see these trams disappear.
It’s great news …….I really hope they are used !!