Centenary car delayed by failed Flexity2!

The morning of Monday 20th May witnessed a surprise appearance on Blackpool promenade by Centenary car 642, operating under its own power for the first time in just over 18 months. Having spent more than a week being prepared for service at Starr Gate depot, 642 was driven to Bispham for a test run before heading back to Rigby Road, although this latter journey didn’t pass entirely without incident.

On its return from Bispham, 642 was held up for a short time by Flexity 007, which had failed near Cabin. Fortunately, fitters were on site to attend to 007‘s fault and the tram was soon mobilised, before being driven back to Starr Gate empty for further attention. This allowed 642 to complete its longest journey since 2011, and it is pleasing to report that the car performed faultlessly despite its long lay-off. It is quite ironic, and rather amusing, that a type of tram which were often infamous for breaking down regularly was delayed by the breakdown of a Flexity2 tram which is normally extremely reliable! Hopefully the Centenary car will perform just as well this weekend, when it makes a one-off guest appearance on the heritage tram service on Sunday 26th May.

Meanwhile work is also nearing completion to prepare 648 for its expected return to service on Saturday 25th May. Unfortunately, time constraints mean that it will not be possible to complete all of the planned work on this car prior to the weekend, but it will still be used in its freshly applied heritage green & cream livery, before returning to the works for some finishing touches. This should not detract too much however, from what looks set to be a superb weekend, and for those who have missed the Centenary cars it should be particularly enjoyable.

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2 Responses to Centenary car delayed by failed Flexity2!

  1. Ash Tomlinson says:

    What work is there still to do on 648 that has not been completed yet?

    • Andrew Waddington says:

      Ash – I guess we’ll find out on Saturday! But the most important thing is that the tram will be running as advertised, which I think speaks volumes about Bryan Lindop and his team at Blackpool Transport who are dedicated to giving us lot a good weekend!

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