We return to “Whatever Happened To?” today as we feature the next tram on the list of those which operated during the 2005 Tramathon at the Crich Tramway Village. That tram is Blackpool 166.
Blackpool Toastrack 166 was built in 1927 and withdrawn from passenger service in 1941. After a period of storage it was converted into a mobile television car to allow footage of the illuminations to be filmed with this usage continuing until 1968. Moving to Crich in 1972 it was restored to service (the first car to be fully rebuilt at the museum) and would then join the operating fleet for a number of years. By the time of the 2005 Tramathon it had only been back in service for around a year after more workshop attention and would soon establish itself as a popular fair weather tram once more.
Looking at the tram today and it last operated in 2019 having not been commissioned for service in 2020 with a much lower number of trams needed for the reduced service able to operate.
166 is always a popular tram with visitors to the museum but when captured outside the depot on 12th June 2005 it hadn’t yet entered service with it just having coming out of the sheds.
Now this is more like it on the passenger front! Its warm, there are sunny skies and there’s hardly a spare seat on 166 as it arrives at Wakebridge from Glory Mine on 21st September 2019. (Both Photographs by Gareth Prior)