With the cherry pickers which had been situated in Talbot Square while the overhead installation had started now having gone it would appear that work will not be progressing at the moment but there is still work taking place up at Wilko’s where the track towards the terminus and associated concreting continuing.
The terminus of the extension up Talbot Road will be located within the site where the Wilko’s store once stood and the past few months have seen site preparation works followed by initial track laying and concrete pouring. Included in the track laying has been installation of a scissors crossover. The tracks enter the site roughly where the entrance to Wilko’s was and then after the crossover curve round to where the actual terminus will be. In previous updates from Wilko’s we saw that although there was track at the terminus there was a small section which had yet to be completed as it was being used for works access but recently this has also been filled in so that track does now run all the way through.
Looking along the tracks from the entrance this view shows the track up to the scissors crossover with concrete and the wire mesh in place in the foreground.
Another view into the worksite where we can see the track curving to the right. (Photographs x2 by Tony Armitage, 7th September 2021)
Looking across the worksite and the white tent is located where the dirt track once was but now track is down.
With the hotel and restaurant building in the background continuing to go up the left hand side here shows where the tram terminus will be with space in between the tracks for an island platform – the first one on the modernised Blackpool Tramway! (Photographs x2 by Peter Dockerty, 7th September 2021)