Blackpool Centenary 645 – which was once one of two Centenary Cars to call a holiday park their home – is now owned by Blackpool Transport once again after the Fylde Transport Trust decided that it was surplus to their requirements.
645 was the last tram to have to be towed back to depot on the old tramway when it failed on Sunday 6th November and was then towed back to Rigby Road Depot by Unimog 939. Initially acquired by the Windy Harbour Caravan Park, 645 departed Blackpool Transport property in January 2012. It would only be used at the caravan park for around five years until it was deemed surplus to requirements with the tram purchased by a private individual and donated to the Blackpool Heritage Trust.
Its ownership was transferred to the Fylde Transport Trust – along with many others when the two collections were merged – but it now no longer has a role within the FTT collection and so ownership has been transferred backto Blackpool Transport (with the tram now coming full circle!) and it will remain stored in Rigby Road Depot as it has been since July 2017.
In a statement the FTT said: “Centenary tram 645 was originally purchased by an individual and donated to the Blackpool Heritage Trust when it was no longer required as a static exhibit at Windy Harbour park. When the BHT merged with the Fylde Transport Trust, 645 was one of the assets transferred. It was never intended to restore the tram to operational condition, as much of the control system had been taken off back in 2011 to allow other Centenary trams to continue running on the final day of traditional tram operation. As the tram was originally acquired for a possible source of spares for 642 & 648, it now no longer has a role to fulfil within the FTT collection, and therefore the FTT has gifted the tram to Blackpool Transport (owners of 642 & 648).”
I’ll probably be in the minority here but I’m really pleased about this announcement from the FTT. In my opinion, far too much money has been wasted moving various Blackpool trams with little to no hope of ever being restored around the country between various storage sites, which could have been spent on restoring or maintaining others of their sort, thus ensuring that a representative selection survive in good condition with a secure future. The Centenary cars, whilst an important part of the Blackpool tramway’s history, were never particularly popular with enthusiasts or the general public – with 642 & 648 at Blackpool and 647 preserved and housed undercover in the North East, 645 isn’t needed as well.
This acquisition should prove beneficial in terms of keeping 642 and 648 in operating condition. Maybe the owner of 637 would be willing to sell this tram to ensure either that work can be undertaken on any of the FTT’s Brush Cars awaiting restoration or simply to support the continuing use of those cars currently able to run.
I’ve never quite understood why BTS sold off the Centenary fleet at the same time they were widening the doorways of Balloon cars to provide a ‘B’ fleet for general service. Centenary cars are much wider than a balloon, being built to the tramway’s maximum permissable dimensions. If you watch 642 or 648 pass one of the LRV platforms you’ll see what I mean. So why didn’t OMO capable centenary cars become the B-fleet? Was it ploitical and they didn’t want the new LRVs to be shown up for the over-priced and over-complex solution they are?
Centenary – 3 big steps to access 52 seats, Balloon 1 step to the 40 seats in the lower saloon, plus another 50+ upstairs, and riding upstairs is an attraction in itself…
I think that where the Balloons are more useful than Centenaries is that with the widened loading platforms, there is both space and access for one if not two wheelchairs (positioned on the right of travel direction either facing the stairs or back to offside doors), particularly if a carer is present to ease the wheelchair up the small entrance step that still exists. This would not be achievable on a Centenary Car, as other than the loading platform at either end, which is required not to be obstructed, the interior lacks step-free access, even though it’s on one continuous level. Of course the Railcoaches could have been converted in a similar way to the Balloons, thereby allowing limited access by wheelchair users, but it seems that the whole idea was to ensure best possible added capacity at busy times to relieve overcrowding on the Flexities.
Neither the Balloons nor Railcoaches can accommodate wheelchairs. They block the entrances to the saloons and on a Balloon would impede passengers from using the stairs. The centre well area is simply not big enough.