In Pictures: Testing comes to an end in Blackpool for now

It was planned to take place on five days and it did take place on five days, although they may not have been the five days that had been originally intended, and now the first period of daylight testing on the Blackpool Tramway extension to North Station is over. Testing resumed on Monday 4th July and concluded on Tuesday 5th July with three trams and then four trams used respectively.

When we left the testing last time there has been a few signalling problems which had meant there was no testing on the planned third day (Wednesday 29th June), limited testing on the fourth day (Thursday 30th June) and then no testing at all on the fifth day (Friday 1st July). It was left at that testing should resume on Monday 4th July, subject to the signals being fixed, and they duly were which allowed two further days to take place to conclude this round of testing.

On Monday 4th July there were three trams used – 005, 010 and 013 – which afforded the first opportunity to see two trams passing on Talbot Road. Then on Tuesday 5th July it was up to four trams with 010, 014, 016 and 017 all being used.

These latest two days of testing seemed to be pretty successful although on the final day there were a few minor delays on the northbound service to Fleetwood with the signal a little slow to react to trams and the transponder at the Dickson Road end of Talbot Road looks as if it will be moved a few metres to the west.

This is the end of the testing for now and work on the project will now continue to concentrate on the construction of the hotel adjacent to the North Station terminus. There will be no consideration of tram services starting in any form before this construction work is completed.

For the record, and including the nighttime testing, the following trams have been used along Talbot Road so far:

16th March 2022 – 012, 017

27th June 2022 – 010

28th June – 006, 010

30th June – 001, 011

4th July – 005, 010, 013

5th July – 010, 014, 016, 017

Video courtesy of Podbaba Transport

013 takes the south curve into Talbot Square.

010 and 005 pass on Talbot Road. 005 (on the right) is at the single Talbot Square platform. (Photographs x2 by Tony Armitage, 4th July 2022)

017 comes out of the worksite which will contain the tram terminus as it heads back down Talbot Road.

Looking down to the terminus with 017 standing at the stop. (Photographs x2 by Michael Morton, 5th July 2022)

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