We return to Blackpool in 1977 for our latest edition of “Picture in Time” for an image which t first glance looks like the world’s first twin tram-bus!
We are again in Fleetwood for this image as we take a look at OMO 3. In the second fleet livery style to be carried by the tram, it is in the red and white colour scheme and includes a trolley. Also note the complete lack of any external advertising on the tram. Having set out from Fleetwood Ferry a few minutes earlier the tram will be going as far as it can all the way through to Starr Gate.
3 is being stalked by a Bristol RE operated by Ribble. At this time Ribble operated a network of local bus services around Fleetwood, all route numbers being prefixed with an “F”. On this occasion it seems that the bus has yet to attract many customers with it right up the back of the tram.
Photograph by Donald Brooks
If you inspect the picture closely, it will show how uneven the track was in places at that time and also corrugated. Apart from the odd Coronation, trams were very noisy in Fleetwood in the 1970s prior to the ribbon welding work in 1979. The second livery style adopted by the OMOs from 1975 was especially attractive in its first version with the lower front offside panel painted red to continue from the main front panel. It made more sense to paint the trolley tower red, as the cream finish on 10 and 11 had not weathered well.
A feature of OMO 3 which differentiated it from the remaining trams of this group was the part bulkhead either side of the centre exit, being roughly half of the original Railcoach partition rather than the more modern style seen inside the other OMO cars. It seems likely that this was done to cut corners at a time when there was pressure to produce enough OMO cars to meet the needs of driver training, prior to introduction. It is also noteworthy the 3 was the last such tram to run with traditional leaf sprung suspension EE bogies rather than those adapted to operate with ‘Metalastic’ suspension, although it did run on such upgraded bogies for a while. Although seen here with a trolley pole, it was latterly associated with the Brecknell & Willis pantograph, which sometimes failed in service.