In the last of this current series of “Still Standing!” we head back to the northwest of England as we feature the last remaining overhead support pole in Bolton which has recently been restored by the Bolton 66 Tramcar Trust.
Bolton Corporation Tramways ran electric trams in the Lancashire town between June 1899 and 29th March 1947 with just over 32 miles of track for the extensive network of routes. Operating on standard gauge the tramway utilised the overhead electric system and for this needed some 3,000 overhead support poles. Of these only one remains today at the junction of Halliwell Road and Blackburn Road.
The pole dates from 1901 and around 20 years ago the Bolton 66 Tramcar Trust painted the pole back to its original colours. As would be expected, recently the pole had become very weathered and so the trustees of the Trust funded the repainting of the pole again and a plaque was also affixed to the pole to give a little bit of history.
The recently repainted pole is seen here with the contrast in colours between the upper and lower sections.
The complete pole is seen here from the other side of the road.
A close-up view showing the newly attached plaque. (All Photographs by David Lloyd)