A few days ago we featured a photo in the workshop at the Crich Tramway Village of a tram which isn’t seen very often anywhere but the depots when Sheffield 189 paid a visit for photos of its underneath to be taken. This was on Sunday 2nd April, but it wasn’t the only unusual visitor on that day as Blackpool 49 was also briefly in the workshop.
Again, this was not a prelude to the tram being prepared for service but was again so that the workshop team could take a look at the tram which was last considered a runner in 1992. It was moved over the pit so that the brake rigging could be inspected and compared to that of fellow Blackpool Standard car, 40.
Blackpool Standard 49 was built in 1926 and remained operational there until withdrawal came in 1962. It arrived at Crich in the December of that year and would run for the first time in preservation during 1964, carrying the red and white livery in its fully enclosed state. It would go on to be a regular performer in service until a second withdrawal came in 1992 and it has remained as a static exhibit for the past 30-ish years.
This photo shows Blackpool 49 at the front of the Workshop with London County Council 1 alongside it. Behind the London car we can just make out Newcastle 102. (Photograph by Frank Bagshaw, 2nd April 2023)