The behind the scenes tours of Tramtown – Blackpool Transport’s Rigby Road Depot – remain popular with the twice weekly tours seeing plenty of booking to get the chance to see what is going on at the historic facility. Members of the Fylde Tramway Society were treated to an extra tour on Friday 28th April when they got their own chance to see many trams which have been stored for a number of years. Stuart Cooke was one of those who enjoyed the opportunity to take a look.
The right hand tram is English Electric Railcoach 279. Owned by the Fylde Transport Trust the tram is midway through restoration with the work having previously been undertaken by the FTT with it being transferred to Rigby Road last year ahead of more working due to take place. Alongside is Balloon 701, currently stored.
Another FTT tram is Coronation 304 which is now on the way towards returning to service.
Balloon 713 waits outside the depot for its hire by the FTS.
Twin Car 272+T2 hasn’t run since the motor suffered a fire in September 2016 and are now stored in the tram shed. Next to the Twin Set here is Works Brush 259 – another FTT owned car.
We’re just being nosey here… Trams nose to nose in the depot. Left hand side is Brush 631 and the Frigate with the right featuring Balloon 717 and Boat 227. The Trawler is just at the back of the photo.
Balloon 710 (“The Alan Bradley Tram”) sits at the front of the depot having arrived back at Rigby Road in February. Behind is Balloon 703 in its guise as Sunderland 101. Twin Car T2+272 is on the left with Coronation 660 at the very back. (All Photographs by Stuart Cooke, 28th April 2023)
The sight of 279 next to 701 makes one mindful of the fact that next year should provide an opportunity to celebrate 90 years of the Streamline Cars. I gather that 701 simply has a problem with roof leakage and if this is the only major problem, it would be a great pity were it not to be made fit to participate in any celebrations. Hopefully 279 wil also be ready – the FTT has a truly amazing collection of Blackpool tramcars upon which they seem to take great pains to restore. Where would we be without them?
I see 101 (aka 240/ 703) and wonder whether this could be renovated to working condition, possibly with double destination blinds and continue to masquerade as Sunderland 101 to demonstrate to the general public that Blackpool was not the only place to run ‘Balloon’ trams built by English Electric. Photographs of the original genuine Sunderland Balloons could feature within. Very pleasing also to note the presence of 710 – hope to see it in the late 1980s livery again with stills from the infamous soap scene. Surely a great attraction in the making.
When it comes to Twin Cars, of course it would be great to see set 5 operational once more, especially as it includes the ex trailer from the experimental set of 1958. Rather than attempt to revitalise set 2 (which has a rather odd patched-up corner window on the inner end of the trailer), maybe set 6 could be a long term project using parts from set 2. This would see both units of the 1958 coupling eventually in service.
I personally hope that 701 and/or 703 will NOT be made serviceable next year. My last ride on both of these trams were not pleasant experiences – both were in a really poor state and in the case of 701, I actually felt quite depressed riding on it! Instead of using scarce workshop resources to patch up trams that are clinging to life, surely its better for the long-term benefit of the fleet to do some proper overhauls and focus on making sure that BTS have a decent pool of trams that are in good shape for years to come? I think 701 or 703 should ideally be earmarked for a full restoration at some point in the distant future – maybe one could be restored to original open top condition (but lets get Princess Alice sorted out first please!).
With a backlog of work to be done and the imminent redevelopment of the Rigby Road site, I’d be very surprised if we see any major celebrations next year – and don’t forget its the centenary of Standard cars 143 & 147 as well, neither of which are currently available. A low-key event with some withdrawn trams displayed outside the depot is probably the best we can realistically hope for, although 279 being completed and/or 717 restored with original style fenders would be wonderful!
I do hope that FTT and Rigby Road are able to make some progress with 279 as it would be a great pity were it to follow in the tracks of 298 – i.e. being mothballed for many years. Of course we have 704 in the pipeline, but it’s hard to tell whether or not it will be available next Summer or even for the Anniversary Weekend given what would seem to be an ongoing shortage of resources. The worry always is that eventually there will be no serviceable trams to run on tours, cutting off a useful source of revenue and leading in turn to further decline. Although 12 years away, one wonders how successful the 150th Anniversary will be and how many trams will be available to participate in any cavalcade. Maybe the event will have to be so low key that most would-be visitors will instead head to the West Country for the Bicentenary of the GWR, which I’m sure will be celebrated with great fanfare!
I would be incredibly shocked if 704 was completed next year as its still a shell awaiting the fitting of its new underframe. I gather work has been done off-site but at Rigby Road, all seems to have ground to a halt.
I completely agree with what you say about the worry that there will be very few, if any, trams to run on tours. Those that are currently serviceable will need workshop attention sooner or later and what will take their place? In an ideal world, 230 would be ready soon to allow 600 to be temporarily withdrawn for some TLC, 704’s entry into service could allow 717 to have an overhaul etc. but chances are that the runners will need work doing before the ‘new’ cars are ready. Whilst my interest in the Blackpool tramway has waned considerably I’d hate to see the heritage tram operation disapear completely, and I believe that enthusiasts who feel the same way can’t really afford to keep burying their heads in the sand and hoping that everything will magically sort itself out. I don’t know what the answers are but something needs to be done before its too late.
Somewhere on this site there was an article about health and safety issues within Rigby Road depot. I suspect that explains why work on several trams seems to have stalled.
304 and 143 are surely not far off, although they’re not really suitable for everyday use. I suspect there are enough Balloons they can cannibalise to keep 717 going for the foreseeable but it is starting to look a bit shabby.
In an ideal world 700, 717 and 600 would be visiting the workshops soon for a tidy up and to have the various unsightly modern additions removed.
700 is B fleet so won’t be touched. Theres a lot better projects to spend money on than restoring the bumpers.
I would hope that the Heritage operation would not cease in the foreseeable future. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if it reverted to the 2012 situation of running what are now termed ‘Promenade Tours’ on an exclusive basis. Having visited Blackpool recently, I feel in a way this would make good sense, as the Boats on the Promenade Tours were often quite full, whereas Fleetwood bound Balloons were in the main poorly patronised. Thus it seems that the shorter tours using the Boats are better tailored to what the general public expect from the Heritage Trams. This of course would require fewer tramcars, thereby reducing the burden of maintenance to what should prove to be a manageable level. Then, when Tramtown is properly up and running, there will still be a reasonably good attraction for tourists and enthusiasts alike. I believe that by lowering their sights in this way, Heritage Trams will be able to keep going through these challenging times.
Time to stop the empty balloon tours to Fleetwood and look at what actually worked pre covid.