“Picture in Time” returns to Blackpool for the next few weeks as we feature another excellent set of photos from Donald Brooks of how things used to be on the tramway – at a time when this was the only operating public service tramway in the UK.
Its August 1977 and we are near to the Tower for this photo which looks as if it was taken from the ramp leading to the bridge which used to provide an unique vantage points to capture images of the trams. In the photo we see two trams – OMO 4 and Balloon 711, one of which is still in Blackpool to this day whereas the other has long gone to the great big scrapyard in the sky. We can tell from the destination blinds that the OMO is working all the way south to Starr Gate but for 711 it looks like its time for a test as its blinds are set for Manchester Square and then presumably depot.
Of note in this image is the illuminations over the road, a special crown design which had been created by Alan Cockcroft the previous year. We can also take a look at the adverts on the trams – the Balloon has common ads for Empire which were regularly seen on the trams whereas OMO 4 has two different companies – the Royal Navy recruitment and Rumbelows. The Royal Navy still exists of course but Rumbelows is now one of those high-street stores which have fallen by the wayside. When their main business was television and radio rental (although they did expand into more general electrical sales) its possibly not a great surprise that they closed in 1995.
As for the trams, OMO 4 was created from English Electric Railcoach 608 (220) in 1972, was withdrawn in 1985 and scrapped in 1987. Balloon 711 has a lot more longevity having entered service in 1934 and is now part of the B-fleet Balloons, although like most of these sees little use for this purpose.
Photograph by Donald Brooks, August 1977