“Picture in Time” moves on this week and for the next few editions we will be in Blackpool as we continue to take a look at some of Donald Brooks’ excellent photos of the tramway as it was in the late 1970s.
We are in October 1977 for the below photo and its one of those classic tram and Tower scenes. At this time the top of the Tower was painted silver to mark the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the roadside illuminations are presumably also celebrating this milestone.
The tram interest is provided by Balloon 716 which is running a southbound service which looks as if it will be going as far as it can to Starr Gate. The tram is in the standard fleet livery of the time, complete with Corporation crests and a between deck advert for Empire Pools. 716 would be withdrawn from service in 2003 and was one of the first to leave Blackpool for a new life when it was acquired by Ptarmigan Transport Services in Perth, Scotland. It left on 2nd July 2010 but its time in Scotland was to be relatively short-lived as by 2013 it had been moved to a local scrapyard.
Photograph by Donald Brooks, October 1977