The weekend of Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September saw the final Enhanced Weekend of “hop-on, hop-off” tours for Blackpool’s heritage trams this year. The service offered has gradually evolved during 2023 with the standard pattern now seeing five heritage trams in operation on various timetabled services between Pleasure Beach and points north as far as Fleetwood. The timetable for this weekend was slightly tweaked to that seen recently with a slightly later start time and a different pattern of journeys during the day but each day saw six different trams run with a total of nine trams running daytime tours on these two days plus two additional trams running evening illumination tours.
The trams which ran were as follows:
Saturday 23rd September: Bolton 66, Boat 227 (replaced by Brush 631), Boat 600, Railcoach 680, Rebuilt Balloon 718
Sunday 24th September: Brush 621, Brush 631 (replaced by Railcoach 680), Balloon 700, Balloon 717, Rebuilt Balloon 718
In addition to the trams in service Balloon 711 was in use as the Shop Tram at North Pier and as mentioned in the introduction additional trams to be seen in the evening on Illumination Tours were the Western Train and HMS Blackpool.
Boat 600 had been due to run on both days of the weekend but the weather had other ideas and so it remained confined to depot on day two. No such problems on Saturday 23rd September though as the tram calls at Bispham.
Boat 227 heads south along the Prom as we take a look at Bolton 66 running a service to Little Bispham. (Photographs x2 by Peter Norris, 23rd September 2023)
The first journey of the day saw a tram run from North Pier to Cleveleys and on 23rd September this was Boat 227. Having used the crossover 227 now returns to the stop at Cleveleys for its trip back to Pleasure Beach.
Brush 631 was a replacement tram on the first day for Boat 227 which had a headlight issue (which was rectified in time for it take up Illumination Tour duty). (Photographs x2 by Gareth Prior, 23rd September 2023)
Sunday 24th September started off grey and got wet before slightly improving (well it stopped raining a bit at least!) so it was firmly an enclosed tram sort of day! Brush 621 was out and is seen here arriving at Cleveleys with a terminating service.
Balloon 717 ran the diagram on the day which had been due to be in the wheels of Bolton 66. This is North Pier.
It’s a bit manky at Pleasure Beach as Rebuilt Balloon 718 waits on the loop.
Balloon 700 approaches Cabin heading to Cleveleys towards the end of the day. (Photographs x4 by Gareth Prior, 24th September 2023)