Time for another edition of “15 Years Apart” as we feature a tram which is still in the same place but now under different ownership.
In 2008 Blackpool Ex-Towing Railcoach 680 was a normal member of the single deck fleet having enjoyed an overhaul a few years before. By 6th September 2008 it wasn’t looking its best as it had lost advertising vinyls for the Merrie England Showbar and as was the fashion at the time just kept the base coat when returned to service. With it being a dark blue it also received these yellow chevrons on the tram end to aid visibility. Its at North Pier working a special to Cabin.
The new look North Pier is the location for this 2023 photo of 680 as it work Heritage Tours on 23rd September. Now in a coat of 1980s green and cream paint, 680 is owned by the Manchester Transport Museum Society but on long-term loan to Blackpool. It did leave Blackpool and had a spell of operation at Beamish and then a short visit to what is its home tramway now at the Heaton Park Tramway but has been back in Blackpool for eight years now. (Both Photographs by Gareth Prior)