Its “Picture in Time” time again and Donald Brooks continues his walk alongside the tramway between Fleetwood and Broadwater.
Having featured Balloon 720 in the last two photos we now go up a number as the tram seen in this image is fellow Balloon Car, 721. The tram is just heading north along the reservation sandwiched between Radcliffe Road and Copse Road with Fleetwood being its ultimate destination. The fire station, built in 1962, is in Radcliffe Road on the corner of Peel Road and has since been replaced by a 21st century building on the same site, albeit without a tower. Unusually at this time the doors were not red – so it may have been benefitting from some repainting at the time.
As for the tram itself 721 was in the standard fleet livery of the time and as we’ve seen over the previous couple of weeks it included the Corporation Crests on the lower panels beneath the fleet number. The tram still had roof windows and was running with a trolley (it would be 1991 that it would receive a pantograph). 721 was withdrawn 2009 and now resides at the North East Land Sea and Air Museum in Sunderland.
Photograph by Donald Brooks, June/July 1978
It’s great to see these images from years gone by. So much of the background has changed too.
As an aside . . . what year were all the operational preserved Brush cars gathered in Blackpool? Thanks.
I think you’re referring to the 80th anniversary of Blackpool’s Brush cars. That took place in 2017.