Blackpool Transport have released more details of their plans to return heritage trams to the Prom with the aim still being that they will be back in time for October Half-Term when the Lightpool Festival takes place.
If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months you may need a reminder of what has been happening with Heritage Tram Tours in Blackpool. It was December 2024 that Blackpool Transport announced that they had made the decision to suspend operations after a thorough internal review and what they described as a number of “complex operational issues”. Since then work has been going on behind the scenes to secure funding and a way which would allow trams to get back onto the Prom.
In May this year it was announced that “a programme of works has now been agreed which will see the necessary modifications made to enable heritage trams to run from the same depot as the modern fleet”. Although no further details were given at the time, until now!
In the latest statement its confirmed that the following needs to take place:
- An independent expert will assess the operational worthiness of the trams
- New speed restriction technology will be installed
- Intensive driver and conductor training
- The tracks outside Rigby Road Depot will be inspected and cleaned
- Trams to be used will then be moved to Starr Gate Depot where they will be housed and maintained
Martin Gurr, Heritage Operations Manager at Blackpool Trams, said: “Inspections are set to start in the next few weeks and the resulting technical reports will give us a clear idea of how many trams we can bring back into service.
“We will then carry out the additional work, including fitting them with the latest speed restriction technology and a programme of intensive driver and conductor training.
“In terms of infrastructure, we also need to inspect and clean tracks outside the Rigby Road depot before the trams can be moved to our Starr Gate depot, where they will be stored and maintained alongside the second-generation fleet.
“Everyone at Blackpool Transport is committed to bringing back our iconic trams to the seafront, and we’ll be working tirelessly to achieve this in time for the Lightpool Festival in October.
“As each phase of our reintroduction plan is completed, we’ll provide further updates on our work to preserve the town’s rich tramway heritage.”
The Lightpool Festival takes place between 15th October and 1st November 2025. The hope is that Illumination Tours will start during this period and will then continue until the end of Illumination period on 4th January 2026.
It is VERY ominous that that the heritage fleet should be moved to Starr Gate Depot. Next we will find that the tracks to Rigby Road Depot are dangerous and completely worn out. The line will then be disconnected to the Promonade. The end!!!
There aren’t any staff at Rigby Road anymore so of course they will be based at Starr Gate! Just as they have been for the past few seasons! Also the main depot at Rigby Road is, I believe, still off limits.
It’s only a short stretch of tracks to replace with new ones. Is there enough in the kitty or maybe go for a Nat Lottery funding grant application?
What track? Rigby road building is off limits not the track access.
Given that significant work is required to make Rigby Road safe again, I hope organisations that wish to move their trams elsewhere so their restorations can be completed will be allowed to do so.
Perhaps also operational trams that are not selected for use on the reduced heritage service in the meantime can be loaned elsewhere, although I’m aware that’s heading in to “wouldn’t it be nice” territory.
I know the FTT is active on here, so I’m loathe to speculate. But the impression I get from their Facebook updates is that progress on 143, 279 etc. is stalled because even cursory access to their own vehicles is impossible at the present moment in time.
I’d certainly donate to a fundraiser just to get them moved so those restorations – which are tantalisingly close to completion – can be finished so the trams can eventually return to Blackpool ready to go when “Tramtown” is ready.
However, that could be years down the line, if it ever happens at all. My honest opinion is that there should be a “Plan B” to have those trams restored and running at Crich, EATM, Heaton Park, or Beamish – like lucky escapee 634.
As it is, they’re effectively trapped in restoration purgatory, by no fault of the FTT of course.
Do you honestly believe that those organisations possess the space and resources to store and/or restore these vehicles to operation? I suspect that they don’t and that in any case they all have more deserving candidates in their collections needing attention.
For a relatively small number of trams, I absolutely honestly believe it’s viable. Indeed these sorts of loans have happened before so there’s a precedent.
Off the top of my head 304 was very close to being operational when the depot was shut down and 143 was undergoing test running. 279 is potentially a little further off but at least the difficult bit – restoring the original streamlined front ends – is substantially complete. I don’t know what electrical work would be required on that one.
I mostly suggest this for the volunteer’s sake more than anything – they’ve put a lot of hard work in already and I imagine many of them aren’t getting any younger.
As for your comment about more deserving candidates, 304 and 279 would both be completely unique in preservation. 143 less so but it’s still a beautiful tram and deserves its turn in the spotlight.
I think that you are oversimplifying the processes behind moving any of these cars to other museums. You say that other other loans of this type have happened. The temporary loans between museums have involved cars that were ready to run. The examples you suggest for moving such as 279 and 304 require significant work before they could be operated. Are you suggesting that one of the other museums should rush say 279 to front of it’s queue for restoration knowing full well that it may well return to Blackpool after 5 years? I think not. I still don’t believe that other heritage tramways possess the luxury of depot space to store and work on cars that would never be theirs.
How do you propose to fund it? To fund a completion of a restoration any museum would want at least a 25 year loan, possibly longer. 31 went to Beamish on a 99 year loan!
So does this mean the end of the ‘B’ fleet, or does it mean. The ‘B’ fleet are the only ‘ heritage ‘ trans allowed to operate?
That’s a good question Nigel! If the answer is option A, then the question needs to be asked what all that modification money was spent on them?
My belief is still (as it has been for many years) that a new heritage company should be set up and both the heritage trams and the Rigby Road site should be transfered to the new company, which would only operate heritage vehicles, Isle-of-Mann-style. Blackpool’s bus fleet should be moved away entirely to an industrial unit on the outskirts of town, where a modern site would be better suited to the company’s aspiration of operating modern electric vehicles. Thus there should be four separate companies, that all have to operate individually. Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramway for the LRVs, Blackpool Transport for the heritage trams and Blackpool Buses for the buses. The 4th company should be council owned and deal with the trackwork and offer any operator the right to use it, just like any bus or coach operator is allowed to use the roads in the borough.
Of course that definitely won’t happen because of the resultant eggy faces!
What you seem to be suggesting would introduce more complexity and increase operating costs. There’s no need to separate the bus and day to day LRV operations. BTS already operate both as a single company. The tramway infrastructure is already in the care of a separate infrastructure operator in the form Blackpool Council. The problem child seems to be the heritage side of things. Making it a separate company would increase its working costs which are currently shared within BTS. The presence of two individual operators on the same infrastructure brings with it the spectre of track access charges and access agreements. Look what problems this brought to the national railway network. I fail to see how such an arrangement would improve the current situation.