As we’ve previously covered Illumination Tours resumed operation in Blackpool on Wednesday 15th October 2025 with all heritage trams having been confined to depot since December 2024 following a decision to suspend operations for a review. We know its just a very brief return (Wednesdays-Sundays with last tours for 2025 being 1st November) but for the next few weeks the tracks of Blackpool Promenade will once again see some historic trams in operation.
Two trams have been commissioned for service and we previously saw the Frigate used on the first night of tours. Day two saw the second of the trams, Balloon 717, in action and they will continue to be used on alternate nights throughout the operating period. That means Wednesday, Friday and Sunday for the Frigate and Thursday and Saturday for 717 with three tours scheduled on each evening.
Night one and the Frigate is seen departing Pleasure Beach with its first tour of the night, which departs just after 1800.
Darkness has now fallen and the Frigate is surrounded by a typical autumnal scene in Blackpool as the lights shine and there’s chance to get some fish and chips too!
Onto the second evening – 16th October 2025 – and it was the turn of Balloon 717 to be used. We see it first here sitting on Pleasure Beach loop with a queue of passengers waiting to board.
717 passes South Pier as it approaches journeys end with its first tour of the night.
And then another view of it as it heads away from the camera on Central Prom going north. (All Photographs by Ryan Hartley)
Something of a sad sight aren’t they? 736 with lots of bulbs out and 717 needing a really good wash.
Perhaps the funds raised will go towards a clean and tidy-up. And yes – I’ve bought tickets!
It’s definitely time the heritage trams were owned and operated by a different company to the modern fleet. Ever since the so-called ‘upgrade’ I’ve said the traditional cars, while bringing in revenue, have been massively neglected, with only a quick coat of paint counting as any form of restoration work. It’s time a proper dedicated team were put in place to sort the depot roof and get the entire fleet back out on the prom. This would however be a massive embarrassment to the council because the public would only want to catch heritage trams, allowing LRVs to roll by, just like they allowed centenary cars to pass by 20 years ago.
Cole is the worst transport manager Blackpool has ever seen. The sooner she goes the better!
As an outside observer, I find it odd that, at the same time that Ms. Cole claims that she ‘loves the heritage trams’ she seems determined to banish them from Blackpool’s tracks. Firstly, it was ‘Safety Issues.’ After ORR had effectively rubbished that, it became ‘Complex Operational Issues.’ Really, on a ‘system’ operating 18 LRVs on a fairly lax schedule over what is effectively a single route? Hardly Prague or Amsterdam, who don’t have similar problems with their Heritage fleets, is it?
In the last week, it has been the (unspecified) ‘cost of maintenance.’ Didn’t BTS make the staff who serviced the Heritage cars redundant early in the year?
I suspect that you are as fed up with the disingenuous excuses steadily excreted by BTS as I am, and would wish to hear, finally, some honest explanations?
According to Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, “We’ve always known how important heritage trams are to our visitor economy. They are a big part of our history and heritage, and it will be great to see them back on the tracks. “We’ve worked exceptionally hard with Blackpool Transport to make sure they can return for Lightpool Festival, and I really hope that people enjoy seeing the trams and more importantly show their commitment by booking on the pre-paid tours. This is one of the real benefits of having a transport company wholly owned by the council, that we can work together and find solutions to put our town first.”
One hopes that Councillor Williams lives up to her words, and ensures that Heritage car operations do continue.
I’m not sure the elderly and disabled users of the tramway would agree with your view about not wanting the Flexity fleet. The tramway is, first and foremost, a public transport system — and the Flexity trams serve that purpose extremely well, day in and day out. It isn’t a museum operation like Crich or the Manx Electric Railway.
That said, there is absolutely a place for the heritage trams in Blackpool. Unfortunately, the way that side of the operation is currently managed isn’t working as well as it could. The general travelling public along the coast aren’t likely to “let the LRVs roll by” — most will simply board the first tram that comes along. For most users, especially locals, the priority is getting where they need to go, not nostalgia. The small number of people who did let the Flexity trams pass in favour of 718 during last summer’s Starr Gate–Tower service were very much the exception.
The current management team faces a difficult balancing act between two opposing expectations: maintaining an efficient modern transport service and satisfying heritage enthusiasts. It’s almost impossible to keep both sides happy.
In hindsight, perhaps Blackpool could have stayed a purely tourist-oriented system like the Manx Electric Railway, but in the early 2000s there simply wasn’t the funding or political will for that. We are where we are now — with a modern LRV system that’s doing its best to preserve and celebrate some of its heritage, even if that will never fully satisfy everyone.
Hear Hear!!!
Two trams for five nights a week isn’t going to tempt anyone back. And yes – especially 717 has looked in need of a good valet for years. I’m sorry but messrs Cole and Galley need to be taken for a half mile walk along one of Blackpool’s piers and proper management appointed. Tramway of the Year – not in my book!
If you think they aren’t tempting anyone back, then you need to try booking a ticket. Fully booked even on 717 for every journey. As for operator of the year, heritage operation issues aside, the LRV operation is actually doing well. A 10 minute headway, relatively few cancellations and operational issues, no sign of strikes, no long periods of system closures with bus replacements. Overall it’s actually doing pretty good when compared to the rest of the ageing LRV systems in the UK.
Balloon Car 717s reached the point some time ago where it needed fully repainting internally & externally. Its not had a repaint since its overhaul back in 2007/2008 (remember the 2014 renaming only received a revarnish & trucks painted). Like everything else it’s been run into the ground any semblance of pride long evaporated. Its ironic that certain peoples pet project 631 has been repainted twice in the “Heritage” era yet the obvious flagship didnt.. Says it all about how the whole thing has been run..
I completely agree Frank. If there were 20 or so traditional trams rattling up and down all day of various types, I would have been back a good few times this year and bought a 1 day travel card on each occasion. As it stands I’ve not visited Blackpool once this year. there is simply not enough of an attraction to make me do the 3 hour drive.
Phillip R. Thorpe, who donated £100.000 for 717 s complete refurbishment, would’nt be so happy to witness the tram in its rather woe-begone state. He would be wondering why he bothered! It’s a total travesty-the situation-at the present. I haven’t been anywhere near Blackpool or Fleetwood since July last year and I have no intention to do so anymore. It’s finished; period!
Its no good blaming Mrs Cole and Mr Galley for this state of affairs. The council own the company and that includes the Depot and workshops at Rigby Road, no real money has been spent on this infrastructure for many years. I have to say the Council have much more to concern them then the trams and depot at Rigby Road. The town like many others in this Country has great social problems and you only have to travel a few yards of the prom to see what a bad state the town is in. It is up to the Council to correct the mistakes that have been made, these are the people who we should complain to. Don’t hold your breath.
Well, I can certainly confirm that 717 is being washed as part of its duties. We were on an illuminations tour on it tonight and I watched it return to Starr Gate depot via a slow and seemingly painstaking visit to the mechanised washing plant. I have to admit this hadn’t reached the insides of its unique glass rainshields which are visible from the car’s interior. I think the main problem is it hasn’t been repainted since its 2007 rebuild and if we cast minds back to the pre-modernisation tramway we can remember what the Blackpool climate did to the paintwork of the trams even in a comparatively short period. There were more resources for repaints then (but there were still plenty of rather dowdy looking trams going around) and obviously the appearance of the cars will need to be addressed going forward in the longer term. Even so, I don’t believe that the striking nature of 717’s 1930s streamlined livery is even now exactly lost on the eyes. The interior was clean and attractive and the (non-volunteer) crew were friendly, enthusiastic, proud of what they are achieving with both 717 and the Frigate 736 during this brief return to heritage operation, and said how pleased they were to have the opportunity of working with traditional trams again. They also said how well the two cars (91 and 97 years old respectively, remember) are performing and 717 certainly was quiet, smooth, warm and running totally like a dream today, providing a fine travel experience even by present standards which is absolutely a testimony to the quality of the design that along with such as the Glasgow Standards also mentioned today, can now only be regarded as an all time classic. I for one am delighted that I took the opportunity to travel on a heritage tram this autumn and have missed their presence all season.
I don’t think we know the full story of what happened at Blackpool within the past year. We may be tempted to draw comparisons with situations that seem to have restricted or halted the operations of other heritage tramways in recent years but it isn’t my place to speculate. I was given the impression today that a real effort has been made in Blackpool to get these two cars into service and that that may also be being seen as fulfilling a public promise that was made. I think we can see that the times may have changed as they affect heritage tramways in general and in the light of what I have seen today, I would not want to decry in any way, but rather to praise the efforts of those in Blackpool who have enabled these two trams to operate. If we encourage the positives, that might just help more good things to happen. So thank you, Blackpool which is one of only five places on the UK mainland where it’s been possible to ride on a heritage tram this year and still the longest stretch of track in use.
Finally, I am again sad to see the Flexity cars so undeservedly derided for the role they play in Blackpool’s day to day transport system. We’ve taken advantage of the offer to use our heritage illuminations tour ticket on the normal tram service as well, and the Flexities are comfortable, bright, quiet, warm and attractive trams – and in my experience as a passenger, far, far more reliable than the Centenaries or Coronations before them notwithstanding Blackpool’s harsh operating environment. No type of tram is designed to last for ever, and the 1930s fleet repaid their value over and over again but at 75 plus years old inevitably became more and more put of step with industry standards and passenger expectations as well as spare parts and maintenance requirements. Yes, there was a tourist attraction element to the old fleet and hopefully that’s where heritage tramcar operation can still have a part to play. But that’s very different to providing a speedy and efficient day to day transport service with the aim also of attracting people out of their motor cars. Rather than being derisive about the Flexity cars, I would like to see us as tramway enthusiasts and advocates promoting the implementation of modern tram systems in other towns and cities using this type or similar modern trams because when compared with other developed countries, our record on public transport in general seems disappointing in the extreme and Blackpool’s modern trams may be part of the answer for the present day!
I am sorry but all i see in the current heritage operation is managed decline. To put these two cars out in their current state is a reflection of that. There must be an illuminated car with a larger percentage of its illuminations working? I can only assume that from an operational point of view they are all in a much poorer state of repair than the frigate.
With regard to the LRV operation I am afraid it is a complete joke to make the Blackpool Operation Tramway of the Year. The new livery has not survived exposure to the sea air well with the purple in particular faded badly on most cars.
Its an insult to every other LRV operation in the country, each of which have to contend with much higher usage levels and much more complicated systems, to call Blackpool tramway of the year.
I don’t think anyone who understands public transport needs should decry the rebuild of the Blackpool system or the new Flexxities – BUT – Balckpool is a distinct aside to pure public transport provision.
Blackpool still sells itself as a tourist destination but in sidelining the trams it is falling down on the job. Letting Rigby Road fall apart, sacking all but three maintenance staff who understand the heritage fleet, alienating volunteers who could have been such a “free” and valuable resource says it all. The old canard of “but the council has other priorities” fails to address the fact that a properly maintained and presented heritage fleet may involve expenditure – but it also creates revenue, adds amenity, is a tourist attraction in itself, helps sell the town – especially when linked to other heritage operations in the UK and overseas, and could be so much more. Tourism requires imagination, flair and marketing and that is where Blackpool falls down all the way from Starr Gate to Fleetwood
No one was sacked.Please get some basic facts correct.
Legally yes “Made Redundant” rather than “Sacked” but however you spin it, a lot of staff across all departments left the company involuntarily…
Sacked, Made Redundant, Let Go….. makes no odds, from what I can gather they’re not there now. Let’s not split hairs, there simply aren’t the required amount of people with the relevant skill-set to turn the whole operation around. I would love to know where all the money raised is going? There was a fundraiser for a new sub frame for Alice, a fundraiser for the roof, revenue stream from the sale of Heritage Merchandise and also the current ‘tramtown tours’. What does the future hold?