Another small movement by a tramcar represented a giant leap forward for the Heaton Park Tramway on Tuesday 4th March, when the resident works car Blackpool 752 became the first tram to use the newly installed second track within the Lakeside Depot. Readers may remember that 752 has also been the first tram in the fleet to negotiate most of the trackwork laid in and around the new building, and previously became the first car to be stabled inside.
The works car is normally used to assist with the transportation of various equipment to the current work site at Lakeside, and this day was no exception. However, on arrival, 752 was used to help manoevure some of the new rails and sleepers into position. This enabled the track already laid inside the depot to be connected up to the existing track fan, and once the rails were secured in place, the tram was carefully driven inside and on to Road 2 for the very first time. This means that four trams are now housed safely inside the new depot, and with Blackpool Vanguard 619 expected to join them imminently it should not be much longer before all of the trams on site are undercover. This will obviously be a fantastic achievement for everyone who has worked so hard on this project, especially those who have continued to work in very difficult conditions during an exceptionally wet winter. Thoughts can then also turn to moving the last of the Manchester Transport Museum Society’s Blackpool cars, Balloon 702, to the park following a lengthy period of outside storage at Bury although the timing of this move is likely to depend on the availability of hauliers and a suitable wagon.
A general view of Lakeside Depot with 752 in the foreground, and Blackpool 623 also visible at the front of Road 3. The muddy conditions around the building can be clearly appreciated in this scene.
Another piece of history as 752 enters Lakeside Depot on 4th March 2014, becoming the first tram to access Road 2 and increasing the total of trams housed within to four. (Photos courtesy of the Manchester Transport Museum Society)