It is pleasing to announce that Blackpool Brush Railcoach 630 is set to be launched into passenger service at Crich Tramway Village on Saturday 12th May. The tram last ran at Blackpool in late October 2011 and was then withdrawn so that it could receive workshop attention, including a superb repaint in 1990s style Blackpool fleet livery, before moving to Derbyshire just before Christmas.
A few jobs have been carried out to prepare 630 for its new life as a museum piece and this has included work on air pressure gauges, electrical switches and the door runner bearings. A few finishing touches, such as the application of authentic fleet number transfers, and additional black lining on the ends of the car have further enhanced its appearance. As a heavily modernised Brush car, 630 may look a little unusual in the period setting of Crich but it will be fantastic to see a more modern-looking tram in service there, helping to bring the story of tramcar development in the British Isles more up to date than had previously been possible.
630‘s public launch has been confirmed for Saturday 12th May and special tickets for its first run in museum service will be available for sale shortly – a good way of raising extra funds. The day will also, according to the official Crich Tramway Village blog, see ‘all other available Brush cars at Crich’ in service. It is not known whether this refers to other cars built by Brush of Loughborough, or whether it may be an error and should have actually stated that all available Blackpool trams will be running. However, as many people have been looking forward to 630 entering service at its new home, it is great news that a date for this momentous occasion has now been set, and hopefully the launch day will be a great success.