The future survival of the five Blackpool trams owned by Merseytravel has been placed in serious doubt, following the formal abandonment of the transport operator’s ambitious tram plans. The company had at one time hoped to take over control of the Birkenhead heritage tramway and expand the existing line to connect it to the new Wirral Waters development; however after various setbacks this takeover never happened and the tramway was eventually handed over to the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society instead.
In preparation for the possible tramway scheme, Merseytravel had purchased a number of redundant Blackpool single-deckers a few years ago. All of these except Brush Railcoach 626 have been in outside storage at Knowsley since leaving Blackpool, and a lengthy spell in the open will not have done their condition any favours. By contrast, since arriving at Merseyside in August 2010, 626 has been safely tucked up in the Pacific Road building at Birkenhead, apart from a small number of occasions when it has ventured onto the tramway. Ongoing uncertainty and a reluctance by any associated party to pay to insure the tram for operation has meant that it has never carried passengers there, and may never do so. One obvious possibility would be for the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society to take on the tram, which is in a very good condition having been extensively rebuilt and it was even repainted just a few months before it left Blackpool for good. Being fitted with modern saloon heaters, 626 would make an ideal winter service car for the Birkenhead heritage tramway and would also add a new attraction which would no doubt attract many fans of Blackpool’s classic streamlined trams to the Wirral should the MTPS decide to offer it a permanent home. No indication has yet been given as to whether this is likely to happen leaving 626‘s future hanging in the balance, even though it could almost certainly be made roadworthy with very little effort.
The future prospects for the four trams stored at Knowsley seem less promising. Two other Brush cars, 625 and 637, are in a far less pristine condition having not operated since 2004, with 625 having been in a particularly tired condition before withdrawal as it had not received any major workshop attention for many years. Also in storage are two trailer cars, 681 and 687. The former is in good condition, having been partially rebuilt following an accident in 1997 although without its towing car its usefulness as a running tram is questionable. 687 however is little more than a shell, with all of its seats having been removed before it was sold and for this car the most realistic option would probably be to break it up on site.
Although it would clearly be a great shame if some or all of Merseytravel’s five trams were scrapped, enthusiasts can console themselves by remembering how many other Blackpool cars have been preserved as well as the healthy number which have stayed at home for future use. The types of tram concerned are already very well represented elsewhere and it therefore seems almost inevitable that not all of them will survive for much longer.
A few months before it left Blackpool after being sold to Merseytravel, and then newly painted Brush car 626 is seen being used to shunt sister car 623 which was being prepared to depart for a new life in Manchester. Whilst 623 is now a cherished member of the Heaton Park fleet, 626's future is less clear. (Photo by Andrew Waddington)
I would like to buy one of the redundant trams, regardless of the condition, who would I need to speak to?
Want to buy a tram:-
Assets Manager,
Mersey Travel,
P.O. Box 1976
Liverpool
L69 3HN
0151 227 5181 Fax 0151 330 1234
I think that in heritage terms we perhaps need to stand back and take a view.
In 1968 the Beet family made sure that as many Black Fives as possible were preserved, because that was the last chance. Now 46 years later, if anyone suggested breaking up an example there would be absolute bedlam.
We are in the same position with the Blackpool heritage cars. Just because we have one of a class operational in Blackpool does not mean that there is not a place for others, so any potential to acquire and store, if not restore is to be encouraged.
Don’t get me wrong, I would be delighted if all of the Blackpool trams could be saved. I’m just trying to be realistic here. Where will they all be housed, and who will finance their preservation? Also, will this impact adversely on the preservation and restoration of other trams if it is achieved? There are already quite a lot of people at various museums who are angry that so many Blackpool trams have been saved. Let’s also consider that, if all these trams are scrapped, there will still be eleven surviving Brush Railcoaches, most of which I would consider to have a very secure future – including three which are currently operational (with more expected to follow). If anyone is up for the challenge, I wish them lots of luck, but only if they have a solid plan rather than “I’ll buy a tram and I’m sure someone will look after it for me!”
P.S. I have absolutely no idea what a Black Five is although I’m pretty sure its not a tram?
A little perspective please…
There is a big difference between a mass produced steam loco class and a small fleet of trams.
There are less than 25 out of 840 Black 5s existing (of which I think 14 or 15 have operated in preservation to date) and many comentarors think that is too many. proportionally that is the equivalent of 1 or 2 of each type of Blackpool car.
Even if the Mersey Travel and FoFT trams are all lost there will still be a very good survival rate for Balloons and Brush Cars.
I totally agree with Frank’s comments above.
Louis, I’m afraid I don’t have a contact for anyone at Mersey Travel, but if you contact Blackpool Transport, perhaps they could point you in the right direction for a contact with whoever they originally sold them to? I guess they must have an invoice or something for the sale.
Also maybe the MPTS could help you track down an owner?
Finally the owners of the site at Knowsley may be able to help. I know of cases where people have obtained preserved buses at a knock down price because their previous owners have defaulted on storage costs and the ownership has been handed over to the landlord, who in turn has then sold the vehicle on to recoup some of the rent. I’m not saying that is the case with the Mersey Travel vehicles, but if it is, then that might be a way in.
Black Fives were amongst the last steam locos in Great Britain – for between £1,500 and £3,000 you could get one in fair to best condition on withdrawal in 1968.
You want one now – start thinking around £1m in working order.
Exactly the same with traction engines £10 for scrap in 1960, half a million for a showman’s now!
Yes, buyers need to have their heads on – that’s why all my toys are in working order and under cover – as for the angry mob – who are they to start whinging, and where were they when the trams that they would have liked to see saved were on the market?
True preservationists are realists and recognise the last chance saloon when they see it.
At the moment there just seems to be too little resource and too many projects and certainly few cars outside the TMS or BHT collections that really need saving (761 perhaps the only).
That said there will always be those who want to do their own thing and good luck to them. It’s been proven possible with 634 at least.
Ironically these trams are less at risk now given how Merseytravel planned to rebuild them out of all recognition. 637 already has interest from a successful preservationist which hopefully will give it an assured future.
Paul
Fingers crossed for 637 then – one of my personal favourite Brush cars so would be nice to see it saved. I do agree with you though about ‘too little resource and too many projects’ – we are really lucky to be honest that so many Blackpool trams have made it to good homes, with the Balloon and Brush cars especially well represented. If people have the ability to save a favourite car then good for them and I hope they succeed, but I think for charitable organisations who already have plenty of trams, the priority needs to be looking after what they already have unless something truly unique comes along.
Couldn’t agree more – existing museums and societies are committed to their existing collections and protocols, but look at how Beamish and NEET have come from nowhere in the tramway world to game changers in recent times.
There is and always will be new blood out there, and if it means that heritage trams are mothballed and new projects emerge; and look how many preserved railways are now in business compared to 1968; the existing resource – in all reality a mere handful of vehicles overall, will soon be seen to be too little.
The gas axe is the last thing we need.
Nice idea in principle, but where do all the trams go in the meantime? And perhaps more importantly, who foots the bill? As I say, if anyone wants to preserve a tram then good luck to them – however we have already seen some well-intentioned but deeply flawed preservation attempts effectively flush money down the toilet and I for one wouldn’t like to see more money wasted that could be used to restore other trams. To put it another way: if I had say £10,000 lying around I wouldn’t buy any of the Merseytravel cars, I’d be more inclined to donate that cash to the Blackpool Heritage Trust to get Standard 143 operational, or to Heaton Park to get 702 operational. Just my opinion though of course!
Ever heard of Dai Woodham and Barry Island, Andrew? – 204 out over a decade of rescues!
OK some never have and some never will steam, but it puts the handful of vehicles now in question completely in the shade. 6023 and 45699 had their driving wheels cut – but I have photographed them both at work in the last twelve months – No-one applying anything remotely like commonsense would have given either a snowball’s chance in hell of ever being restored – yet here they are – main line machines.
Enthusiasm took centre stage – not a can’t be done mentality
I believe my Dad was involved with shifting one of the first locos from there, one of the Jintys. It was right in the middle of a row, so they had to jack it up and shift it sideways onto the next track.
That aside, how many bulleid pacifics and such are dumped round various preserved railways, in pieces with vital bits missing? Or that crab that is scattered round the country and partially scrapped, mostly due to lack of funding? Or GWR 2861, one of the last to leave Barry?
Bear in mind too, a steam engine is much more solid than a tram, being made from inches thick steel plate instead of wood. They tend to survive being dumped in a siding for a decade or three much better. Also, there is a far greater support base for steam. A much fairer comparison is with preserved EMU stock, which historically has done pretty poorly.
The steam engines you mention aren’t really comparable either, as both are examples of well known, iconic classes with only a few survivors, making them worth doing. Rather like 159, 102 or 765, which were half scrapped to begin with.
With regard to 626, I agree that it would be a useful Winter tram for the Birkenhead Heritage Tramway, but, owing to its length, I very much consider that insufficient clearance would prevent its entering the sidings at Woodside.