The sight of one modern tram towing another is a relatively rare one across all UK light rail systems. Although breakdowns do inevitably occur, its often the case that the failed tram is able to crawl back to the depot under its own power after a little bit of attention from a fitter and a laptop. However, Monday 21st October in Blackpool saw a tram having to be towed back to depot as captured in these photos from Steven Hughes.
At around lunchtime on Monday 21st October the last of the Flexity2 trams built by Bombardier – 018 – was declared a failure in Fleetwood and ultimately it was decided that it would need to be towed back all the way to Starr Gate Depot. The tram which would perform this rescue mission would be 001 – so the first built would end up rescuing its youngest sister of all!
Pictured at Broadwater here we see 001 towing 018 back southbound with what is probably the longest tram to be seen in Blackpool!
Another shot as we take a closer look at 018 as it is towed back to depot. (Both Photographs by Steven Hughes, 21st October 2024)