Following on from the news from Cllr Paul Galley that the current Tramtown attraction had been closed permanently owing to the condition of the Fitting Shop building where it was held, Blackpool Transport have released an official statement confirming that they still have ambitious plans for the future of heritage trams in the resort.
It is planned that some of the heritage trams will be used on the Promenade – with plans for 2026 tours set to be announced in the coming weeks – whilst longer-term the ambitious plans include a permanent home for the historic fleet.
Lea Harrison, the new Managing Director of Blackpool Transport, said: “Despite the fantastic efforts of everyone involved with the existing Tramtown site, a recent survey by an independent structural engineer found the building was unsafe and beyond repair.
“However, I would like to categorically state that this is not the end of the line for heritage trams in Blackpool. While it’s sad that we need to say goodbye to the existing building, we also have an opportunity to build a sustainable future for a top tourist attraction featuring our world-famous fleet.
“In the short-term, this may include ‘pop-up’ displays of vintage trams until funding is in place for a fitting home for the entire fleet, and plans for regular heritage tours over the summer months will be announced shortly.”
Ahead of the start of public tours this summer there are set to be some private tours taking place on the Promenade over the next few weeks:
- Sunday 3rd May – Balloon 717 is due to be used on a tour for the Fylde Tramway Society
- Friday 8th May – a special tour for the Electric Railroaders Association for New York using Bolton 66
- Thursday 21st May – Balloon 717 will again be used for a trip organised by Trinity Hospice during National Dementia Action Week
Lea continued: “Blackpool is as famous for its historic trams as it is for its tower and the Pleasure Beach and we are fully committed to preserving the town’s rich tramway heritage for future generations to enjoy.
“Over the next few months, we will be working closely with the local authority, other stakeholders and partners on more detailed proposals, and we’re looking forward to making further announcements in due course.”
I don’t believe a word Harrison says
And this is why organisations like BTS and others just give up on Heritage operation……….because whatever they say or do some keyboard warrior calls them a liar.
I agree. Mr. Harrison’s comments to date have been positive. We observers can only wait & watch, in the hope that deeds follow his words.
This is the time to cut him some slack, not to be negative!
True.
I’ll keep an open mind.
I don’t think Crich could handle a Twin Car at the moment
Crich is very crowded at present, after taking in the three Wirral cars.
I agree, I doubt there would be room.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
I just fear we are facing another Wirral Tramway repeat.
Please, please let the above statement be fulfilled so that we finally arrive at a long term solution to this ever changing and uncertain situation. I hope BTS can obtain funding and return to being the owner and operator of the trams that were such a joy to us all. Whatever their shortcomings, it was BTS’s valiant efforts that kept them running in all weathers at all times of the year.
This would seem to be cause for optimism, although cautious optimism as funding is not by any means guaranteed. The new MD appears to have his heart in the right place and is to be wished all good fortune and great success with his ambitions. However, he’ll need both a good deal of luck and positive support as he appears to be up against the kind of politics which messed around over the fitting shop with indecision, changes of direction and ultimately a wicked waste of £50k. He requires plain speaking and openness from the authorities and it is to be hoped that important lessons can be learnt from the fitting shop debacle. All Best Wishes to Lea.
£50k was not wasted – the electrics did not cost that much, but even at £16k it was a waste.
I would like to wish Lea Harrison well in this new role. Personally I welcome the new energy and positivity being brought to the heritage fleet with the recent press release. I still don’t agree that the old fitting shop is beyond repair though. If crumbling ruins of historic castles many hundreds of years old can be repaired and made safe for tourists to wonder around, I’m sure they could have done something with Rigby Road if the will had been there.
However a new broom now has to sort our the mess left after years of miss-management by Cole and co. I feel it’s also good that both the general and heritage managers have changed at the same time.
What I like most of all is finally the recognition that Blackpool’s unique heritage tramway is not just a transport system but also a tourist attraction as well as being an important museum piece which everyone in the preservation world would like to see succeed.
Now for the bad news… It could all be smoke and mirrors! When they wanted to kill off Britain’s last traditional tramway they tried to put a spin on it that if it wasn’t “upgraded” we would end up with just a tourist line long the prom. So they got away with wholesale butchery of what should have been a historically protected asset. When we got the end result I can’t help feeling a truncated fully heritage line would have been a far better option.
Now they’re wanting to flatten parts of Rigby Road Depot, are they pulling the same trick again?
As I said, I’ll give Lea the benefit of the doubt for now. But everyone at Blackpool Transport and Blackpool Council need to pull off some pretty miraculous changes if they really want to do the right thing here. And perhaps letting Councillor Galley and the Tramtown volunteers find out their project was doomed by reading the news on Google was not the greatest of starts!
Andy – Why would you bother to repair the Fitting Shop (and the paint and body shops)? They are not of historical or architectural significance.
They were on the plan for demolition 10 years ago so I don’t know why everyone is acting surprised!
Its not being sold for housing or anything – that was looked at as was moving the buses and found unsuitable.
Your ridiculous claims of spin are FACT. The Trams were not and could not be made DDA compliant (as was the requirements and naming at the time) therefore could not continue in front line service.
Perhaps if Tramtown had bothered to integrate more they would have known…….
You presumably are unaware of ORR’s comments about the Heritage Fleet? DDA compliance is not required, by the way, as the Heritage Fleet was never intended to be in ‘front line’ service.
That was the role of the 18 flexities, which are, of course, fully DDA compliant.
Do you know what is happening to the Workshop, by the way?
I’m referring to the comment of why they couldn’t remain in service post upgrade. We know they don’t need to comply for Heritage use.
Hopefully the workshops will be demolished and put an end to the squabbling and Blackpool can focus on the new venture and any part Tramtown may play in that. Personally I think it was always doomed because of petty political rivalry.
Unfortunately this smacks of damage control – honestly I don’t believe a word that is said by Blackpool Transport about heritage. I suspect they’d prefer to sell off Rigby Road for housing and just keep 717, 66, the Frigate and a Boat at Starr Gate for a token heritage service and the occasional private charter. Which is understandable given the current financial climate – I can’t imagine being a regular public transport provider AND Britain’s second-largest custodian of historic trams after Crich is cheap. I just wish they were honest about it so fundraising efforts could be directed at moving trams off-site rather than endless appeals for restorations that clearly aren’t ever going to happen in Blackpool. I remember the ‘8 for 8’ appeal, the Princess Alice appeal, the appeal to repair the roof… where has all that money gone?
Nathan – you are aware that Blackpool transport DID NOT run the appeals for 8 for 8 and 706? The 8 for 8 money was handed over so that question can be legitimately asked. The 706 money was (as far as I can recall) spent on underframe material.
I think the best that can happen at the present time is to make the three mentioned available and the inclusion of 700, the refurbished ‘pioneer’ Balloon car at Starr Gate and to maybe to include another boat and the privately owned Coronation 304. A lot of time and effort was expended on 304 as recently as 2023, when the revised electrics for the braking system were installed. I and a local friend and author of several books on Blackpool’s trams contributed over £1000 six years ago for the power doors to be fixed. We hoped to see the tram on the Prom that year, but nothing—
Maybe it will turn out quite convenient that the heritage trams must terminate at Thornton gate on the northward journey. I’m sure that the cost of restoring the depot at Rigby Road will prove phenomenal, but a new simplified steel depot building must be a far cheaper option. Given the trackwork at Rigby Road will need replacing together with sections of track on Lytham Road, then it would make more sense to put the former permanent way yard at Thornton Gate to good use to accommodate a purpose built heritage depot. The heritage service could bring passengers from the promenade area in Blackpool to this new attraction as a destination of interest. All this could be achieved at a fraction of the cost of renovating Rigby Road Depot. In this way more funds could be directed to maintaining the Balloon Trams, Boats and Illuminated Trams which should form the mainstay of the historic fleet, plus the odd tram in other categories such as Bolton 66 and, hopefully, Standard 147 given the effort invoved in bringing it home to Blackpool in 2001.
As iconic as the Balloons are I don’t think they should dominate the heritage fleet at the expense of the huge variety of trams that have ran in Blackpool over the years. The Brush cars, Coronations, Twin Cars, OMOs and Centenaries deserve at least some representation in the heritage fleet. I don’t think Blackpool Transport would ever seek to dispose of 147, luckily. I’m sure they’d find accomodation for it somewhere even if Rigby Road were to close.
The Balloons are in an interesting spot in preservation as nearly all of them have survived bar one or two damaged in accidents and the one that was scrapped in Scotland. Despite the incredible survival rate only one of them is currently operational and the vast majority of the rest need substantial restoration to run again including new underframes. They had a far harder and longer working life than most types of tram used in Britain. They are also larger and probably a far more expensive prospect to restore compared to say, a small four wheel double decker.
New underframes and full bodywork renewals for the 6? 7? Balloons laid up in Rigby Road is likely to be cost-prohibitive. The tram preservation movement as a whole probably needs to consolidate a bit when it comes to Balloons as I don’t think there’s enough money in it to keep them all going.
700 can be used; all the restoration work was carried out years ago. It ran in 2024, when ‘the plug’ was pulled on the heritage fleet.
Unfortunately, a small four wheel double decker won’t carry many fare paying passengers and therefore couldn’t generate much revenue. A Balloon, which would take up only a little more depot space, could carry up to 94 passengers and therefore bring in a lot more money. I think that a Balloon has the potential to recoup more of the cost of restoration than say, Paisley 16, although it would be great to see such a tram restored. 706 should definitely be completed as this is sure to become a crowd magnet. 700 is the protoype from 1934 and carries the name of one of the greatest comedians of all time. It has to be highly eye-catching in its wartime livery. I would expect that BTS are committed to completing 704 for its owner and 715 represnts the Balloon from the 70s as many people will recall them. These at least should remain in the pipeline.
I think that a few of the B Fleet could be selected based on overall condition to reside at Starr Gate in order to perform the role for which they were rebuilt – ie. to be on standby to cover for a shortage of Flexities at peak demand periods, always provided that sufficient staff can be recruited – currently a work in progress, I gather.
Who do you think is going to finish 704?
I get your point about the Balloons but the reality is, more seats doesn’t guarantee more passengers. On a nice day – or even a dry day – a Boat car will often carry more people than a Balloon does, simply because they are more appealing to the general public. Bolton 66 would probably also do better numbers than a Balloon.
I’m not particularly pushing for the Paisley body to be restored at Blackpool, but a very traditional open top tram would probably be very popular with tourists, especially from Scotland!
I give you Birkenhead 20 as evidence – 4 wheel open toppers are not suited to Blackpool.
Plenty of balloons are in a good enough or good condition to continue. 700, 707, 709, 711, 713, 717, 718, 719, 724. 720 underframe and body sound. 721 should be fine and 702 has life in it.