{"id":16783,"date":"2017-03-05T22:28:20","date_gmt":"2017-03-05T22:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=16783"},"modified":"2017-03-05T22:28:20","modified_gmt":"2017-03-05T22:28:20","slug":"blackpool-heritage-trust-launch-two-new-appeals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=16783","title":{"rendered":"Blackpool Heritage Trust launch two new appeals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Blackpool Heritage Trust are developing exciting plans to add to the diversity of the operational heritage tramcar fleet, but we can’t do this without your help! Avid followers of our progress will know that we have recently acquired two very unique vehicles, Paisley & District tramcar no.16<\/strong> of 1904 (later Glasgow 1016<\/strong>), and the Blackpool Illuminated Hovertram 735<\/strong> of 1963. Both of these trams will be superb additions to our fleet once restored, and will afford us with show-piece vehicles of which we can all be proud for many years to come.<\/p>\n

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Paisley 16<\/strong>
\nOur ‘phase one’ project is to restore the 4-wheel truck from this tramcar to create a rolling chassis onto which we can then rebuild the body. To complete this we need four brand new steel tyres, at a cost of \u00a3500 each. We have already received our first very generous donation of \u00a3500 \u2013 which will buy us one tyre. Can you help us to fund the other three? Once we have the foundations of the tram in place, work can then progress towards rebuilding the body and recreating the missing components that will allow Paisley 16 to take its place on Blackpool’s Promenade within a reasonable timescale.<\/p>\n

Any donation, no matter how big or small will help us to achieve the target and move us towards having a fully overhauled truck for this lovely little tramcar. Donors of \u00a3500 or more will be invited to Rigby Road when the work commences, to see the progress for themselves.<\/p>\n

Illuminated ‘Hovertram’ 735<\/strong>
\nThe Blackpool Hovertram returned to us in September 2016 after almost a decade away and having spent periods of time in both Beith, Scotland, and Sunderland. Latterly in the ownership of the North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust (NEETT), the tram initially came back to us on a long term loan.<\/p>\n

However, NEETT have now presented us with a unique opportunity to actually purchase the Hovertram outright, which will allow it to remain as part of the Blackpool collection, in perpetuity. We feel that this is an opportunity that we should not miss, as it will reunite the entire 1960’s illuminated collection under one umbrella and in their original home at Rigby Road.<\/p>\n

NEETT have very generously agreed to accept a figure of around half of the \u00a37000 that they have themselves invested in the tram in terms of purchase, moving and storage. We are therefore aiming to raise \u00a33,500 to allow the famous illuminated Hovertram to stay in Blackpool, where it belongs!<\/p>\n

Again, any donation no matter how big or small will be very much appreciated, and will help us to secure the future of the Hovertram here in Blackpool. Donors of \u00a3500 or more will be invited to come and inspect the tram themselves, and to hear first hand about our plans for its future return to use.<\/p>\n

To donate, please send a cheque to the \u201cBlackpool Heritage Trust\u201d to 16 Seventh Avenue, Blackpool, FY4 2ED, making it clear whether you wish your donation to support Paisley 16<\/strong>, or illuminated Hovertram 735<\/strong>. Alternatively, we would very much appreciate monthly standing orders. This form of regular contribution allows us to forward plan our projects, and will help us to build on our achievements so far and deliver the world class collection of Heritage trams that we all desire to see. The BHT’s standing order forms can be found at:\u00a0http:\/\/www.blackpoolheritage.com\/htrust\/donate\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The above text was supplied by James Millington of the Blackpool Heritage Trust as a press release. We hope that many readers of this website will show their support to these extremely worthy causes, so that we can enjoy a more diverse operational heritage fleet in Blackpool, hopefully in the not too distant future.<\/p>\n

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An archive image showing a Paisley tramcar in as-built condition; this is how car 16 will look when it is restored and running in Blackpool.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The illuminated Hovertram is seen on the occasion of its return to Blackpool last year, which could become permanent now that its owners have offered to sell the tram. (Photos courtesy of the Blackpool Heritage Trust)<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Blackpool Heritage Trust are developing exciting plans to add to the diversity of the operational heritage tramcar fleet, but we can’t do this without your help! Avid followers of our progress will know that we have recently acquired two … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16783"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16783"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16788,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16783\/revisions\/16788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}