{"id":1935,"date":"2012-10-04T19:58:22","date_gmt":"2012-10-04T18:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=1935"},"modified":"2012-10-04T19:58:22","modified_gmt":"2012-10-04T18:58:22","slug":"centenary-car-attacked-by-vandals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=1935","title":{"rendered":"Centenary car attacked by vandals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sad news to report is that one of the many ex-Blackpool trams currently in outside storage has been vandalised. Centenary car 646<\/strong> was the victim of a mindless act by vandals overnight on 2nd\/3rd October, which has left the tram with seven smashed windows. However, things could have been a lot worse as apparently a previous attempt was made a few days earlier to set the tram on fire.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

646<\/strong> is one of two Centenary cars to be owned by the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust, although its preservation was actually financed by Paul Gaunt, the local company owner who has advertised on the car since 2001. The tram was moved to the firm’s premises earlier this year having been withdrawn from service late in 2011, but unfortunately the site in question is completely exposed leaving it very vulnerable – as has unfortunately been proven this week.<\/p>\n

The local press have publicised the plight of 646<\/strong>, with the Blackpool Gazette reporting on the damage caused by vandals. Their article contained some inaccuracies, such as stating that 646<\/strong> is one of seven trams built in 1985 when the Centenary class consisted of eight trams, and 646<\/strong> itself actually dates from 1987. Describing the tram as ‘one of the last few survivors of its type’ is also rather odd as all eight of the class survive, with all but one remaining on the Fylde Coast!<\/p>\n

Mr Gaunt has told the press that “we may have to think about putting a tarpaulin over it to protect it” although he has also stated that many enthusiasts enjoy viewing the tram, which obviously would be spoilt if this happens. However, it would undoubtedly be in 646<\/strong>‘s best interests for it to be covered over; although far from ideal, this would offer a small amount of protection and could hopefully prevent a repeat of this awful incident.<\/p>\n

Local Police are now investigating this act of vandalism and anyone who may have seen anything suspcious in relation to the incident is advised to contact the authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sad news to report is that one of the many ex-Blackpool trams currently in outside storage has been vandalised. Centenary car 646 was the victim of a mindless act by vandals overnight on 2nd\/3rd October, which has left the tram … 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":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935"}],"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=1935"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1938,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935\/revisions\/1938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}