{"id":2091,"date":"2012-10-20T16:03:59","date_gmt":"2012-10-20T15:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=2091"},"modified":"2012-10-20T16:08:46","modified_gmt":"2012-10-20T15:08:46","slug":"balloons-on-the-move-at-blackpool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=2091","title":{"rendered":"Balloons on the move at Blackpool"},"content":{"rendered":"

Positive steps are being made by Blackpool Transport to prepare their modified Balloon cars, sometimes referred to as the ‘B Fleet’, for service. As reported previously these trams are expected to be used in normal service during the school half-term holidays which co-incide with the last week of the 2012 illuminations, to provide a welcome capacity boost.<\/p>\n

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Several members of the class have already undergone some minor attention in readiness for what is likely to be a short period of their most intensive use since this time last year. Cars 700<\/strong>, 707<\/strong>, 709<\/strong>, 713<\/strong>, 718<\/strong> and 724<\/strong> have all been used at least once each during 2012 and all of them should be available for service as part of the enhanced half-term output. These should be joined by sister car 719<\/strong> which has now returned to Rigby Road after being repainted in the new white and purple fleet livery at Starr Gate depot. This tram is currently residing in the Fitting Shop, presumably undergoing some final commissioning work. Having not run since the last day of the 2011 season when it looked very different, 719<\/strong>‘s return to traffic is an eagerly awaited event amongst many enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

There is also good news for 711<\/strong> which made a surprise outing on test on Friday 19th October. It too has been repainted white and purple, and is believed to have returned to Rigby Road for some finishing touches. This is expected to be the last car to be included in the door modification programme, and although less advanced than 719<\/strong>, it could stand a chance of running in service\u00a0before the end of the year. Surprisingly neither tram has been fitted with fibreglass end skirts whilst under attention as was previously expected, although 711<\/strong> has lost its traditional lifeguard trays in favour of the new ‘blade’ lifeguard arrangement.<\/p>\n

With 720<\/strong> still out of service after sustaining some\u00a0damage in a shunting incident, this could give up to eight serviceable double-deckers for service\u00a0the last part of the 2012 illuminations. So far this year heritage car 717<\/strong>, which is not suitable for core service use as its doors have not been upgraded, has been the only Balloon car to see anything like regular use in Blackpool. However, preserved car 703<\/strong> – AKA Sunderland 101<\/strong> – has probably been the most extensively used Balloon of 2012 having been a regular performer at Beamish Museum throughout the year. This is quite a remarkable twist of fate for a tram which was withdrawn by BTS back in 2009 due to its deteriorating condition, especially when we consider the money and effort invested in modernising its sisters which remain in Blackpool!<\/p>\n

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Although none of the rebuilt Balloons has run much in 2012 thus far, 713 has been one of the more commonly used cars of the class. Here it is seen at North Pier during the final weekend of the 2011 season. (Photo by Andrew Waddington)<\/p><\/div>\n

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Positive steps are being made by Blackpool Transport to prepare their modified Balloon cars, sometimes referred to as the ‘B Fleet’, for service. As reported previously these trams are expected to be used in normal service during the school half-term … 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\/2091"}],"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=2091"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2096,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091\/revisions\/2096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}