{"id":46076,"date":"2022-08-16T18:00:44","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T17:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=46076"},"modified":"2022-08-16T12:55:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T11:55:53","slug":"in-pictures-bolton-66-commemorates-40-years-in-blackpool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=46076","title":{"rendered":"In Pictures: Bolton 66 commemorates 40 years in Blackpool"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Bolton 66<\/strong> \u2013 which continues to fly the flag for vintage trams in Blackpool \u2013 has recently had a celebration of its own with specially invited guests taking a trip on the tram to the Imperial Hotel for afternoon tea. The milestone being celebrated was its 40<sup>th<\/sup> year of operation in Blackpool (like everything else a delayed celebration) with the Mayor of Bolton joining their counterpart from Blackpool to enjoy the tram.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>Bolton 66<\/strong> was built in 1901 and survived in service until 1946 after which its lower deck was sold on \u2013 like so many other trams when systems were abandoned. It ended up as a caravan on the moorland above Bolton which is where it remained until rescued by a group of enthusiasts. Originally the plan was just to cosmetically restore the lower deck but then the group \u2013 led by Derek Shepard \u2013 decided to go the whole hog and construct a new upper deck and make it a fully operational tram once more!<\/p>\n<p>Once the work was completed the tram was transferred to Blackpool for what was originally set to be a six month loan in 1981. 41 years later and the tram is still there and has never left!<\/p>\n<p>On Friday 12<sup>th<\/sup> August the 40 years of operation in Blackpool was celebrated with the Bolton 66 Tramcar Trust (who remain owners of the tram) inviting the Mayor of Bolton, Akhtar Zaman, to travel along the Promenade. He was joined by Kathryn Benson, Mayoress of Blackpool, and her consort for a journey to the Imperial Hotel for afternoon tea. The day ended with a new book launch detailing the history of the tramcar.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_46077\" style=\"width: 422px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?attachment_id=46077\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-46077\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-46077\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-46077\" src=\"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/66-b6tt-412x550.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"412\" height=\"550\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/66-b6tt-412x550.jpg 412w, https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/66-b6tt-768x1025.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/66-b6tt.jpg 967w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 412px) 100vw, 412px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-46077\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Akhtar Zaman, Mayor of Bolton, on the right with Kathryn Benson, Mayoress of Blackpool, (centre) in front of 66 before it starts its special commemorative tour. (Photograph courtesy of Bolton 66 Tramcar Trust)<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bolton 66 \u2013 which continues to fly the flag for vintage trams in Blackpool \u2013 has recently had a celebration of its own with specially invited guests taking a trip on the tram to the Imperial Hotel for afternoon tea. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=46076\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"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\/46076"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46076"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46078,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46076\/revisions\/46078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}