{"id":5939,"date":"2013-12-11T19:51:49","date_gmt":"2013-12-11T19:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=5939"},"modified":"2013-12-11T19:51:49","modified_gmt":"2013-12-11T19:51:49","slug":"blackpool-jubilee-car-back-on-home-turf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=5939","title":{"rendered":"Blackpool Jubilee car back on home turf"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust’s preserved Blackpool Jubilee car 761<\/strong> made a very welcome return to Blackpool’s Rigby Road tram depot on Wednesday 11th December, after spending just over two years languishing in an industrial yard at Fleetwood. Although not currently part of Blackpool Transport’s heritage tram collection, the move has ensured that 761<\/strong> will now be stored much more securely, after being exposed to the harsh coastal climate since its initial departure in November 2011.<\/p>\n

Having returned four trams previously owned by the Lancastrian Transport Trust to Rigby Road on 9th and 10th December, the staff from Scott’s Heavy Haulage turned their attentions to Fleetwood on the third day of this week’s tram moves around the Fylde. The familiar Scott’s low loader was sent to retrieve 761<\/strong> from outdoor storage at the premises of Halsall’s Toys in Fleetwood, where it has been standing since November 2011. 761<\/strong> had been left alone there since July, when the other trams stored there were transferred to an alternative storage site at Fleetwood’s fish dock. Due to a lack of funding, the Jubilee car had to wait considerably longer to be removed, but in the meantime agreement was reached for the tram to return to Rigby Road so that it could be stored undercover. The tram remains part of the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust’s collection of trams, and is merely being looked after by Blackpool Transport. It is unlikely that 761<\/strong> will run again in Blackpool – at least for the forseeable future – but having this unique tram in more suitable accommodation is still a hugely important development, and one that will hopefully ensure that this valuable tram has a prosperous future ahead of it.<\/p>\n

After making the journey from Fleetwood, 761<\/strong> was greeted by a small number of well-wishers when it appeared on Lytham Road in fading light on the afternoon of November 11th. Since it was last seen at this location, quite a lot has changed; not least of all the closure of the Wynsors store on the corner of Hopton Road, which was (and still is) promoted by car 761<\/strong> and its garish all-over vinyl livery. Maybe the absence of the bright orange advert tram contributed to this branch’s downfall!? Incidentally, the end windows of the tram had been covered up for its road journey, although eyewitness reports have confirmed that no glass was broken. Indeed, it is pleasing to note that the tram looks largely intact.<\/p>\n

After the low loader made a reverse shunt move onto Hopton Road, it was placed in the usual position alongside the wall of the Fitting Shop on Blundell Street. At this point, a number of bizarre notes were spotted stuck to the windows of the tram, with phrases such as ‘no help from any of you’ accompanied by some basic drawings including a sad face, and a dog looking at an empty food cupboard! However, this was naturally overshadowed completely by the excitement at the return of 761<\/strong>, restoring the presence of a Jubilee car to the tramway for the first time since the end of the 2011 season. Hopefully, this will be just the first positive development for this important tram, and its time spent out in the wilderness can be forgotten, and our extreme gratitude goes to everyone who made this important move happen. Welcome back home 761<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

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The triumphant return to Rigby Road of Blackpool 761, seen turning onto Hopton Road aboard a lorry on December 11th. (Photo by Deano Turner-Roberts)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust’s preserved Blackpool Jubilee car 761 made a very welcome return to Blackpool’s Rigby Road tram depot on Wednesday 11th December, after spending just over two years languishing in an industrial yard at Fleetwood. Although not … 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":[7,12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5939"}],"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=5939"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5942,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5939\/revisions\/5942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}