TRAMTALK

Blackpool Centenary 648 with its excellent retro livery to 1985 appearance as the GEC test car (minus test bogies) representing the final 'traditional' British tram design. Immaculate Glasgow open balcony 'Standard' car 779 accessible to visitors Beamish Museum Tram Workshop and Depot with one trolleybus just visible. The quite eclectic running fleet includes an Oporto 2 axle car; ex Gateshead bogie car in its BR malachite green 'electric' livery of final years at Grimsby and Immingham, Newcastle finely restored open top car from a derelict lower saloon, and equally fine Sunderland 16 enclosed car also from a derelict lower saloon body. Sheffield 264 just in view at the rear now in open

As 2017 winds it way down and gives way to the next calendar year - signs of change are evident at many levels in the town's fabric. Continuous work along the main rail link into Blackpool from Preston is seeing metal fabrication now appearing to host the overhead power wires for electric trains running into Blackpool North. Contractors are preparing the ground with realignment of utilities before wholesale excavation of road surface on Talbot Road allowing embedding of a second generation of tram track from the Promenade. The concrete monolith housing Wilko's premises is set to finally disappear during 2018 allowing an enhanced tram terminus adjoining Blackpool North, together with othe

A long time ago Talbot Square was the hub of Blackpool's tram services (there were no Corporation buses before 1922). Two inland routes to Layton and Marton terminated by the elegant Victorian fountain which by 1920 had been completely surrounded by a glazed circular shelter and information point complete with clock tower. To the left of the shelter stands Marton 'Box' 33 with added top deck short cover just unloading from its short journey from outside Layton Cemetery gates. On the other side of the shelter is Motherwell car 40 also with added top deck cover awaiting its return journey to 'Marton' which probably will actually see the tram appear less than a half mile away at the Hounds H

Trams finally reach North Station (well figuratively) with the placement of new visual vinyl posters on the grim exterior of the Wilko property this week (Below). Portents of improvements to streetscape and transport links the newly installed signage faces directly across from the executive offices of Blackpool Council in Bickerstaffe House. They also serve to blot out the depressing concrete structure which replaced the former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Station originally a most welcoming and elegant landmark on the same site up to the 1960s. With its soaring glass arch covering the station platforms and concourse North Station, or Talbot Road Station as it was originally named, was

Everyday scenes in Fleetwood pre-light rail when double deck trams ruled the town's tram service. All images John Woodman

The opportunity to place some of the FHLT's trams into a secure structure with potential for restoration is emerging from exploratory discussions now underway in Fleetwood. Examination of the building reveals office and workshop space suited to medium term storage and refurbishment work on up to six trams. An agreement on terms will be negotiated next year allowing transfer of at least three of the trams presently stored at Wyre Dock to be moved under cover. It is likely that these will include Balloon Car 710, Motor Unit 678 and the Brush Car in private ownership but committed to the Fleetwood Quays scheme which requires a year round tourist tram service on the proposed dockside line.

The now established Beamish Museum in Co. Durham was the brainchild of one man who very early on in the 1960s saw the importance of conserving threatened structures and industrial artifacts which reflected a passing age in the northeast. By good fortune he secured a 'buy in' to the eventual purchase of the large estate of Beamish Hall by the County Council and other contributors. This allowed the transfer of dismantled buildings, engineering equipment and all manner of materials which propelled the region into the industrial age and turn of the 20th century. As the mapping out of the initial displays was being formulated on what was to become a very extensive open air site - the potential

The current spate of public disquiet with traffic rerouting in Blackpool's town centre, and the essential reconstruction work on two important road bridges over the railway from Blackpool South - are understandable. Particularly during an important holiday season. They echo in a familiar way similar and understandable concerns by Fleetwood's traders and community during the extensive reconstruction of Lord Street and Bold Street when the tramway was undergoing upgrading to light rail standards in 2010/2011. Cleveleys centre was not immune from dislocation when the tram tracks crossing Victoria Square were uplifted and realigned - for a shorter contractors period. Blackpool is finally und

The colourful pageant of tramway history has many tales to tell - diverting from the long familiar municipal enterprise of the late 19th century and early 20th when the role of electric power forever did away with horse drawn urban railed transport. It was of course closely followed by motorbus and attendant road building interests which would in time come to supersede initial dominance of the tramcar. Among the more unusual origins of tramway development were initiatives springing from enterprising landowners and industrial concerns. In the US two examples spring to mind widely dispersed across that enormous landmass. Butte, Montana was the site of America's largest copper producer, Am

Blackpool's transport scene has undergone so many changes that it is hard to put a definitive year or period which sticks out more than any other. Each evolving era is recalled by a new livery, new tram, new bus, new manager, new marketing strategy. Today attention is being focussed on current works enabling the first new tramway extension in Blackpool since the early 1920s when the south promenade/clifton drive line was built from the Pleasure Beach terminus. A lengthy period of upheaval on Talbot Road and at North Pier is already the topic of frequent complaints in local media. Coupled of course with the parallel remodelling of tracks and platforms at Blackpool North - complete with er

In a week when the Government's policy on reopening long abandoned railway lines, many dormant since the infamous Beeching closures in the 1960s, attention is being given to the still protected railway link connecting Fleetwood with the rest of the national rail network running from Wyre Dock to Poulton Station. Hopes have been raised that perhaps the line may be finally reactivated to regular passenger use. Local groups such as 'Fleetwood Back on Track' have campaigned effortlessly to bring this about in more recent years. Fleetwood's MP, Cat Smith, was quick off the mark to send Chris Grayling, Cabinet Minister responsible for Transport, a strong letter of endorsement to bring about an

The findings of the inquiry into the Croydon tram derailment earlier this year killing seven passengers and injuring fifty focussed on the apparent temporary loss of consciousness of the driver just before his tram headed into a sharp curve on a track junction. This loss of life in a tram disaster was the largest in the UK over several decades. The last notable fatalities came about in a collision between a Glasgow tram and a reversing truck which led to an electrical fire and conflagration in the 1950s. Blackpool fortunately has been free of such events although of course people have died in collisions and accidents involving trams through the years, but not in multiple numbers in a sin

Further to my blog earlier today a chance encounter? at Squires Gate Lane allowed a firsthand look at the large hold where the bridge roadway used to be. Protruding from the southwest edge of the road surface was the clearly visible tram rail for the west bound track leading down to Starr Gate Junction. No similar signs of the east bound track which suggests this may have already been removed given that it is actually in Blackpool Council's territory, whereas the southern half of the roadway lies in Fylde Borough. A couple of cut off tram rail sections lay in proximity to the pedestrian pathway - but not immediately distinguishable as such. Some images from the morning's fly by with evid

The spate of road rebuilding and utilities work now ongoing in Blackpool all too often reveals the tell tale signs of the passage of tramcars in former decades. Currently the strengthening of the road bridge over the railway on Squires Gate Lane requires the removal of layers of road surface under which lie double track tramlines that once provided a physical link from the seafront to the terminus of the tramway along Lytham Road. As far as is known most of this double track line remains very much in place and embedded just under the roadway both on Squires Gate Lane and along Lytham Road all the way down to the current access trackage from Manchester Square. The three way street track

Winter chills on the Fylde coast (and elsewhere) prompt an excursion to the West Coast and peek at probably the most visited tourist tramway in the world - in San Francisco. Here one has the choice of the famous cable cars delivering a real service, the Muni Metro light rail and trolleybus (and bus) lines, the Market Street Railway vintage lines that serve Fisherman's Wharf among other tourism destinations, and the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) lines. While the cable cars climbing halfway to the stars are the indeed the inevitable stars in the eyes of tourists coming to the city on the Bay for the first time - in fact the success of heritage streetcar services are by now equally compelling

A stay in Southport in brilliant sunshine this week brought forth a shoal of images and lasting impressions - several worth sharing. No trams of course, but a fast frequent electric train service down to neighbouring Liverpool. Southport's railway terminus exterior has nothing to commend it; much like Blackpool North. But inside, its surviving platforms at least retain a classic glass roof - a leftover remnant from glory days of steam and services to Preston as well as Liverpool. The concourse and precinct is very much one which a traveller seeks to pass through as quickly as possible to emerge into a half decent shopping street dominated at one end by an ever present empty BHS pro