Tram Talk

Talbot Square has gained an impressive new structure to replace the lost Yates Wine Lodge anchor building. Nearing completion is a hotel of dramatic proportions (for the town centre) which faces onto the promenade and the Town Hall (behind the photographer). Talbot Road tram service will incorporate an inbound station platform stop to the left of the oncoming bus. Work on this important element of the Talbot Gateway regeneration will begin within a week but final completi

Combination of the UK's removing its policies and laws from oversight of the European Union (legally on 31 December 2020) and resonating impact of Corona Virus on business and society at large (at all levels) have raised fundamental questions on our way of living. Warnings from the scientific community at expert level tell us that the current viral infection, whilst minimalised through the many restrictions and future innoculations of the population is not going to go away e

Amid today's media interviews on recent the private journeys of the Prime Minister's Senior Advisor - an obviously strained Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport (who is actually doing a good job) has endorsed plans to reopen two of the many branch railway lines closed under edicts of the unlamented Home Counties accountant Dr Beeching. These decisions are forerunners of further closed railway connections being brought back to life. Grant's Department has now signed

It is hard to recall the quietly distinctive treelined avenue to the east of Blackpool's town centre. Complete with winding tramway tracks and accompanying sleek trams following their ordained path from the front of the Town Hall to the bustling commercial junction at the corner of Lytham Road and Waterloo Road - the Marton tram service had a character all of its own. Divorced from the seaside and its thronging crowds of visiting families intent on a savouring a week away f

Once familiar scenes - this time in May 2013 with 'Trevor Roberts' styled branding across the bus fleet. Not a 'Palladium' in sight. The smart turnout of all the vehicles does the company proud. All Images : John Woodman

Blackpool residents grew accustomed to a startling new yellow and black themed brand on their buses by the end of the 1990s. A new manager, Trevor Roberts came from the publicly owned Newport system taking over from Steve Burd and was quick to phase out the multi coloured 'Lines' favoured in Steve's years in charge of Blackpool Transport Instead a simple yellow and black livery was adopted - with a distinctive silver and red 'swoop' - most noticeable on the double deck flee

Amid the daily online and media coverage of the viral infection affecting everyone there is an image on SkyNews website of streetcleaning in Istanbul along a tramline with a once typical tramcar in the background. In fact this is close to the terminus of the heritage tram service running to Taksim Square which I visited last year. The service is held down by a single car traversing the almost deadstraight track from the incline station at Tunel to the important public spa

Prototype rail coach 208 in its modified Vambac condition heads out of Talbot Square passing both the Town Hall (right) and the classic 'Yates Lodge' structure which so eminently provided stature to the civic district. Now both the structure and tram have long gone - Blackpool's great loss. Photo Copyright : John Woodman The seal had been already embedded on London Transport Board's decision to replace its tram system with buses (and briefly with trolleybuses in the pr

Blackpool's tramway began with double deck cars - ten in all - configured to conduit current collection and with open tops on two axle trucks (or trunnions). Thereafter the fleet grew in number exponentially. After takeover by Blackpool Corporation from the Blackpool Electric Tramways Company and conversion of the existing service to overhead wire collection - the system expanded further to cover inland parts of the borough. Services to Layton Cemetery along the 'New Road

Blackpool's continuance with operating single deck trams is now the norm in today's light rail world where modular designs with fanciful frontal styling and even more garish external colour schemes are accepted practise. In truth some of the light rail branding styles are most becoming - the new West Midlands colour scheme and application being an apt example. Manchester Metrolink's all over yellow doesn't quite work for an entire metropolitan area particularly given the s