TRAMTALK

John Woodman The trial run over a 50 mile round trip of a four car unit train powered by hydrogen fuel cells inaugurated a new era on Britain's railways today. The journey, sufficient for a tram train passenger service from Fleetwood to Preston and back, is a significant milestone in the transformation of Britain's rail motive power from diesel to electric but without need for third rail or overhead power collection systems. Much like the move away from diesel (and petrol) powered vehicles on our roads - the dawn of a new power technology is at hand in this country. Costly overhead wire infrastructure will become redundant in the decades ahead - reducing capital costs and vastly simplifyi

Amid all the camera clicking this weekend recording yet another ostensible commemoration of Blackpool's heritage trams one car was notable by its absence - Standard Car 143. September 23rd 2019 saw this fine restoration make its appearance for the first time on the Promenade in the original open platform condition it was built. Returned to the pre-Luff 1920's livery and with open balcony ends - number 143 fills an important milestone in Blackpool's tramcar history. Sister car 147 in later green and cream and in fully enclosed condition depicts the class in their final state (or many of them) - so seeing 143 with open driver platform and balcony ends sort of tops and tails the story of t

Mercedes Citaro 552 seen here on Clifton Street with Veterans Memorial signage on display some years ago. Withdrawn during the past several months due to requirement for driver/crew protection screen additions - the class have returned to service in September with new installed screens positioned at the fare transaction side of the driver's cab..

Well before Blackpool Transport's present management bought into the importance of replacing diesel with electric power (on the buses) - many British towns and cities were operating electric buses with few if any problems. Unseen forces however brought about the demise of the 'trolleybus' as we knew it in favour of the diesel powered vehicle. Bradford was the last UK city to operate trolleybuses but from time to time trials have taken place through industry sponsorship to try and stimulate a return of trolleybuses to our streets. In fact electric trams got there first with 'light rail' systems opening in Newcastle, Sheffield, Croydon, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Birmingham/Wolverhampton, Man

The daily headlines across all media point to a hard winter impacting all the country irrespective of geography or politics. Large falls in the financial markets today focus on sectors dealing with the leisure economy - from aircraft manufacturers to hotels and retail. The impact of the pandemic crosses all boundaries and seemingly is set to get worse as we head into the winter months. For transport operators, both large and small, the consequences of falling passenger numbers combined with stricter requirements for vehicle cleaning and social distancing measures are providing major headache for management and staff at all levels. The Government's decision today to foldup the expensive

A further visit to the site of the former Wilko store today showed a work in progress in the demolition of the combined store and car park structure. Contractors are focussing on a phased removal of the concrete edifice from the Dickson Road frontage towards the rear of the property which faces on to Blackpool North railway terminal precinct. Understandably road closures are in place given the amount of building material having to be broken up and removed. However traffic flow is still permissible on Talbot Road and Dickson Road adjoining the contractor's work site. A quick update on the state of demolition work as of this afternoon below : The Dickson Road end of the structure now facing

Having had the pleasure of visiting Cork last year (pre-Covid) it was an even great pleasure to read that this second city of the Republic of Ireland is to be favoured with a light rail investment. The city has an impressive central commercial district with wide sweeping boulevard bounded by classic architectural styles from several era. The main Cork railway station carries express trains from Dublin to other connecting towns and communities on the southern and western counties of Ireland. Cork once shared with Dublin the distinction of electric trams in the previous century but like Dublin these all gave way to buses - many on Leyland chassis. Cork's trams were of the traditional open

A quick visit to the town centre today revealed the extent of demolition work already well underway on the blot on the landscape structure formerly known as 'Wilkos'. Contractors have gutted the internal area of the retail store and now beginning the process of tearing down the outer facade of the structure facing on to Dickson Road. Inevitably road closures and detours of traffic around this pivotal area are giving drivers headaches, as well as requiring Blackpool Transport to adjust the routing of many of its services. The grimness of the structure and its concrete underpinning is revealed with the initial removal of external walls facing on to Dickson Road. To be fair to the Wilko b

Following on his remarkable book on the Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramroad and its successor operator - Blackpool Corporation, Brian Turner has turned incisive scrutiny to his home town, Lytham and its colourful tramway in a new book 'Lytham Trams'. published privately. The hardback volume of 224 pages carries the fullest account of the Fylde coast's southerly tram operator, from inception with German technology of the day (originating in Dessau) to closure of the tram service and replacement by all-Leyland buses in 1937. The Lytham system - essential a coastal service conjoined with Blackpool's municipal line could have, and indeed should have survived, allowing extension of the Blackpool m

Splendid display in bright sunshine at Hopton Road and Vambac 304 leading 660. Vambac 304 with end embellishments in the correct style passing Brush Car 290 displayed at the Pleasure Beach by the FHLT. A third Coronation car is now in Rigby Road Depot (in private ownership) being worked on to bring it to display (and potentially operating) condition. Thanks to the hard work and funding from the enthusiast community, and especially the FTT in its present and former title (LTT) - together with Blackpool Transport's supportive engineering team at Rigby Road - this eminent class of tram is well represented. Not easy cars to maintain or restore but dedicated effort in successive years has ens

An inspection of Rigby Road Depot last week allowed a brief glimpse of the Mercedes Citaro buses temporarily stored pending installation of new driver protection screens at the entrance. We were informed that these vehicles will shortly be returned to service. The partly dismantled privately owned Balloon car 726 (formerly part of the FHLT collection) undergoing tlc in the depot. Below :

My ramblings on Blackpool Transport's former marketing as 'METRO Coastlines' (see previous Blog) have been brought up short by a sharp correction from Mike Morton. My portrayal of this radical rebranding exercise as being launched by Steve Burd MD in the early '90s was somewhat off-kilter according to Mike who was involved in the formative discussions at BTS at the time. The origins of the exercise were initiated by the first MD of BTS - Tony Depledge with designer and other input from a Preston transport consultancy. Thus I stand corrected by the firsthand account by Mike - many thanks. A classic style applied to BTS Deltas - in this case serving the 'Line 11' service. And the same Met

The images from today's town centre reflect the present style of Blackpool's public transport. A recent rebranding has transformed the once familiar black and yellow bus fleet to a grey tone with 'palladium' highlight. It was not too long ago that the town's buses carried an entirely different branding 'Metro Coastlines' with individual bus services bedecked in their own distinct colours - giving the Rigby Road Paint Shop team a massively busy time. Three different corporate themes of BTS over two decades made Blackpool an unusual operator as far as the fleet branding was concerned. All of this contrasted with two preceding colour schemes which endured from 1921 to 1934 and 1935 to 1991.