Tram Talk

John Woodman Away from the popular images of the town - its transport has forever provided everchanging appeal to transport and heritage interests. Retaining public control over its local transport whilst at the same time keeping the flame of urban tramway operation alive in Britain - Blackpool has gained an international following for its trams and buses. As the town moves on to a further chapter in the 21st Century and even more change to its standing in professional tr

John Woodman Among the many positive news items appearing over recent days is the announcement today that the West Yorkshire Combined Authority is finalising proposals for a new integrated transport network bringing together the towns and communities which make up this distinctive region. No decision has been made on whether the network will draw on light rail or tramtrain operation - but the examples of the West Midlands and Greater Manchester networks are cited as UK model

Newly rebuilt Centenary Car 645 out on a test run passing Bispham - complete with inverted white 'vee' - the final redesign of the Centenary Class eight examples 641 - 648. Centenary 647 reverses at Cleveleys Station - in a further redesign styling of these trams Below : Rebuilt Balloon car 762 - the second variant of the 'Jubilee' class with centre exit doors and in the 'ReBlackpool' regeneration colour scheme. Also expressing 'Sorry' to hopeful travellers just like the t

John Woodman As the future of Rigby Road's tram and bus installation with its hundred years of heritage is under scrutiny a snapshot of how the tram depot once served the eleven mile tramway operation with a colourful and diverse fleet. Today's monotonous output of foreign built modular units is a world removed from the mixed assemblage of survivors providing riders with a pot pourri of different types that were a staple of the resort's seafront tram service up to 2011. A s

John Woodman After a decade of sustained effort ably supported by professionals in planning and design, the aims of realising a viable heritage visitor attraction in Fleetwood at Wyre Dock are still unfulfilled. With the added concerns posed by a global pandemic ever present - and outline proposals by Wyre Dock's landowner, ABP, to redevelop their waterfront site and former dockside land - the FHLT have decided to call it a day on continued labours as far as a heritage tran

John Woodman There is understandable fixation on Blackpool's unique trams with an ever constant scrutiny of the changes and rebuilding carried out on individual cars over successive decades. In recent years this is much diminished following onset of light rail operation and a much diminished fleet; the mainstay of which are foreign built modular units lacking the individuality of the traditional 'home grown' models which generate most attention from both the public and enth

The closure today of the only post office in the town centre following the demise of the WHS outlet on Bank Hey Street behind the Tower building - is the final nail in Blackpool's postal coffin. Perhaps unsurprisingly no alternative outlet exists within the town centre following today's closure. Plenty of coffee venues remain open of course - although government warnings of catching the Covid virus for the sake of a cup of coffee (takeaway even) are intended to dampen even

For readers still considering acquiring copies of our books during these dark and miserable times - we should advise that stocks have run out of most recent titles including the Municipal Transport series dealing with the 1950s and 1960s. We are ordering a small run of further copies which should become available in the first quarter. The planned Blackpool Bus Centenary Book is now being delayed for publication until later this year - due in part to pre-production issues ca

January sees the opening of the new railway terminal in New York City – the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Train Hall. Named in honour of a distinguished New York politician well before the Trump era – the new terminus fills the lengthy void created when Pennsylvania Station was demolished in the 1960s. New York City lost a classic landmark structure akin to the grandeur of Grand Central Station which is thankfully still with us as a result of public protest over redevelopment plans

We were sad to hear of the recent death at 92 of actor Mark Eden who memorably played the Coronation Street character ‘Alan Bradley’. In a famous episode of the hugely popular soap, the villainous Bradley was chasing Rita Fairclough from a Blackpool seafront hotel across the promenade tramtrack and was run down by a northbound tram – with fatal consequences. This became the most watched episode in the history of Coronation Street at the time, attracting over 21 million viewer