- 9 hours ago
Global Warming = Rising Sea Levels = Coastal Flooding
John Woodman An alarming forecast of the consequences of continuing global warming has appeared online this week marking land forecast to come under rising sea levels by 2050 - just over 25 years from now. Melting icecaps and glaciers accompanying increased global temperature means inevitable rise in sea levels to such an extent that the impact on low lying coastal land will involve relocation of millions of people. Quite evidently the Fylde with its flat topography and c
- a day ago
Skelleftea - Battery Gigafactory For European Vehicle Market
John Woodman The rush to develop new manufacturing centres for batteries is on. Global environmental pressure on vehicle producers has turned them away from diesel and petrol power to all electric during the current decade. US based Tesla began the move to electric cars requiring the construction of huge factories to produce powerful storage batteries compact enough to sustain high mileage and high speeds. So called 'gigafactories' are being built in Europe with sites
- 2 days ago
Pub Signs
John Woodman Blackpool has plenty of pubs - the more famous being the Number 3 at Devonshire Square and of course the now lost landmarks 'The Oxford' and 'Yates Wine Lodge'. Local licensed premises have a habit of morphing into something new - take the once notable 'Red Lion' on Devonshire Road which has become a ho-hum branch of a hotel brand. Two drinking venues still with us however, with local transport links are on Talbot Road - 'The New Road' which derives its name f
- 5 days ago
Going Going ......
John Woodman Interest in the Trust's trams is now bearing fruit with at least one car scheduled to be transferred to yet another Fylde coast school - in this case Rossall. Confirmation and dates for the tram's change of location should be agreed over the next few weeks. A further meeting onsite at Wyre Dock in the past few days looks like at least two more trams and possibly three will be acquired for a special project on the Fylde coast - details of which are confidential
- Jun 7
CENTENARY BUS FEST JULY 2021 - Don't Miss It
John Woodman To commemorate one hundred years of municipal transport in Blackpool latterly through the Council owned company - Blackpool Transport Services Ltd., a long weekend of special bus displays and heritage services are being organised for July 2 to 4. Full details are available on the Blackpool Transport (BTS) and Fylde Transport Trust website. For readers keenly waiting for the Rigby Road Publishing title - Centenary of Blackpool Buses long promised for this month
- Jun 4
Fares Please
John Woodman I got a shock today when my wife told me she paid £1.90 for a bus ride from Mansfield Road to the Moorpark Medical Centre at Bristol Avenue ; this being the prevailing single fare before 0900. A distance of under a mile making a Blackpool bus ride one of the more expensive ways of urban travel in England. I recall when a fare into Blackpool town centre from Moorpark Avenue cost me four pence in old money. A particular gripe of my wife (and being from New
- Jun 3
Well Worth A Read
John Woodman Another prolific author covering Britain's tramcar history is Peter Waller who has just published his tome on 'second hand' trams which have percolated? between systems during their UK careers. A fascinating account of almost all of the seperate transfers, sales and loans which are on record from Edwardian days up to Glasgow and Leeds purchases in the 1950s. The abortive sale of Aberdeen's postwar double deck trams to Blackpool is of course mentioned - and th
- Jun 1
Bumper Weekend and Passenger Woes
Blackpool's summer kicked off these past few days with blazing sunshine and high temperatures ensuring a bumper Bank Holiday weekend. Crowds flocked to the seafront giving the town a flavour of better times in spite of the on again off again restrictions imposed from London. The imminence of a total removal of social guidelines and limits is forecast for June 21st - although this remains subject to final diktat from health professionals. A consequence of this uplifting wea
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