Tram Talk

John Woodman Blackpool has the chance to bring about an exceptional year round transport museum within the 1930s built depot on Hopton Road - more often referred to as 'Rigby Road Depot'. Plans are afoot to redevelop much of the existing transport site as a result of the decision to replace the present BTS bus fleet with all-electric powered vehicles in the near term. Some historic workshops buildings will be demolished and present tram engineering work will be transferre

John Woodman London - Hyde Park - Cavalry Parade Greeting Family Members of the Regiments on Parade Photo : John Woodman 17/21L

John Woodman The latest debacle affecting a UK tram operator is the withdrawal of services by the West Midlands system of their expanding network from Birmingham city centre to Wolverhampton (station). entire fleet of cars has had to be withdrawn for checks to bodywork and frames as the result of appearance of yet more structural cracks. This problem arose a year ago when a number of trams underwent checks, with subsequent remedial work and repairs being carried out for th

At least one Blackpool tram in the colours of Ukraine is on public view in Blackpool. On the corner of Topping Street within a few yards of the Talbot Gateway development is the Washington Public House. This gained a new pub sign complete with rendition of the Blackpool boat car now at the National Capital Trolley Museum near to Washington DC. The tram was sent originally to the Gerald Brookins Museum in Ohio in exchange for Standard Car 147 then stored in an enclosed b

John Woodman For at least two decades the commercial centre of Blackpool has been south of the Winter Gardens and within the tightened area south of the Town Hall to the Coral Island site, The once robust retail presence on and close to Abingdon Street with Talbot Road itself has lapsed into a threadbare offer led by Charity shops, tattoo parlours, the inevitable bars and lacklustre 'cafes'. The absence of the General Post Office as a functioning hub, and decline of Abingd

John Woodman St Patricks Day brought a particularly nice surprise to Rigby Road in brilliant sunshine - with the arrival of a restored English Electric Railcoach. This follows its extensive retro rebuild to almost original appearance through the efforts of the Fylde Transport Trust and its predecessor. Offsite work away from Rigby Road has brought the car to a condition fit for repainting with its arrival on a low loader commissioned by the FTT with BTS coordinating unloa

John Woodman Arrival of delegates and Party leaders for the Conservative Spring Conference being held in the new Blackpool Conference Centre adjoining the Winter Gardens is triggering a spruce up of the area between North Station (Blackpool North) and Church Street. Not noted for any particular heritage or civic buildings, an effort to cover over formerly run down properties has involved recent painting of exteriors and addition of a panoramic image vinyl immediately facing

John Woodman The death earlier this month of Ted Lightbown sees a great historian of Blackpool being taken from the town's cadre of local knowledge. His contributions to special exhibitions and presentations on diverse aspects of the growth of the resort and its origins on the Fylde's coast. Whilst not involved in detailed pursuit of Blackpool's famous tramway Ted nevertheless retained keen interest in this segment local history; willingly furnishing this writer with imag

John Woodman News reports from Kyiv show people sheltering in that city's subway stations on platforms and making temporary homes (some with their pets) inside parked subway trains. Noteworthy is the fact that the trains are painted blue and yellow - Ukraine's national colours. This makes it all the more frustrating that the Trust's request to repaint its only tram currently on Blackpool Transport property was barred by BTS as a result of prescribed priorities of the herit

John Woodman Debrecen, Hungary. Contrasting era on the main street of the city with a 'Bengali' of the communist era and a later Ganz Hunslet design unique to the city. Below : Main square in Prague with a themed cafe bar (yes it does sell alcoholic beverages) using a prewar (or early postwar) centre entrance trailer with typical Prague pre-war motor unit. Shades of Michael Morton. All images John Woodman