Royal Oak in better days

Grey overcast skies and little traffic make this an off season scene. A Marton service car waits to reverse on the crossover for its return journey to Talbot Square using the automatic trolley reverser at this point. A northbound Lytham Road car heads towards the promenade and Manchester Square with a reasonable load of passengers. Waterloo Road is two way and also is a bus route ! With two buses in view to prove it. A nice period van is parked on the junction whilst the Palladium cinema is showing cartoons for the younger generation. It is hard to reconcile this scene with the same location today although tramlines lie buried beneath both Lytham Road and Waterloo Road Bridge to prove the existence of these once busy tram services. The 45 strong English Electric railcoaches which proved to be year round workhorses on every route, were familiar to passengers from Fleetwood to Squires Gate. Their comfortable deep sprung reversible seats and generous leg room spacing made travel on Blackpool's tram routes so much of a pleasure. At least that's the way I recall them. FHLT preserved motor unit 678 (formerly 278) retains much of this 1960s period flavour. Photo Copyright John Woodman