Love Blackpool's Transport

The next title covering successive decades of Blackpool's municipal transport system is advancing steadily for publication later this year. 'Municipal Transport Heyday' dealing with the town's bus and tram developments contains a wealth of images and material from this most intensive period in the Corporation Department's transition from postwar austerity into an ebullient era. A time before supermarkets and packaged holidays abroad took hold - when car ownership began to grow rapidly, and of course the emergence of television reception (with more than one channel!) caught national attention.

*We are on the look out for more personal images of BCT staff and crews at work or with their vehicles to include in the book. If you have material from family members working with the Transport Department please get in touch via our contact page.

Central Promenade on a busy weekend afternoon with a fully loaded Balloon car passing in front of the former RNLI Lifeboat House. The pedestrian 'Subway' was a recent feature to aid people crossing the promenade at this point. Two period taxis await customers while Magee's Ales delivery truck has obviously been bringing a load of bottled and casked beer - and another can be discerned heading south on the promenade (thirsty holiday-makers in those days). Illumination features are strung in place to a musical theme. This is 1959 and image taken by John Woodman.

This title cover has been updated from the earlier version (above) and the book will follow the same landscape format as previous titles dealing with the 1930s and 1940s - copies of which remain available in our online Shop. Copies are also available from Blackpool Visitors Centre on the Promenade, Brooks Collectables on Waterloo Road and Toys2Save shop opposite Cleveleys tram station.

PS : A further title 'Blackpool's Buses 1921 - 2018' is also in early stages of development for publication late 2017.

We love Blackpool's transport - still in public ownership.