Fleetwood

Anyone else there this weekend??

My Escort is wearing tram tracks into the M55 at the moment

 

I'll be there from lunchtime Sunday.

 

I'm off up there now. Should be there around 7pm tonight, staying overnight somewhere, then booked on the 2 tours tomorrow. Might see you there Ian.

 

deleted

 

Good to see both Pitt Snr. and Pitt Jnr. today. Finally found a decent pub to round off the day. The light was superb at times so looking forward to reviewing my phots.

 

Alan

You weren't looking hard enough!

The red TBird was on Bond St on the turning circle all day and evening! Unfortunately we had to "fail" it on our return home with a suspected fuel leak - it certainly smelt of fuel, but we couldn't find any leak - so Sunday was back to the Escort.

On Saturday, we were anywhere between there and the Pleasure Beach, finishing off in the North Euston with quite a good band doing anything from City of New Orleans to Dirty Old Town - with "Landlord" on the bar - "suits me sir!"

Yesterday was - in the words of Doogie - "Choost Superb"

Sixteen and a half hours of pure emotion; the Remembrance service at North Pier with 717 drawn up in attendance, the Coronation cars' run in full sun - marvellous.

Did anyone note the "non railway fotter" behaviour with cameramen dashing in front of photo lines ad nauseam - especially the scrote in the wheelchair who thought he was both invisible, and invincible, tangling with cars in the middle of the road?

It made my day when one guy walked up to him and said "if one of those cars you're dashing in front of doesn't kill you, I xxxxxxx well will if you do that again" Disability doesn't give you the right to be a prat!

Sun, great mates and company, and wind in yer hair, on the open top Rigby Road - Fleetwood Ferry - Pleasure Beach run - in November!! with the Great Orme's Head, the Isle of Man and Barrow all clearly, very clearly, in view.

Our final run was on 717 to Ash Street, just in time to see the first cavalcade run of 737 / 40 / 702 /627 on Albert St - and well done to the clippes for slamming the door on the offensive little oik at Cleveleys who wouldn't put his stinking fag out to catch the tram. I hope he broke his leg kicking the side of the car as we drove off into the darkness - chav!

Then the final 40 / 602 / 627 traverses of the entire system culminating in the mist curling over the cars at the Ferry at 01.30 as they departed back to Rigby Road for the last time - you could not have scripted it better!

03.00 back home means I'm nodding over the firm's computer and haven't done any photos yet!

But what a weekend - Thanks to Blackpool Transport, LTT and FTS.

All we have to do now is wait for the tramway to re-open in 2010 ready for the 125th - even if we can't go to Fleetwood Ferry for a while - let's just hope we can get ballooons and boats there again!

 

Talking of prats Frank, here's one who came close to serious injury and I don't mean courtesy of the tram. The gallery invited him to come and be informed of the error of his ways but for some reason he refused.

 

Here's a few of many phots taken during the day.

 

Thanks.

Thanks Frank, and all those from the railway fraternity who turned up over the weekend either to ride or photograph. It was great to see many new faces, though I can't help thinking what some have missed out on over the years!

Looking forward to seeing some of the fruits of the photographers labour on-line - especially of the Coronations on the street in Fleetwood (hint!).

Being a tramway event things aren't quite as rigid as on the railways, especially with having to avoid late running service cars (and quite appropriately acquiesce to the Remembrance Day commemorations) things did get a little chaotic on Sunday and I hope we did not inconvenience too many with the late start on Sunday afternoon. The sparklingly fast sprint to Fleetwood on the Twin Car helped us get round in decent time though!)

So anyway thanks very much for your support. LTT has gained a satisfying profit for its restoration projects (and has now bought three more trams to play with!), most passengers seemed to enjoy themselves and the photographers filled many a memory card (and the odd roll of film). Any feedback (constructively) is always welcome by PM.

We are actively participating in the arrangements for next years 125th anniversary celebrations. This week I will be busy populating the event website (below) with info and once signed off by the company will announce info here and include tour participants in relevant mailings.

http://www.blackpooltramevents.co.uk/ [nothing to see yet!]
www.ltt.org.uk (our website)

Regards
Paul
LTT

 

A wet weekend at the seaside .... for some!!

deleted

 

Paul
for the benefit of me and others, could you be so kind as to tell us just what sort of tram we can expect to see up and down the prom in 2010?
Obviously the current fleet won't survive intact and it would be nice to know which ones are likely to remain on the books.

 

http://fyldetramwaysociety-blackpool.webs.com/2010the125th.htm

http://www.freewebs.com/fyldetramwaysociety-blackpool/news85mupgrade.htm

Ian,

Have a look on here. Reading some of the posts on various groups it sounds like the tramway closed forever this weekend! Should be a couple more Summers to enjoy the traditional trams (and some visitors) but not in Fleetwood.

Regards,

David

 

Thanks David but unless I've not read the right pages those links don't really tell me what I want to know. I'm up to date with what they're doing in Fleetwood, the new depot and trams but it's how many of the older trams will survive the upgrade and for how long that interests me. I won't be going to Blackpool for the new ones that's for sure.

 

2010/2011: Same fleet as current, less the odd car that may be retired this winter, plus some visiting vintage cars for 2010.

2012:
1) Bombardier Flexity 2 for the SG-Fwd service
2) Modified, modernised Balloons with extended centre platforms to meet the at stop platforms for the summer PB-Cleveleys service
3) Vintage cars for high days and holidays with limited stop services (as they don't match the platforms and will be too slow for the accelerated timetable) and tours.

There is no list of what will survive and what won't as it has not been officially finalised as long term heritage depot arrangements are not finalised. Broadly speaking though anything already stored is doomed and available for preservation. Anything not recently overhauled (the 622s, 712s of this world, the Centenaries, Jubilees and Twin Cars) are likely to go too. A 'representative sample' is likely to be kept.

Primarily demand - A 10 minute service of fast running low floor cars will be more than enough to cope with demand and leave little slack for anything extra. There may be changes to the overhead alignment that prevent trolley fitted cars running at the Fleetwood end as all the infrastructure needs renewing north of TG.

The finale this weekend was for the end of the Fleetwood street tramway as we all know it. It will return in 2012, relaid and realigned and routinely operated by modern trams. Nobody knows for sure yet whether it really is the end for everything heritage, but the reality is that regular classic tram operation there has now finished and anything in the future will be specially organised.

Hope this answers questions as best as they can be.
Regards
Paul

 

Blackpool Tram Fleet

Thought it might be useful to summarise the fleet as it is now:

Open Boats:
600 - prototype - currently stripped for major overhaul
602 - active 2009 yellow/black
604 - active 2009 1990s fleet livery
605 - active 2009 pseudo wartime livery
607 - stored since 2004, Travelcard all-over advert
(601 is at Western Railway Museum, Rio Vista California - since 1971; 603 is with San Francisco Muni on the Market Street Railway since 1985, 606 is moving to Capital Trolley Museum Washington DC having been in USA since 2000)

Brush Cars:
621 - stored since 2004
622 - active 2009 in Pontins all-over advert (but Pontins in Blackpool has closed down)
623 - active 2009 in Wartime livery, commonly used on Tram Driver Experience trips this autumn
625 - stored since 2004
626 - stored since 2008, refurbished
627 - stored since 2004 (apart from yesterday!)
630 - active 2009 Karting 2000 livery
631 - active 2009 Walls Ice Cream livery
632 - stored since 2004, being purchased by LTT for preservation
634 - collected today by Andy Ashton for Rushden HTS
637 - stored since 2004
(former cars: 624 owned by LTT for restoration, stored at Rigby Road last used as PW car 259 in 2002; 628 underframe exists as PW flat car 260; 633 now 737; 635 with TMS Crich for restoration since 1977; 636 with Stored Energy Technology in Derby, tested here last winter)

Centenaries (all refurbished 1999 onwards)
641 - active 2009 Orion Bingo (venue just closed down)
642 - active 2009 fleet yellow
643 - active 2009 black/white remains of all-over advert
644 - active 2009 Fleetwood Market/Farmer Parrs
645 - active 2009 Jet2.com
646 - active 2009 Paul Gaunt Furnishing
647 - active 2009 B&M Bargains
648 - active 2009 white

Twin Cars
671/81 - stored since 2007 (green/yellow)
672/82 - active 2009 (orange/yellow)
673/83 - active 2009 (turquoise/yellow)
674/84 - officially active 2009 but not used (Cadbury Blue/yellow)
675/85 - active 2009 (red/yellow)
676/86 - stored since 2004
687 - stored since 2004 (motor car 677 scrapped 2007)

Former Towing Cars
678 - stored since 2007*
680 - stored since 2008
(679 now with LTT for restoration as Railcoach 279)

Balloons
700 - active 2009 heritage refurbishment to Wartime condition
701 - active 2009 yellow
702 - reserve 2009 1970s green/cream (used once on service, once on hire)
703 - 1980s livery, w/d June 2009, being preserved by LTT
704 - stored since 2003.
706 - open top, active 2009, original livery but not condition
707 - active 2009 - Coral Island. Flat Front, refurbished
708 - stored since c2005
709 - active 2009 - Sea Life Centre. Flat Front, refurbished
710 - stored since 2007*
711 - active 2009 - green/yellow. Refurbished
712 - active 2009 - 1960s fleet livery.
713 - active 2009 - purple/yellow. Refurbished
715 - active 2009 - lt blue/yellow
716 - stored since 2003, cannibalised.
717 - active 2009 - heritage refurbishment largely original spec.
718 - active 2009 blue/yellow. Refurbished, flat front
719 - active 2009 former Ice Cream Tram. Refurbished. light blue
720 - refurbishment nearly completed, first with modified platforms
721 - active 2009 Pleasure Beach ad.
722 - scrapped Oct/Nov 2009
723 - active 2009 1980s livery. first refurbishment 1993 now in works, poss for platform mods
724 - active 2009 Lyndene Hotel advert, flat front, refurbished
726 - active 2009 Coastguard Advert.
(705 scrapped 1982, 714 now 762, 725 now 761)

Jubilees
761 - active 2009 Wyndsors World of Shoes
762 - active 2009 ReBlackpool

Feature Cars
732 - stored since 1999 (now owned by LTT)
733/4 - active 2009 Western Train
736 - active 2009 HMS Blackpool (version 2)
737 - active 2009 Fisherman's Friend Trawler.
(735 preserved in Scotland)

Other Cars:
Stockport 5- privately owned, occasionally used 2009
Fleetwood Box 40 - owned by TMS, in Blackpool since 1996, active 2009
Bolton 66 - privately owned, active 2009
Standard 147 - active 2009
Coronation 304 owned by LTT occasionally active 2009
Sheffield 513 - l/t loan to BTS, occasionally active 2009
Vanguard 619 - 1987 built mock replica Fleetwood Vanguard, reinstated for 2008/9, to be preserved by Manchester Transport Museum Society in 2010.
Coronation 660 -used once (Sunday) in 2009

Refurbished - refers to a post 1992 upgrade with low voltage electrical equipment and halogen headlights.

Think that's it for now!

 

Ian,

Sorry I thought it provided the info you were after.

The link said:

When complete, we will be able to enjoy a fast, modern service using start-of-the-art vehicles, supplemented during the summer season by 20-25 of the existing heritage and vintage vehicles which Blackpool Transport will retain for this purpose.

Also the other link listed all the extra trams for 2010 special event - perhaps the links don't work on an Apple!

Anyhow Paul has added a lot better detail now!

As the tramway is only really essential for a few months per year perhaps the government (new or current!) may review the investment as there are many other demands for the money in the current climate. I expect the project has now gone too far but it is not often I hope for less investment in public transport!

Will try to get up there next year but I have been saying that for the last five years.It is a long way from the sunny south west.

Cheers,

 

I spotted TBF on Sunday around 4.45pm loitering near The Ferry cafe. I really don't know how the guy in the wheelchair escaped death.
Whilst there was generally good banter between the photters, I couldn't help but laugh at the antics of some folk. Step ladders and tripods at the ready it was just like a typical Saturdays gricing- -- Not!!! Oncoming traffic -- that'll just have to wait while we block the road and get our shots.
If someone had said to me 26 yrs ago when I was working in Fleetwood, that one day I would return to phott trams, I would have laughed. Yesterdays trip brought back some happy memories. Also good to bump into ACW71000.

 

a few pics from yesterday

 

Someone said yesterday that a major factor in whether heritage cars will get to Fleetwood again is the specification of the trackwork to be installed from Ash Street to the Ferry

Can anyone confirm whether the new trackwork and overhead is to be specified to take the existing fleet - and given that I was pacing 700 at 40 mph between Broadwater and Cleveleys - just what is so special about anything coming from Bombardier - remember - the rail fraternity knows Voyagers ...........

Alan - we didn't grind to a halt on the way home - we failed it "on shed"

 

Many thanks Paul.
Seems that 2010/2011 will be the last years of interesting trams in quantity.