Heritage fleet puts the tram in Tram Sunday! Our heritage tram fleet was out in force again for the Fleetwood Transport Festival (better known as Tram Sunday) on 20th July, with six trams either operating tours or on static display! The tours began at North Pier at 1025 with visiting Pantograph car 167 which was used to convey the civic party and some of our enthusiastic supporters to Fishermans Walk in Fleetwood, where the festival was officially opened. We then ran a 30 minute frequency tour service throughout the day (with a gap for crew meal breaks) until the final departure back to Blackpool, which was advertised for 1735. The weather fortunately stayed dry for us, although it wasnt as sunny as we had hoped – but we cant have everything! The important thing was that we managed to run almost all of what had been advertised, with only Bolton 66 failing to make an appearance owing to a minor fault discovered at the last minute. The ever popular 706 stayed out in place of 66, and we hope that no-one was overly disappointed by the last minute withdrawal of this tram from the schedule. The other trams in use were centenarian Fleetwood Box 40, making its post overhaul debut, and open Boat 230 which replaced 167 during the afternoon to add some variety. Those of you with an eye for these things will have noticed that our schedules slipped slightly during the afternoon, which was largely due to the complications of reversing both the normal LRT tram service and the heritage trams on the same crossover at Fishermans Walk. In situations like this it is imperative that the LRT service is prioritised, to maintain the advertised service to the general public, and we hope that any slight gaps that opened up in the heritage timetable did not spoil anyones enjoyment of the day. We always aim to do the best we can for our supporters! As well as those trams operating tours, two more heritage cars were also joining in the fun! Standard 147 and Balloon 717 had been driven up to Fleetwood before the start of the event and placed on static display in Pharos Street where Squirrel and Tiffin had bedecked them out as a Victorian Tramera Obscura and a Terrarium Tram, the latter resembling a botanical garden but featuring a variety of knitted creatures provided by the Palatine and Thornton knitting groups! Our pictures show the two unusual exhibits in Pharos Street as well as the star of the show, Box 40, proudly back on the Promenade and about to carry its first passengers since overhaul. The new lettering is now in place on the advert boards commemorating the centenary of the tram and the contribution of its supporters. We think Box 40 looks very smart again, and we hope you all agree!
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 14:27:01 +0000