Blackpool Trams

The Blackpool Tram Story 1930-2000

In 1932 a new Transport Manager took over the tramway system. As soon as he took up the post Walter Luff set out to defeat the anti-tram brigade by drawing up plans to replace the older trams with more efficient stock.

English Electric came up with designs for a new type of tram, incorporating the best features from the motor coaches; comfortable seats, large windows, and a more streamlined appearance than any other design. Because of their appearance they were known as Railcoaches and from 1933 to 1935 English Electric delivered forty five of them to Blackpool.

Luff's next step was to replace the old Toastrack trams, the design of which dated back to 1911. The Toastracks were little more than rows of benches on a mobile platform - hence "toast rack" because they looked like the racks on which the town's guest house landladies served toast every morning!

They were open sided and open topped with no central alley between the seats. The conductor had to hang off the side of the vehicle to collect the fares.

Increasing traffic made this a somewhat risky occupation on the around town routes and the new open topped trams were based on the Railcoach and became known as Boats. They were built in 1934 and are still operating today, being the oldest public service vehicles in use in England in their original condition.

At the same time a double decked version of the Railcoach, known as a "Balloon" was introduced to replace the old Dreadnought. The Ballons also are still in use today together with an improved version of the Railcoach.

Whilst the reorganisation went on the old trams were all being scrapped without a thought of preservation. Thousands of trams all over the country were being destroyed and after the 1934 season when the Balloons took over from the Dreadnoughts the local paper, the Blackpool Gazette, published an article calling for a ceremonial last trip along the Promenade to mark the passing of the huge trams.

Walter Luff went a stage further. He announced that Dreadnought No. 59 was to be saved from the scrapyard and preserved. It eventually became the property of the National Tramway Museum and ran again on the Promenade in 1960 to mark the tramway's 75th anniversary.

Fifteen years later it was brought back to Blackpool by the Civic Trust and was exhibited on the Promenade to raise funds to maintain and restore it. It ran again in 1976 on the occasion of Blackpool Borough's centenary. It is now on permanant loan to Blackpool.

In the 1950s other new types of trams appeared. The Coronation trams were luxury single decked trams, but were expensive to maintain and caused damage to the track due to their weight. Of the twenty five trams all have since been scrapped except for one and that is rarely seen out.

In 1958 the Corporation converted two of the 1935 Railcoaches to a towing car and trailer. The experiment was a success and "Progress Twin Cars" ("Progress" is Blackpool's motto) are seen every year on the Promenade during the summer season.

By the early sixties problems were arising on the routes away from the sea front. The tram tracks were laid in the middle of the road and increasing traffic made it dangerous for passengers to board and alight. Visiting motorists, unused now to trams, were unsure whether to overtake on the nearside or offside of a tram.

One by one the routes were closed until the only street tracks remaining were the ones at Fleetwood and a short stretch past the Metropole Hotel near the North Pier plus the tracks leading to the depots at Blundell Street, Rigby Road and Princess Street.

In 1971 experiments were carried out using a converted Brush car as a one-man tram. The result was the appearance of the Blackpool-built coffin-shaped one-man cars. These trams are now the basis of the winter tram service and a one-man double decked tram was built in 1978 with a second following soon afterwards.

Much of the track was repaired or replaced during the 1970s and every winter sees sections of track taken up for maintenance. As no company in Britain now makes the grooved rails, new rails come from Germany. German workers have also welded alloy strips to rails. In use the alloy wears down instead of the rail itself.

Ironically Blackpool does not have a tram museum. There was pressure within the town, especially during the run-up to the 1985 centenary for the old tram sheds at Blundell Road to house a museum. The depot however was flattened to make space for a huge car park.

However the surviving Dreadnought, Coronation and Boats make appearances on the tramway during the summer and in 1981 were joined by an ex-Bolton Corporation tramcar which makes an impressive sight on the track. The national museum at Crich occasionally loans other tramcars to Blackpool and Glasgow, Sheffield, Birkenhead and Edinburgh tramcars have all been seen along the Promenade.

The Blackpool tramway is not only the last in England (though some tramways have re-appeared in cities like Manchester) but it was the first electric tramway also. It is a living museum that is open all year round, is free to visit and rides can be had regularly to a fixed timetable at reasonable cost. It is, quite simply, unique.