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Tramcar fleet

The Blackpool Tramway has a varied fleet of tramcars. The standard livery is that of the colourful Metro Coastlines, which is also used by the bus fleet. The tramcars use the traditional green and cream livery of Blackpool Transport and carry a number of colourful all-over advertisements. Some former trams are in use and on display at the National Tramway Museum at Crich in Derbyshire.

Some trams that were formerly used or currently in use on the Blackpool Tramway include -

Standard cars

Preserved Standard tram 177 at Bispham

55 cars built between 1923 and 1929 by Blackpool Corporation Transport Department. They are double deck, originally with open balconies and a capacity of 78 passengers, with 32 seats on the lower deck and 46 on the upper deck. The four-window design came from the 1902 Motherwell trams. They were 33 ft 10in long, 16 ft 7in high and ft 7 in wide, had Preston McGuire bogies with ft 4 in wheelbase and 30in diameter wheels, BTH B510 motors and hand and rheostatic brakes. Until 2000, no Standards survived in public service in Blackpool until Boat 606 was given to the Trolleyville museum in Ohio, USA in exchange for Standard car 147, which has been restored to its original 1924 condition and can often be seen operating in Blackpool during the busier seasonal weekends and illumination evenings.

Preserved Pantograph Car No 167 at the Crich Tramway Museum

Pantograph cars

Built in 1928 by English Electric in Preston. These cars were single-deckers and purchased at a cost of £2,000 by Blackpool & Fleetwood Tramroad Company. They were designed for interurban use and of American appearance. They could carry 48 seated passengers. They had a pantograph built by Brecknell, Munro & Rogers, mounted on a tall tower. The first car, (167), was delivered on 30 July 1928 and the last, (176) in 1929. They were 40 ft long and ft 7 in wide, had Dick Kerr bogies, BTH B510 motors and air-brakes, hand and rheostatic brakes. Only one now survives in Blackpool, but as the illuminated trailer to the illuminated Western Train, which has recently received a £278,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant to restore both the entire tramcar units which first ran in 1962. It was withdrawn from service in 1999 and had stood derelict at the Rigby Road depot.[21] The tramcar is due to return during the Illuminations Switch-On in 2008. The sole surviving member of the class in working order, No 167, is preserved at the National Tramway Museum in Crich, Derbyshire.

Balloon cars

Name	Balloon Cars
Built	English Electic 1934-1935
Capacity	78-94 passengers
Motors	2 x EE 305 type, 57 hp (25 kW)
Controller	2 x EE Z6
Chassis	EE 4' 9'' wheelbase
Balloon tram 712 at Bispham Station

Commissioned in 1933 by Walter Luff, the controller of the network, in a bid to modernise the tramway's fleet, and were intended to replace the Dreadnought cars that had been in service since the opening of the tramway. Built by English Electric during 1934 and 1935, the first being presented to Blackpool on 10 December 1934. 27 were delivered, of which 13 were open-topped. Numbered 237-263 and used on both summer and winter services.

They had central doors and stairs, with a capacity of 84/94. Half-drop windows provided ventilation and art-deco curved glass lights provided electric lighting. The enclosed-top trams had sliding roof windows and thermostatic-controlled radiators.

The closed top cars originally worked on the Squires Gate service, and it was during this time that they became known as Balloon Cars because of their rounded streamlined appearance. During World War II the need for the open-top cars fell significantly and cars 237-249 had their tops enclosed to look almost like 250-263. Also during this period the fleet was painted in a dark green and cream livery in order to conserve paint and time, as well as to reduce the chances of their being spotted from the air.

After the war years the Balloons were neglected slightly in place of the new Coronation Cars, as they were considered old fashioned and too slow to load. Blackpool Corporation soon changed its mind after experiencing the temperamental nature of the Coronations and the Balloons began to make a comeback in the late 1950s. In 1958 check rail was installed through to Fleetwood and the Balloons increasingly began to appear on market-day specials, as they were useful for moving the large crowds travelling north. The Balloons continued to run their normal Squires Gate service until its closure in 1961, and following this the entire class solely worked on the Promenade service.

In 1968 they were re-numbered to 700-726. In 1979/1982 Balloon cars 725/714 were totally rebuilt into two new Jubilee cars, 761 and 762.[16] The reconstruction of 725 included moving the stairs to the end and extending its body length. 762 remained with a central door. During 1980, an accident at the Pleasure Beach Loop caused 705 and 706 to be withdrawn. 705 was scrapped, the only Balloon to be scrapped, and 706 was rebuilt as an open-topper, later named 'Princess Alice'. During the early 1990s a number of Balloons retired from service were heavily modernised, re-emerging with flat ends and modern interiors known as Millennium cars.

In 2002 the Balloons were banned north of Thornton Gate due to the poor condition of the track. Following heavy repair work the Balloons were allowed back from 2005.

Jubilee cars

Name	Jubilee Cars
Built	Blackpool Corporation 1978-1982 (originally from Balloon Cars)
Capacity	761: 104 passengers 762: 90 passengers
Motors	2 x EE 305 type, 57h.p. (25Kw)
Controller	‘Chopper’ Control
Chassis	EE 4' 6'' wheelbase with Metalastic suspension.
Jubilee tram 762 at the Sand Castle, Blackpool

In the late 1970s, Blackpool corporation decided that the tramway fleet needed modernising after the closure of the inland routes during the 60's. Attention was drawn to two Balloon Cars, 714 & 725, which had been mothballed as they were in dire need of an overhaul. It was felt that these would be extremely useful on the Promenade during the summer due to their high seating capacity and reliability. So, with funds left over from their OMO program the corporation set about rebuilding these old Balloons into "Jubilee Cars". The first to be rebuilt, 725, was stripped down to its shell and had its under-frame and body lengthened, controller changed, doors and stairs relocated to the front and iconic pointed ends replaced for square ones. The tram officially entered service in 1979 after testing as Jubilee 761. Balloon 714 was later rebuilt in a similar fashion, except it retained its original centre doors in addition to the front ones in order to improve passenger flow when at stops. 714 re-entered service in 1982 as Jubilee 762.

Millennium cars

Double deck cars. They were rebuilt from Balloon cars in 2002–05. Numbered in the Balloon series.

Boat cars

Name	Boat Cars
Built	English Electrics 1934
Capacity	26-52 Passengers
Motors	2xEE 327, 40 hp (17.5 kW)
Controller	600, 607: 2xEE DB1 602, 604, 605: 2xEE Z type
Chassis	EE 4' wheelbase
Open Boat tram No 600 at Bispham

Commissioned in 1933 by Walter Luff. Originally introduced as a prototype, this revolutionary new tramcar arrived in January 1934, and was one of four other designs that would be chosen to replace the ageing toastrack cars. After its initial trail period it was chosen over its competitors and a further 11 more were ordered, arriving in July and August of the same year.

Built by English Electric, a single deck open-topped model with central doors, 4' wheelbase and trolley pole conductor. They Originally numbered 225-236 and seating for 56 passengers. All cars were identical, except for prototype 225, which has shorter body panels.

First worked on the circular and coastal tours and were stationed at both the Rigby road and Marton depots for ease of access. They continued on these services until the war years, when they were stored out of service due to the withdrawal of the circular tour and general lack of demand. This continued until 1946, when they returned to work on the Promenade service.

The full fleet remained until 1963 and the closure of the road routes to North Station. The fleet was reduced to 8 cars, with 229, 231, 232 and 234 being scrapped in 1968. The remaining cars were re-numbered 600-608. In the late 1970s/early 1980s two boat trams were sold to museums in the USA, and they still operate in San Francisco. 606 was loaned to Glasgow for the Garden Festival in 1988, returning to Blackpool later that year.

In the early 1990s the remaining cars were refurbished and received a number of new liveries, including Routemaster red, blue & yellow and a fictitious wartime livery. The fleet was converted from trolley pole to pantograph conductors, but they were soon converted back as passengers were showered by grease and dirt from the power line when it rained. In 2000 606 was given to the Trolleyville museum in Ohio, USA in exchange for Standard car 147, which has been restored to its original 1924 condition.

Preserved Coronation tram 304 at Fleetwood

Coronation cars

Named because they were introduced in Coronation Year, only three members of this 1953 class of car remain.They were built by Charles Roberts Ltd at their Horbury Junction works, Wakefield. Two were preserved under the private ownership of the Lancastrian Transport Trust (LTT). The sophisticated Variable Automatic Multinotch Braking and Acceleration Control (VAMBAC) control system of these vehicles proved to be their Achilles heel as it proved to be extremely unreliable in service. Thirteen of the class had their VAMBAC systems replaced by conventional controllers during the 1960s, prolonging their comparatively short service life to 1975, when they were withdrawn. The unmodified examples were withdrawn from 1968.

Blackpool Coronation 304 (later 641), the first of the fleet, was bought for preservation and achieved celebrity status in 2002, when it was the subject of an episode of the Channel 4 television programme Salvage Squad. It was returned to working order by Salvage Squad and LTT members. It was unveiled to the public on 6 January 2003 when it was filmed carrying out test runs along Blackpool Promenade.

Brush cars

Built by Brush in in 1937. Single deck cars, numbers 621-637, 633 now rebuilt into the illuminated Trawler.

Centenary cars

Single deck cars built by the East Lancashire Coachbuilders Company in 1984-88 numbers 641-648,but fitted with pre war refurbished motors and wheel sets from previous withdrawn cars.

Progress Twin cars

Single deck power plus trailer cars, rebuilt from English Electric cars in 1958–62. 671–680 (power cars) and 681–687 (trailer cars). They operate in regular pairs (for instance 675 + 685) except for 678–680, which operate singly.

Illuminated cars

Illuminated Western Train Tramcar

A variety of rebuilt single-deck cars, of different designs, rebuilt as illuminated theme trams. Run along the illuminated part of the Promenade during Blackpool Illuminations. No numbering series. A campaign by the local newspaper, the Blackpool Gazette in 2006 to get one of the Illuminated trams, Western Train, back on track, resulted in a £278,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant to restore the tramcar which first ran in 1962. It was withdrawn from service in 1999 and had stood derelict at the Rigby Road depot. The tramcar is due to return during the Illuminations Switch-On in 2008. In January 2008 it was revealed that another iconic illuminated tram, the Rocket tram, which had been in service between 1961 and 1999 but which had since then stood idle, is also due to be restored with expectation being that it would return to service for the Illuminations in 2009 at a cost of about £150,000 and with the help of a newly created Friends of the Illuminations group.