BLACKPOOL’s tramway has a unique place in British transport history and, having recently celebrated its 137th anniversary, it is the UK’s only remaining ‘first generation’ tram system.
The initial two-mile route between the Pleasure Beach in the south and Cocker Square (just beyond North Pier) opened on September 29, 1885. A pioneer of early tramway electric traction (just two years after the launch of Volk’s Electric Railway in Brighton), it initially used a conduit system to provide the power, but this did not fare well due to the local abundance of sand and sea water.
The system was funded and built by Blackpool Corporation (which also took over responsibility for operations from Blackpool Electric Tramway Company in 1892). It was soon extended and in 1920 was linked to and absorbed the neighbouring Blackpool & Fleetwood system, creating a route stretching between South Shore and Fleetwood.
Under general manager Walter Luff, the 1930s saw modernisation and the introduction of iconic vehicles such as the English Electric Luxury Dreadnought (‘Balloon’) double-deckers and open-topped ‘Boat’ trams, as well as the English Electric and Brush railcoaches.
The demise of the final part of the Glasgow tram system in 1962 left Blackpool as the sole-surviving network in Britain. By this time, however, even it had been subjected to pruning. Closure of the Gynn Square to Blackpool North railway station branch in 1963 left only the 11 miles of route between Starr Gate and Fleetwood operational.
The 21st century saw a need for transformation. As the tramway underwent a £100 million modernisation, including the introduction of a new fleet of Bombardier ‘Flexity 2’ trams, it seemed at first there would be no place for reminders of its illustrious past. In another first, however, a solution was found to not only retain examples of the
