A BRIEF HISTORY OF BLACKPOOL'S TRAMS
In line with Blackpool Corporation's motto "Progress", Blackpool promenade was the scene of the first electric street lighting when part of the promenade was lit in 1879. Following the demonstration of a pioneer electric railway operated by Werner von Siemens, the brother of Sir William Siemens of electric lighting fame, in 1879 and Thomas Edison's electric train at Menlo Park, New Jersey, USA, in 1880, which were really demonstration lines, the operation of an electric tramway along Blackpool's Prom would involve an intensive operation. Following a visit to the Volk's Electric Railway in Brighton and the Giant's Causeway Tramway in Ireland which had both opened in 1883, the Tramways Committee weren't impressed by either line which used a live rail to transmit electric current to the cars. An electric narrow gauge railway was opened at the Winter Gardens at Blackpool in 1884 but couldn't be made to work properly. Michael Holroyd Smith, the builder of several small electric tramways,had built a standarg gauge demonstration line in Manchester. Being impressed with hs work at the Winter Gardens the committee paid a visit to his line in Manchester. This convinced the tramways committee that Holroyd Smith could build an electric tramway for Blackpool. On December 3rd 1884 Blackpol Crporation agreed to use Holroyd Smith's conduit tramway 110 yards long and granted him a seven year concession. The Blackpool Electric Tramway Company was formed in January 1885, the first rail was laid in March and the first test runs were made on 29th June. The tramway was officially opened on 29th September 1885, the first electric street tramway in the land. The sea was to cause many problems for the conduit system and for a time the company used horses to pull trams when the track was flooded.
By the time that the lease expired in 1892, the line ran from Cocker Street to Victoria (now South) Pier a distance of 79 chains (there are 80 chains of 22yds per mile) plus a small stretch of line from Manchester Square along Lytham Road. The conduit system was the source of several major problems over the next few years. One of these "Conduit Cars" as they are known (No.4) survived and is now on display at the National Tramway Museum at Crich in Derbyshire.
The survival of this tram is due to a succession of lucky decisions. After completing its service life it was used to transport bread for troops, doors being cut into one side, before becoming a stores tram and then a works car. It was then stored away and forgotten about for many years. Eventually, when the depot closed it was rediscovered and it was decided to restore it.
In 1898 The Blackpol and Fleetwood Electric Tramroad Company commenced operations running from Fleetwood to Blackpool North Railway Station but was not physically joined to the Blackpool system. The photograph above was taken in 1898 and is one of the original crossbench cars sometimes referred to as "toastracks" because the seating on single deck open sided and open top trams resembles a toastrack. This car also survived and was photograped at Fleetwood when appearing in the Centenary Parade of trams in 1998 to celebrate the centenary of the Blackpool and Fleetwood company. This tram is also at the National Tramway Museum where it operates in servce and visitors can enjoy a ride upon it.
The first "deluxe" tram, no 62, entered service with Blackpool Corporation Tramways in 1911 mounted on a Preston flexible-axle four wheel truck which gave a very bouncy ride. The Tramways Committee decided that in view of this problem the rest of the trams on order, with the exception of the two which were nearing completion would be mounted on two bogies instead. The three four wheeled trams continued in service until 1924, when No.62 was upgraded to match the new standards, before being fitted with bogies. The other two trams were fitted with bogies when upgraded in November and December 1926.
The Lytham St.Annes trams secured running rights into Blackpool, but not on the promenade, running on the Lytham Road route. Eventually they were granted running rights on the promenade and on to Gynn Square. It was thus possible to see Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramroad, Blackpool Corporation and Lytham St.Annes cars together at Gynn Square although, originally, it wasn't possible for the trams to change from Blackpool and Fleetwood tracks onto Blackpool Corporation tracks.
In the mid thirties the "streamline" trams made their appearance and many of them are still in service today. The "balloon" and "boat" cars were two of the types introduced, the others being the English Electric railcoaches and the Brush railcars with the "sun saloons" being introduced just before the Second World War. Examples of all these types still survive, albeit very few are still in original condition and the advertising liveries of today were certainly far from the minds of Blackpool Corporation in the early 1920's when advertising on the trams in any form was banned.
An exciting development in 1985 was the introduction of the prototype "Centenary" class tram, so called because it was introduced in the centenary year of the tram service in Blackpool. These were the first new tram design since the "Coronation" class was introduced in 1953, thirty five years earlier. However, the financial situation facing the tramway system meant that the intended fleet of "centenary" trams would have to be introduced over several years. Consequently, there were differences between the prototype tram number 641 and the production series trams. Apart from no.641, the prototype tram, no "centenary tram was equipped with an illuminated roof advertisment box and the framing of the pantograph towers on the roof were also different on the prototype and production trams.
It is now fifteen years since the centenary class of tram was introduced and "mid life" overhauls and rebuilding has started. The first of the class to undergo overhaul and rebuilding was No.642 which emerged from "the works" in 1999 with a dramatic new look.
The most suprising develpoment in 1998 was the introduction of the "Millenium" class of tram. This is a controversial design as it is a rebuild of a "balloon" tram, number 707. To many people it should have been rebuilt in its original style whilst others felt that if had to be rebuilt it should have been rebuilt in the manner of numbers 761 and 762 which are known as the "Jubilee" class. The second "balloon" being rebuilt into a "millenium" class is no.709.
This page is obviously not yet complete. It will be finished as soon as possible, once the new layout has been built. Meanwhile, there is a history of Blackpool's trams on the Fylde Tramway Society's web site, a link to which can be found on the contents page. There are a number of books and articles on Blackpool's trams, the majority, unfortunately, out of print although there may still be some copies of Steve Palmer's book, celebrating the Centenary of the Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramroad and which was published in 1998, available. There are detailed histories of the first fifty years of Blackpool trams featuring the trams of both Blackpool and Blackpool and Fleetwood plus a book on the trams of Lytham St.Annes which ran into Blackpool. Both the latter books are obrtainable from Oakwood Publications.
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