Blackpool trams 761 and 720 - 3 Oct 1992

Saturday 3 October 1992 - Blackpool has long been a popular seaside destination. The trams and the famous Blackpool Tower forming a unique atmosphere. Blackpool Transport began tramway operation in 1885 and today the tramway route is an 11 mile long line stretching from Fleetwood to Starr Gate.

Until the late 1960s the trams had traditionally been centre entrance/exit with a door on either side but in the 1970s a number of rebuilds were carried out making them suitable for driver only operation.

Tram 761 was rebuilt in that style featuring a front entrance positioned by the driving cab plus a centre exit. It had a driving cab at each end and so each side looked the same resembling a two door bus. I believe the bodywork was assembled in the Blackpool Transport workshops using body kit materials supplied by Metal Sections Limited (Metsec), a company that supplied a lot of bus body kits to Hong Kong etc. Some of the mechanical components originated in 1930s trams.

In this view tram 761 was seen heading south bound for the Pleasure Beach followed by 720 which has the earlier Balloon body style.

Blackpool’s trams had originally used the single pole method of electric collection but the pantograph style method of collection was introduced in later years. As a result the pantograph was mounted on a tower structure on single deck trams.

Blackpool Tower stands 518 feet/158 metres tall and was inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It opened to the public May 1894 nine years after the town’s first trams operated.