PREVIOUS: (Paul Clifford) & BELOW (Item 2578) Our 'Hello Sailor!' tram tou
r 'ECS' arrives at Blackpool North Pier Loop. (Kev Adlam, Sun 26 Nov 2023.)
BELOW: Blackpool Flexity 'A' Fleet Tram N o 004 approach
hing the North Pier stop on the Southbound line (Paul Clifford).
BELOW: Admiral Adlam (rear view in orange left) has given thand long time steward, Captain Peacock (in orange, centre
he order to Abandon Ship! Our newest Committee member of photo), is supervising the evacuation. (Mark Fishlock.)
BELOW: Takings at the takeaway were well up on a normal Sunday mor
rning as our members wait for a replacement tram (Charley Monroe).
BELOW: Looking north towards Fleetwood from Bispham, our 'Abandoned
Ship' is left; service trams bypassed it via the rare middle road (John Cameron).
BELOW: Looking north again, a southbound tram to Starr Gate passes. OuNEXT: 'Balloon' 700 approaches Bispham (but didn't stop at its Heritage stop!) fr
r tour did cover all the track permutations here in the end (Paul Clifford). rom Starr Gate Depot to, very successfully, continue our tour (Charley Monroe).
BELOW: With the extra space most participants then had a window sea
at and a better view - this was taken during a break (Charley Monroe).
Relief arrived in the form of 1934-vintage double decker 'balloon' tram N o 700, which remained as our vessel for the rest of the day and 736 was nursed back to port (in this case, Starr Gate Depot) by the relief pilot. In fact, the new traction enabled us to spread out over the two decks, the extra space being much appreciated as the day progressed. So, the tour proceeded, first south to Starr Gate and, most unusually, entered directly via the facing crossover rather than the end of line loop. (Needless to say, the trailing crossover was also covered on this comprehensive tour.) Depot Road 1 (the furthest right facing the depot doors, reaching the wheel lathe), the Depot Headshunt, then Road 10 and Road 7 were visited. These three Roads had not been done on our previous tours, showing that it is worth coming again. Then it was round the loop which (at this end of the line, isn't traversed by service trams) and northward to Fleetwood. We had an abbreviated lunch stop at Fleetwood Ferry doing both loops - although the Knott End Ferry was not operating. (Here, for some reason, my lunch didn't arrive despite me being first off the tour into the café!). Our railtour then returned back southwards again. I won't try to explain the movements in and out of the two intermediate turning circles (Little Bispham and Pleasure Beach, the latter traversed three times to do all the track, once in the rare direction), nor the various crossovers but, needless to say (this being the BLS, after all!), every available stretch of track on the normal 'public' network was covered, with just two non-wired crossovers unavailable; one (Victoria Street) is out of use. The Blackpool North extension and crossovers are expected to open in April - the building work that surrounds the terminus has to be completed. Rigby Road Depot and its access crossover were the other exclusion this time as that building is being refurbished for the 'Tramtown' project which (according to online reports) seems to be going well. Some alighted at North Pier at 4pm for Blackpool North station to head home; most remained for a final trip to Starr Gate and back as darkness fell and the extensive Illuminations began to make their colourful presence felt. I left the tour at Starr Gate for the chance to make a quick connection to Squires Gate NR station, a train to Preston and then my, thankfully, short drive back home to Hellifield. It was noticeable how crowded the central promenade had become by dusk, with large numbers of families enjoying the various rides and facilities even on a Sunday. That's perhaps the thing to remember about Blackpool - it felt sad, empty and unloved at 10am but lively and quite transformed in the dark by 5pm. Is there anywhere in Britain quite like it? Incidentally, the illuminations now extend from 1 Sep until 1 Jan. [Those who remained at Starr Gate had an extra trip from Road 3 in balloon 717 to Manchester Square - a short walk back to North Pier and only 20 min late. It is ironic that some heritage trams are presently stabled at Starr Gate as, with modernisation, there was going to be 'a brand new heritage depot' (nice oxymoron) within the turning loop - the points were even laid for it and are still there, never used. However, with the rising costs of modernising the tramway and trams, it was cancelled.] A thoroughly enjoyable day, then, despite the minor maritime mishap of the morning and over £2,000 raised for the Heritage Trams. Blackpool Transport staff were engaging and helpful all day, and thanks as always to the BLS fixtures team for making this possible. If you've not done an all-lines tour of Blackpool's Trams, I thoroughly recommend the next one; you'll have plenty of fresh air and fun. Postscript: (TRACKmaps 4 p47E 2022) During the day it was discovered that the separate Heritage tram stop at Fleetwood Ferry is known as 'Fleetwood Pharos Street'. With a name like that, unsurprisingly, it is next to the lighthouse. Victoria Street X/O (crossover) remains out of use; it requires significant expenditure moving a traffic bollard for clearance to commission it and is unwired. Ash Street X/O is north of Fisherman's Walk stop. North Pier North X/O has been renamed to just North Pier X/O while North Pier South X/O is now Festival House X/O. Foxhall X/O is the one just south of Central Pier, Tower X/O (north of that stop) is unchanged. Manchester Square X/O (unwired and not done) and Victoria Street X/O were not listed in the tour scheduled so not known if their names have changed. :Details must be checked: 1438 CONNECTIONS (Paul Stewart) [email protected] .Please mention BLN . 2579] Severn Valley Railway: Until 7 Jan tickets for the 2024 Spring and Autumn Diesel and Steam Galas, plus the two 1940s weekends can be purchased on the website at 2023 prices (which will then increase). As well as saving money, this helps the railway with its cash flow over the winter shutdown.
BELOW: Another star performance. Where our tour reached on Road 7 at Starr Gate Depot, stabled trams stand back from the end of line so that staff can walk past! (Kev Adlam.)
BELOW: A personal needs break on our renamed 'Abandon Ship' tour at Sta
arr Gate, far right, centre is the end of the tram depot building (Kev Adlam).
BELOW: Heritage Balloon Trams No 700&N o 717'Walter Luff'on Fleetwood Ferry
y outer loop during our lunch break and gap in heritage services (Paul Clifford).
BELOW: Starr Gate Depot looking south, Road 1 (far right) to 3 are the Mainte
nance Workshop; 'F736' had sailed back under her own steam (Paul Clifford).
BELOW: The third (bonus) tram of the day was an illuminating experience
e from Starr Gate Depot Road 3 to Manchester Square (Mark Fishlock).
BELOW: A random participant off our tour did Bispham centre line on a service tram. (Charley Monroe).
2580] Situations Vacant: DCRail is expanding and recruiting staff to work in their 24/7 control centre based in Derby. https://www.dcrail.com/vacancies has details of posts available and how to apply. 2581] Rail Operators Map: Acclaimed Railway author and ticket guru, Barry Doe www.barrydoeco.uk has produced the 55th edition of his National Rail Operators' map. Changes from the 2022 version are TPE now run between Manchester and York via Wakefield and Castleford (replacing Northern's bus service from Huddersfield to Castleford); Caledonian Sleeper no longer have journeys between Perth and Dundee and West Midlands Railway no longer run east from Wolverhampton. It is available with e-BLN free or via www.barrydoe.co.uk/rail.pdf (with previous editions and much more). To purchase a 75cm x 100cm, printed, laminated version (£24.98 with UK P&P) email: [email protected] 2582] Branch Line Britain; Local Passenger Trains in the Diesel Era: By Paul D Shannon; Pen & Sword, 152 pages 29.3 x 1.8 x 22.4 cm, Hardback, RRP £30 (cheaper from Amazon etc or electronically). Following the Beeching cuts of around 4,000 miles of lines between 1963 and 1970, this book concentrates on those that managed to survive the cuts, some only just. British Rail had set about replacing old rolling stock that had taken over from steam hauled trains, including early generation DMUs & EMUs introduced in the 1950s & 1960s. The 1980s also saw the introduction of low cost Pacers with many lasting until recently, when Heritage Lines snapped them up to run on their lines for the same reason. Electrification in the 1980s mainly concentrated on the main lines, with many of the surviving branches running DMUs. Each chapter covers the country by regions starting with South West England and finishing in Scotland. Each of the eight regions/chapters has around 20 photos. Photos were taken between 1973 and 2022, most in colour, while all capture the charm of branch lines which still attract such a lot of interest today. The gradual change of policy with reopening stations to attract extra business saw ones added to the network between 1990-1994, continuing with less pace until the hand over to private operators. We are informed that, between 2005 and 2015, four branch lines were reopened and, as we know, others have opened since. While books on branch lines are numerous, this one captures the wide variety of DMUs and EMUs used across the network while offering optimism for the continuing reopening of further lines in the future. A perfect Christmas gift for our members. (Dana Wiffen) 2583] 8-9 Jun 2024; 'The Frontier Brush': The Brush Type 4 Fund (based at the GWSR) is running a circular tour with ex-British Rail (now Komplex Rail) 47375 around the eastern half of Hungary with rare track. Search 'The Frontier Brush' on Facebook or email your BLN Editor who will forward the email with details. 2584] Sat 28 Sep 2024; Alan Keef Ltd: Near Ross-on-Wye; railways from 10¼'' to 3' 6'' gauge. The next open day with rides on the 2ft gauge line (MR p18) and much else of interest. Details to follow… 2585] Gloucester Warwickshire Steam Railway: *NEW* A non-transferrable 12 month pass, allowing unlimited travel on normal services (not special events) from the date of purchase, is only £4 for a Dog; £100 Adult; £225 Family (2 Adults and up to 3 Children). Buy online only at: https://bit.ly/47G9x65 Toddington to Broadway is due to reopen on Sat 2 Mar 2024 after initial work on Stanway Viaduct. 2586] :STOP PRESS: Hartlepool Docks: (BLN 12434.2368) The first commercial freight train for many years left here at 19.25 on Mon 11 Dec 2023 with precast concrete tunnel segments for HS2. Arrival at Willesden Europort was at 04.16 next morning. It was very lightly loaded so probably just a test run. CONTACT DETAILS: On website Contacts page and an updated BLN & Committee Directory was with BLN 1437 ●Editor: Paul Stewart [email protected] 4 Clarence Close, MALVERN, WR14 3HX 01684 562862 07790 652351. ●Sales: Darren Garnon [email protected] 3 Reader Drive, Marden, Tonbridge, Kent, TN12 9FD. ●MAPS: By permission of National Library of Scotland http://maps.nls.uk/index.html●Printed by Willow Printing & Design Ltd [email protected] 75/79 Back Cross Lane, NEWTON-LE-WILLOWS, WA12 9YE 01925 222449. ●Published by the Branch Line Society, 10 Sandringham Rd, STOKE GIFFORD, BS34 8NP.