The new trams took to their new tramway in public service on 4 April 2012. And thus ended the daily reign of those special trams some of which we now proudly run as our Heritage Fleet. On 6th November 2011 the tramway, of which parts had already been closed for engineering work, was completely closed to allow work on the central section to be carried out. It involved the building of tram stops to provide level access – the previous tram stops being ground level stops much like bus stops but requiring a large step-up to board – and the modernisation of points, cross-overs and signalling. So much so that on many occasions they had to hitch horses to the front of them and pull them up the prom on horsepower alone!īlackpool Council, which owned the tracks, together with Blackpool Transport Services Ltd, who ran the trams, and aided by some significant goverment and local authority grants, started the upgrade of the whole 11 miles (18km) of track and the replacement of the aged trams with modern and accessible Bombardier Flexity2 trams. The theory of electricity supply was not as well understood as it is today and the drop in power from the generator to the distant tram, with the complication of sand and water, often caused the trams to simply grind to a halt. Water and electricity not being exactly compatible it lead to a somewhat haphazard operation of the trams. The conduit system was so called as the trams took their power from a supply laid in a grooved slot between the tram rails which, being a seaside location, soon became full of sea-water when they weren’t actually clogged with wind-blown sand.

It did not take long for the major weakness of the conduit system used for powering the trams to become apparent.

The Blackpool Tramway was officially opened to the public by Alderman Harwood, the Mayor of Manchester.īlackpool Corporation had paid for and built the tramway and the Blackpool Electric Tramway Company, which had been created in January that year, provided the electrical equipment, depot and tramcars.

Legacy trams egypt