Blackpool trams .info

Raising the 'Standard' - tram 143 project
June 2005

History
No. 143 was built ‘in-house’ by the Corporation’s craftsmen in the Rigby Road workshops back in 1924 as an unvestibuled, open balcony ‘Standard’, to a design once commonplace on the majority of British tramway systems. The driver was exposed to all weathers with no windscreen to protect him but later, in December 1929 the tram received enclosed drivers vestibules and upper deck. The red and cream livery was replaced by green in June 1934. Withdrawal of the Standards began in the 1940s and the numbers thinned out during the 1950s as the Coronation class arrived. However, a handful survived in service as late as 1966.

This car has a unique history. Withdrawn from passenger duties in October 1957, it was fitted with a bus engine and generator set to allow it to operate independent from the overhead. An inspection tower was fitted on the upper deck and the tram transferred to Engineering car duties. Later renumbered 753 in the works car fleet, it survived on such duties until June 1990 when the engine caught fire and damaged the lower deck saloon. Unwilling to see such an historic tram broken up, the car was donated to the LTT in February 2002 and was transferred to our Brinwell Road depot and restoration workshop on 13 April 2003 to await future restoration.

No Blackpool ‘Standard’ cars survive that represent the original open driver’s platform and open balcony design as originally fabricated in Blackpool Corporation’s workshops (and no other preserved bogie cars represent this design from any other British tramway system in the UK).

Project Objectives
To restore a 1924-built Blackpool tram back to operational condition as a key part of Blackpool’s diverse heritage and facilitate operation on the Blackpool tramway once work is complete, to demonstrate the transport of yesteryear.

The Blackpool tramway is one of the inherent themes and stories behind the development of Blackpool as Britain’s premier seaside resort. Blackpool had the country’s first electric street tramway and, from 1962 was also the last operating street tramway in the UK until the new breed of tramways in cities such as Manchester, Sheffield and Birmingham opened in the 1990s. The tramway in Blackpool has a unique place in the country’s heritage and this fact is acknowledged in the Blackpool Heritage Strategy. The tramway is an important part of Blackpool’s development in social, industrial and engineering contexts.

Many millions of journeys would have be made on trams of this type not just by the residents of Blackpool going about their daily business but by the many tourists that flocked to the resort each summer. We want to recreate the sight of a 1920s tram travelling along the Blackpool tramway once more and give people the opportunity to ride on the transport of yesteryear. The project is supported by other groups that represent Blackpool’s tramway and heritage community, including the Blackpool Civic Trust, Fylde Tramway Society, Seaside Heritage Trust and, of course, Blackpool Transport.

Timescale
In September 2005, the LTT received a grant award of £25,000 towards the cost of 143's restoration from the Local Heritage Initiative fund. Work on 143 will start in November 2005. However, contributions from existing subscribers to the Blackpool Tramcar Preservation Fund will be required to help fund the project and a separate appeal for funding will be launched during 2006.

Make an online donation to help Raise the Standard
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