(28/07/2012 12:27)cumbria0902150 Wrote: [ -> ]I'm being told that a number of Balloon's are/were out on normal service this morning, with 700 and 709 both noted in service to Fleetwood. Unfortunately I'm not in Blackpool myself to confirm these sightings, hopefully someone else will have been.
According to the Trams Today Facebook page, 700/709/718/724 were out today. Full article and the reason why:
Widened Balloons save the day
Out of tragedy arose a remarkable morning for the Blackpool tramway, which, on July 28th, faced the biggest problem encountered since the upgraded tramway began operation.
The day started normally at 6am, with the first tram to depart from depot, Flexity 012, leaving on schedule bound for Fleetwood. However, just as the second tram of the day was being prepared at 6.30am,tragedy struck when a car careered out of control at Harrow Place, veering off the roadway, hitting an overhead pole and ending up on its roof, completely blocking the tram tracks. The unfortunate driver did not survive the experience, being declared dead at the scene but for the tramway an operational nightmare began to unfold. As police sealed off the track and isolated the overhead power in order to undertake investigations and remove the debris, all trams, apart from 012, were effectively stranded inside the depot at Starr Gate.
This led to a problem of how to maintain any sort of service. As an emergency measure, a fleet of replacement buses were scrambled into action but, with loadings expected to be high on a busy Saturday and with staff now having reported for duty but unable to take trams into service, the unprecedented decision was taken to utilise those members of the B fleet stationed at Rigby Road in order to maintain some sort of service on the tramway. Therefore, newly repainted 700 became the first of the widened deckers to be employed on normal service for several weeks and it was joined in rapid succession by 709, 718 and 724, the only four of those at Rigby Road currently serviceable. With Flexity 012, this made a total of five trams able to be used and they consequently began operating a loose timetabled service, running mainly between Foxhall to Little Bispham and Fleetwood. All four double deckers managed a journey to the northern terminus as well as shorter, promenade runs. For 709 and 718, this represented their first service use this year and the first time either had carried passengers since a private hire in November 2011.
One unfortunate by product of the incident was that the heritage service was cancelled for the day, due to the fact that the loops at Pleasure Beach were without power for much of the morning and also because only a selected few drivers are currently trained on traditional trams and these were needed to staff the widened Balloons. However, the novelty of having these four trams on ordinary service more than made up for the lack of a designated heritage service.
Unfortunately, no sooner had a regular pattern of operation been established than it was all over. The police re-opened the road and tramway around 1pm and the Flexities were able to emerge, running to a variety of northern destination to take up their normal duties. The four deckers, having saved the tramway, were then sent unceremoniously back to the depot; 700, 718 and 724 returning to Rigby Road and 709 remaining at Starr Gate, after becoming the only one of the four to run to the southern terminus.
The speed at which Blackpool Transport reacted to a very difficult situation and turned to the reserve fleet of widened deckers to maintain a service is definitely to be congratulated. With the promenade almost bereft of Flexities it was a nostalgic morning, as the traditional tram fleet rose to the occasion, providing a nod to the past, of a time when Balloon Cars ruled the summer schedules. Thankfully, all four double deckers performed impeccably, with no hint of the problems which plagued these trams during last season and, although their use was in a dire emergency on this occasion, hopefully a precedent has been set and a more regular role can be found for these trams in the near future.