page_title: Blackpool Heritage Trams
section_title: Illuminated cars
hierarchical_section_title: Blackpool Heritage Trams / History by type / Illuminated cars
caption_attribution_description: English: Brush~2001 at Fleetwood, Ash Street on 16th July 2006. Blackpool Transport, No.633.
context_page_description: Blackpool Heritage Trams are a mixed fleet of restored vehicles that run on the Blackpool Tramway, which runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England. The line dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is operated by Blackpool Transport and is the last surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. Excluding museums, it is one of only a few tramways in the world to still use double-deck trams.
  Most services on the line are now operated by a fleet of modern Bombardier Flexity 2 trams, but a Heritage Tram service using the traditional trams operates on Bank Holidays, select weekdays and weekends from January to December, as well as during the Blackpool Illuminations.
  The Heritage fleet is a large fleet of vehicles that were mainly retained from previous generations of the town's tramway operations, as well as some from other locations. They are now operated by Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours between Pleasure Beach and North Pier as standard and can be caught at the 'Heritage Tram Tours' stops, identifiable by a green circular sign.
context_section_description: A variety of tramcars of different designs were rebuilt as illuminated theme cars. They mainly run along the illuminated part of the promenade, from Starr Gate to Bispham, during the Illuminations. There was originally no numbering series until 1968 when the remaining trams in the fleet were numbered 731–736. The illuminated trams have carried a variety of adverts since the 1960s.
  The Venetian Gondola, the first illuminated theme car, was rebuilt from Marton Box car 28 in 1925 and was scrapped in 1963. The Lifeboat, rebuilt from Marton Box car 40 in 1926, was scrapped in 1962. The Cottage tram, rebuilt from Marton Box car 33 in 1933, was scrapped in April 1935. The Bandwagon/ Progress tram, rebuilt from Blackpool and Fleetwood Crossbench Rack tram 141 (originally No. 27) in 1937, was given a further rebuild in 1949 and was scrapped in November 1959.
  The Blackpool Belle (731), rebuilt from Toastrack car 163 in 1959, was preserved in the United States in 1982 by the Oregon Electric Railway Museum after being withdrawn in Blackpool in 1978. After being fitted with a propane-fuelled on-board generator, it entered service on the Willamette Shore Trolley line (which lacks overhead wiring), in Portland in 1992. It ran occasionally until 1994 and was then placed in store. Later, it was sold to a research facility in Texas, United States, who used it to test alternative power sources and after completing this role, the car's body was scrapped, with only the underframe left intact.
  The Rocket (732) was rebuilt from Pantograph car 168 in 1961. The Western Train Locomotive (733) was rebuilt from English Electric Railcoach car 209 in 1962 and the Western Train Carriage (734) was rebuilt from Pantograph car 174 in 1962. The Locomotive and Carriage were paired together to form the Western Train (733+734). The Hovertram (735) was rebuilt from English Electric Railcoach car 222 in 1963. The Frigate (736) was rebuilt from Pantograph car 170 in 1965 and was further rebuilt with an altered shape at the back and on top of the roof in 2004. The Trawler (633) was rebuilt from Brush Railcoach car 633 in 2001 and was renumbered 737 in 2008.
  A campaign by the local newspaper, the Blackpool Gazette in 2006 to get The Western Train back on track, resulted in a £278,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant to restore the two tramcars in the Western Train set which first ran in 1962. They had been withdrawn in 1999 and stood derelict at Rigby Road depot. The tramcars returned to service during the 2009 Illuminations Switch-On. In January 2008 it was revealed that another iconic illuminated tram, the Rocket, which had been in service between 1961 and 1999 but which had since then stood idle, was also due to be restored for the Illuminations in 2012 at a cost of about £150,000 and with the help of a newly created Friends of the Illuminations group. The full restoration did not occur but it was cosmetically restored in 2012 and used as a static display as part of the Illuminations for 2012 and 2013.
  With the introduction of the Flexity 2 trams in 2012, the Western Train (733+734), the Frigate (736) and the Trawler (737) were retained as part of the heritage fleet. In 2014, the Rocket (732) joined the heritage fleet from the Fylde Transport Trust. In September 2016, the Hovertram (735) returned to Blackpool initially on loan, but its owners, the North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust, offered Blackpool Heritage Trust the opportunity to purchase it. The Hovertram was purchased in 2017 and joined the heritage collection in Blackpool.
caption: Illuminated Trawler No. 633 at Ash Street, Fleetwood in July 2006
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