R.o.B Tramways
Tram depots of
Blackpool and Fleetwood
Introduction: Blackpool as with man other tramways in Britain had to have more than one depot to cater for the upkeep and storage of trams. Below are a few of the depots on the Blackpool system and a potted history of each. Unfortunately details on the Bold street depot in Fleetwood and the Copse road depot seem to be scarce but as soon as I do get more information I will be sure to put it in. I hope also to do some diagrams so keep you eyes peeled on the message boards.
Blundell street depot: This was the original depot for the Blackpool tramways opened in 1885 with the conduit tramway. It was a low wooden roofed shed made out of red brick. The shed was just large enough to hold the small conduit cars so when 4 new cars were bought in 1894-96 the shed was too small to house them so they were stored in a lean to at the side of the main shed. When the tramway was converted to overhead power collection in 1898 the depot was rebuilt to hold the new larger cars, with 5 roads and a workshop for maintenance. When the new workshops were built in 1920 Blundell street reverted to a running shed, for Promenade, Fleetwood and Marton trams. To access the depot a single track spur left the promenade main line running down princess street which was used until 1964 when residents started to complain and a new line was laid to Rigby road depot. The connection is still in situ and can be used for emergencies and was used as a diversion in 2005 while works were taking place on the main entrance to Rigby road. The original shed was knocked down in 1982 and now forms a car park though the tram lines are still in situ. Today to enter the depot trams run along a double track section of line along Lytham road before turning in to Hopton street where it is single track. At the entrance to the depot the tracks spread out for the relevant stabling points.
Marton depot 1901: This depot was opened in 1901 for trams on the town routes. However the 20 cars that were supposed to use the depot could not get round the tight curves. The track had to be relaid in the November of that year with the depot coming in to use in the December. When the toast-rack trams for the circular tours were introduced the depot had to be extended in 1911 to hold the higher capacity of cars. During world war 2 the depot was taken over by the RAF who had also taken over the nearby Aerodrome. Due to the shortage of space the older cars were scrapped with the other newer ones moved to other depots. After the war the depot was refurbished and re-wired for the stabling of the Marton route cars, with some of the depot used for storage of seasonal cars. The depot finally closed in 1962 the last tram leaving on 11th March 1963.
Bispham depot 1898: This depot was opened with the Blackpool and Fleetwood tramway along with the depot and power station at Copse road in Fleetwood. Bispham was the original headquarters of the B&F the site consisting of tram sheds, a power station, offices and the manager's house. In 1914 the depot was expanded to twice its size by building over the top of a reservoir that had fed the power station. The depot always dealt with the B&F trams though between 1934 and 1940 it was not used as a running shed. It remained in use as a running shed until 27th October 1963 when it became a store until closure on 5th January 1966. The depot was knocked down in 1983.
Central repair works 1920: With the end of the War in 1918 the trams were in a very run down condition though the corporation did not have a central repair depot to maintain them. At Rigby road there was a disused highway depot which also had a rail connection to the LMS lines. In 1920 a connection was made to the Blundell street depot from the sidings and tram lines were laid in an avenue with a traverser from 1922. The traverser allowed trams to be taken from the stabling sidings to any of the necessary workshops. The works continued in use until the early 1960's when the depot was redesigned with the removal of the traverser. The workshops were also removed to make way for a bus depot. This resulted in buses and trams using the same repair shops.
Rigby road depot: Today trams operate out of the depot at Hopton road which was opened for the 1935 streamlined rail coaches of the 1930 modernisation. The depot also once handled the winter operating fleets when Blackpool had closed its street tramways in the 1960's. The closures resulted in all trams stored and operating from this depot. The depot was originally going to be an exhibition area as well as a depot but this never materialised.