Farewell to Tram 290 

Nah museums are boring, let them ride until they cant no more

NEGATIVE! This old bird deserves a new life on the"F"line in San Francisco.

Glad you enjoyed it

Definitely, and the tram appears to be getting on well in East Anglia too

Yup to much electronics in those new trams - from a former tramdriver in Stockholm on Linie 12 with trams from the mid 40th which is now history. I drove them in the 80 th.

Utter rubbish. Even with modern electronics, these can be replaced with newer tech 20/30 years down the line and be just as reliable.

@@22pcirish New tech usually means short life. My background is electronics and that breaks at the earliest opportunity and parts become obsolescent and made of unobtanium. For best longevity you want mechanical parts, loose tolerances and traditional materials that any machine shop or hobbyist can knockout with a lathe or mill. Saying the electronics can be replaced after 20 years is an admission of unreliability.

Absolument, its like that in. All countries.

I think you have a couple of Blackpool trams. I must visit one day.

If they are made of aluminium the sea spray and sea air will destroy them in no time,aluminium and salt are deadly enemies,ask any tipper operators who have aluminium tipping bodies what happens when they carry road salt,steel bodies are not much better..

I live in the Black Country. The Italian built trams used on the local system are constantly requiring repair, and there have already been calls to scrap them. Rather foolishly, the powers that be purchased only one make of tram, which means when they need to recall them, the whole metro system has to close! I remember these old trams very fondly from my visits to Blackpool in the 80s. I can't say I find journeys on the modern trams very comfortable at all.

Fortythis one is not gone forever. It's heading to a Museum in Suffolk for restoration but may return one day

Its going to the museum to be restored for the museum's operational line.

@60s Man 60s Guitars Better than being made into a can for dog food.

@60s Man 60s Guitars most tramway systems are the same. Even remaining in Blackpool it wouldn't find much use

Hasn't been a working tram in years, but now has a chance. As a working tram in a home that wants it, it can also return to visit - which it certainly would not do if left to rot or if scrapped.

@@CullenRick exactly, it has a future now which isn't baked bean can's. I'm certainly pleased it's going to Lowestoft

Ive been on a few of the green and cream trams myself as a kid many years ago back in the 80s. I remember them as being noisey and bumpy but such a joy to ride on along the seafront :)

Yes that's the one. Hopefully she won't take too long to restore for the team at Lowestoft

It went to a museum

C'est vrai, Jacques.

The older ones have more character, but in terms of reliability, easy of maintenance, cost and regular passenger access, the new ones are more suited to the modern mass transit movements. Certainly far easier to get prams / wheelchairs and elderly on/off than the old trams.

Thanks

The reason is out bridges are too low for double deck trains. Our early train builders didn't build things tall enough to accommodate double decks and we haven't adapted since.

@@StevenHughestransportvideos also too long load/unload of passengers.

Yes, they have 4-5 weekends a year with an intensive service of old trams and most weekends/school holidays there are older trams running. Whilst the older trams are more interesting, the new ones are perfect for moving commuters and locals around. Certainly easier to get on/off for elderly and disabled.

It would be nice for it to return for a visit, but to be fair the Vambac equipment makes it non standard so would involve a lot of retraining of volunteers. Mind, it 304 ever returns that will take the same training

The double decks just fit but the route has to be planned to avoid any low bridges. If course they remove any Pantograph or Trolley pole before they move trams.

I'd suggest contacting Blackpool Transport directly..they can put you in touch with the heritage team who might be able to help

No, there is still plenty of old ones running on heritage services. Just some of the older ones have headed to various museums around the UK, like this one which has gone to Lowestoft

Be careful our Mumbles Train (Giant Trams really) were all scaped bar one which was sent to Leeds and got vandalized no foresight with our local council then.

@@thiswan1 Sorry to read that. We often don't Value our larger historic vehicles enough.

Crich already have one and didn't want a second.

Hand signals cant be jammed by some spotty oik sat at home on his Baofeng....😉

No where, it's just been watched loads. I think it was picked up by RU-vid's algorithm somewhere along the line. Perhaps because of other Blackpool bloggers doing similar videoes

@@StevenHughestransportvideos ok cheers

East Anglia transport museum in Lowestoft

I guess it would have taken longer.

It's Blackpool, filmed mostly on Blundel Street

It is and it isn't. Although the older trams are a tourist attraction, they are certainly not suitable to be a modern transit system (no disabled access / buggy access) and the track was at the end of its life. Upgrading to modern trams has enable Blackpool to keep some of its history going whilst enabling others to travel in the coastal route too.

@@StevenHughestransportvideos They could have used buses for modern transit and retained the trams purely as a heritage tourist attraction. I live on the east coast and Whitley bay saw its entire seaside resort theme deconstructed for the same reason. it's just a big housing estate now, the B&Bs and amusement arcades are almost totally gone, the fairground visits once a year instead of being always there, and even the nightclubs vanished. Blackpool seems to be sliding the same way.

The problem is, without the investment that light rail gave the tramway had no future and didn't meet regulations. It doesn't cover it's costs as a tourist attraction, especially the replacement of track due to the coastal erosion. Alas I think what we have is the best we could have got. And Blackpool certainly seems to be attracting new investment these days for arcades etc

It nowhere near as ugly. It's not possible to be as bad as that.

- maybe you could tell us why ?

What's inappropriate about it?

@@xxxggthyf - I can't see much if anything wrong - FLT's are used for other tasks as well as "forking". They have towing attachements so no issue there especially as in this case a solid towbar was used.

@@pedantik I do wonder if, for some bizarre reason, people who do FLT courses these days are told that towing things using the towing attachment, that was obviously put there to allow it to tow and be towed, is a no-no. I wouldn't know as I'm old enough to have learned to fork before training courses were even a thing and have always treated the idea of a FLT 'licence' with contempt. There is after all no requirement to have a 'licence' just to be competent which I am. I did have to do a MEWP training course and that did have a 'Thou shalt not tow' instruction. But that was because the hydraulic motors on the wheels weren't up to the job and you'd knacker them. Not really a safety thing.

That is fair, but the new trams are more suitable for the mass transit in the coast. And passenger numbers appear to show they are still popular. Beyond enthusiasts most people like the mix we have

It will probably outlive you. 😂😂😂

@@derekferguson385 Trolling like that one day that will come true.