Fleetwood Tram Sunday 2008

Sunday 20 July 2008. The annual transport festival along Fleetwood's main street takes place so we go down for a mooch about and to drool over a few cars and other wheeled bits and bobs that jolt my memory.

Given the title of this entry, which is also the title of the event, I'd better have a photo of a tram here I suppose. However, seeing as I live in Blackpool, I can see the trams any day. What makes this day special for me are all the old cars, buses and lorries that make their way to Fleetwood for the event.

It's years since I've been to Fleetwood Tram Sunday. Usually it clashes with the band's gig at Croxteth in Liverpool, but this year for whatever reason Croxteth was a week earlier. The organisers at Fleetwood said their event is always the third Sunday in July so I've registered the band's interest in appearing next year if the two events don't coincide!

Three lorries from the same Kirkham firm, a 1937 ERF with three-way tipper, an early Ford dropside and a Thames Trader flatback. I love the added interest given on the two older lorries that the firm's telephone number was only two digits - "Kirkham 59"!

A 1955 AEC Mercury G4M flatback lorry. This could be either a MkI or a MKII as, unfortunately for me, AEC switched over from the MkI to the MkII in 1955. If anyone knows, please leave a comment. AEC were also bus manufacturers and the distinctive grill can be found on their buses from the same period.

A 1938 Bristol K5G with bodywork by Roe designed for working on low bridge routes and in the livery of the Keighley and West Yorkshire fleet. Was Ramsden's Yorkshire's most popular beer, I wonder?

An interior detail of the above Bristol K5G bus. The bell push at the rear platform was primarily for the conductor to operate, though if he or she was upstairs when you got up for your intended stop, it was usual for passengers to press the bell themselves. The customary signal was for one ding to stop the bus and the conductor would give two dings when it was safe for the driver to move away from the stop. On these buses, the driver was of course in a segregated cab and not in the same compartment as passengers. I found out recently that in certain parts of the country, the Isle of Man, the bell push is still the province of the conductor.

A 1964 Ford Consul Cortina MkI, first launched in 1962 and later during 1964 to have a slight facelift and drop the "Consul" part of its name. It was the first car to have front dashboard ventilation with vents in the rear window pillars allowing the air to leave the interior, drawing in fresh air at the front. My Dad had an early one and we gawped in wonder at the horn button which was on the end of the lights/indicators switch stalk from the steering column instead of the usual middle of the wheel placement.

A superb, if slightly garish, 1960s Vauxhall Velox. Alex Dyson's dad used to have one of these but I can't remember if it was this rather startling shade or not... Alex? Leave a comment? I always thought these were amongst the best looking of the UK's 1960s cars though, along with the MkIII Zephyr as used in TV's Z-Cars.

Wolseley 15/50. Grandad had a Wolseley just like this one but in two tone black/green with the colours separated by the chrome flash along the side of the car.

A Ford Cortina MkII on the left. It launched after a four-year run of the MkI in October 1966 and by 1967 was the most popular new car in Britain. Like its predecessor, it had a four year production run before the launch of the MkIII. It was the only one of the five Marks not to have been owned by my family, as Dad had a MkI and I had, in turn, a MkIV, MkIII, and MkV. My own favourite of them all would be the MkIII.

Another model that I had owned at one time - though my particular specimen was nowhere near as tidy looking as this one! The Triumph 1300 was what I considered a gentlemen's car, with walnut trim om the dashboard and a very smooth gear change that didn't want to be rushed! Launched in 1965 and in production until 1970 it replaced the earlier much-loved Triumph Herald.

The Humber Sceptre MKI was introduced in 1963 and had a relatively short production run with the MkII coming out in 1965. It was one of the top models within the Rootes range, competing with the likes of the Sunbeam Rapier.

In the days before the more convenient "Mk" or Mark system for Fords they had a much more unwieldy system of model numbers. This is a Ford Prefect - yes: not just a character in a radio seeries/book/TV series/film about interplanetary hitch-hikers... This is the Ford Prefect 100E which can be described as the equivalent of a MkIII, though variants were manufactured with slight differences in other countries such as Australia. This was the first more modern bonnet-interior-boot variant as the two previous designs had stagecoach boots with near-vertical hatches giving access to the luggage space. The Prefect had a stablemate as a cheaper option, known as the Ford Anglia which had the distinction of carrying on in its old form as the Ford Popular when its shape changed. Very strange idea...

A 1934 Wolseley Nine. It had a 1018cc engine and hydraulic brakes with wire-spoked wheels. It had a short production run, being upgraded as the Wolseley Wasp in 1935.

Ford's replacement for the Anglia was the Ford Escort. Launched in November 1967 it quickly became a very sought after car and by the time the MkII came out in 1975 it had sold over 2 million units. My Dad bought a black one in 1968, exasperated at his Zephyr 6 MKIV which had suffered a series of breakdowns. He bought the Escort brand new whilst on holiday and then on the way home it somehow dropped all of its gearbox oil and he sold it as quickly as possible when the dealer denied all responsibility.

A Seddon flatback wagon. The 1953 may be its year of manufacture or not... It looks reasonable but I stand ready to be corrected!

And finally, some good old-fashioned steam power! I've seen plenty of Sentinel steam wagons, but this is the first time I've seen a bus variant. It was kept busy giving bus rides along Fleetwood seafront during the day!

Fleetwood Tram Sundays Index