After five long years of work on Blackpool's tramway system, it is getting back to working order with the introduction of the new Bombadier Flexity2 trams.
They are sleek, they are fast, they are quiet. Not all those necessarily being desirable on a crowded Promenade, but I'm sure they will come into their own on the fenced tracks towards Fleetwood.
They are now becoming a familiar sight on Blackpool's system, though the full fleet has yet to be delivered. Eventually there will be 16 of the Flexity 2 trams based at Blackpool.
To see them to their best advantage you need to choose your spot wisely. They can be well camouflaged!
There was a lot made of a derailment at Fleetwood on the first day of operation. This was caused by sand blown from dunes on the beach. "Did they not know sand could blow?" cried the critics. Yes I expect they did. How long does it take to fill a track groove of around an inch deep I wonder? Five minutes? Ten? Not a lot anyway. It would be pretty stupid to have the trams drive at walking pace so someone with a broom could keep an eye on the track.
The problem at Fleetwood is that the dunes should never have been allowed to develop in the first place at that spot. They are a modern natural development. The authorities not having done anything to stop them coming into being, conservationists now claim they "teem" with wildlife and cannot be removed. The alternative would be an unsightly wall blocking the view of the beach to keep sand from being blown across the tracks - I suspect no one wants that either.
Despite many concerns about modern trams not being a tourist draw, a number of the heritage trams will be seen out on the tracks, operating between the Pleasure Beach and Bispham.
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