Happened to be in Blackpool for a concert last night. After previous visits being less than lovely we decided to stay in Bispham and get the tram in and out. Wow. If anyone is thinking of going to the illuminations - seriously don’t bother! I remember them as a magical experience, with trams lit up and queuing down the prom, with lights all the way. We waited over half an hour for a tram and the lights were just rubbish. Never been a fan of Blackpool but it really has outdone all previous expectations for crapness.
Ahh, the good old days. Miles and miles of traffic crawling nose to tail along the prom spewing lead and diesel particulates on crowds of Woodbine and Park Drive infused people. But you're right, the lights were magical.
San Francisco purchased trams from all over the world for their Muni system. We have a couple of the open top single deck ones from Blackpool, which they bring out in the nice weather (i.e. when Karl the Fog stays home).
They look really dull - they were bright and vibrant when I was a kid but they just look meeeeh now! Don't like the new trams either - old ones had loads of character
I remember reading (some time ago) that they were going to scale down the illuminations. It's not the draw that it used to be and the electricity bill was enormous. It's been in decline for a few years now. I was there in December 2023 (we called in on the way home from Lancaster where we'd been for my daughter-in-law's graduation ceremony) and I was totally underwhelmed by it. Nothing like I remember from when I was little in the 60s.
We moved to Blackpool in 1961 when it was in it's heyday and I was 7. We lived on Redbank Road in Bispham where the illumination traffic was routed down where the lights ended. It was solid traffic jam every night until around midnight for two months due to the roundabout at the bottom of the road. My bedroom faced the road and in the days before double glazing with a large bay window I heard all the minor traffic bumps and arguments that followed most nights. (I learned a few choice swear words at a tender age which failed to impress my mother). I Picked up a few more during the annual 'Scotch week' too when half of Glasgow, it seemed, descended on the town. We moved to Barnsley when I was 13 but the 6 years in B'pool were magic for a young kid like me back then. Anyway back to the afternoon footie. COYR