English Electric Balloon tram

English Electric Balloon car[1]
Modified Balloon tram 720 showing the widened doors.
Manufacturer	English Electric
Assembly	Preston, Lancashire
Constructed	1934–1935 2011–2012 (refurbished)
Capacity	78–94 (Seated)
Specifications
Width	EE 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m) wheelbase
Maximum speed	43 mph (69 km/h)
Power output	2 × EE 305 type, 57 hp (43 kW)
Current collection method	Pantograph, Trolley Pole
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Controller	2 × EE Z6

The English Electric Balloon is a type of double-decker tram that is operated on the Blackpool tramway. Initially brought into service in 1934, the Balloon formed the backbone of the Blackpool fleet until the tramway's conversion to a modern light rail network in 2012. Following the network's re-opening, a number of Balloons were converted to meet the disability regulations to serve as a supplement to the modern Flexity 2 vehicles.

History

Commissioned in 1933 by Walter Luff, the controller of the network, in a bid to modernise the tramway's fleet, they were intended to replace the Dreadnought cars and Standard cars that had been in service since the early years of the tramway. They were built by English Electric during 1934 and 1935, the first being presented to Blackpool on 10 December 1934. 27 were delivered, of which the first thirteen were open-topped. Numbered 237–263 and used on both summer and winter services. The first one, 237, was initially numbered 226, but with the arrival of the production Boat cars, it would have been out of sequence, so it was renumbered 237. They were originally called Luxury Dreadnought cars.

They had central doors and stairs, with a capacity of 84–94 passengers. Half-drop windows provided ventilation and art deco curved glass lights provided electric lighting. The enclosed-top trams had sliding roof windows and thermostatically-controlled radiators.

The closed top cars originally worked on the Squires Gate service, and it was during this time that they became better known as Balloon cars instead of Luxury Dreadnought cars because of their rounded streamlined appearance. During World War II the need for the open-top cars fell significantly and cars 237–249 had their tops enclosed to look similar to 250–263. Also during this period the fleet was painted in a mostly dark green livery with cream relief to conserve paint and time, as well as to reduce the chances of them being spotted from the air.

After the war years the Balloons were neglected slightly in place of the new Coronation Cars, as they were considered old fashioned and too slow to load. Blackpool Corporation soon changed its mind after experiencing the temperamental nature of the Coronations and the Balloons began to make a comeback in the late 1950s. In 1958 check rail was installed through to Fleetwood, a requirement to allow the Balloons to operate to Fleetwood and the Balloons increasingly began to appear on market-day specials, as they were useful for moving the large crowds travelling north. The Balloons continued to run their normal Squires Gate service until its closure in 1961, and following this the entire class solely worked on the promenade service.

In 1968 they were re-numbered to 700–726. Between 1979 and 1982, Balloon cars 725 and 714 were totally rebuilt into two new Jubilee cars, 761 and 762.^[2] The reconstruction of 725 included moving the stairs to the ends, removing the central doors to increase capacity and extending its body length. However, 762 retained the central doors to improve passenger flow at stops. During 1980, an accident at the Pleasure Beach loop involving two Balloons crashing into each other caused 705 and 706 to be withdrawn. 705 was scrapped whilst 706 was rebuilt as an open-topper, later named Princess Alice.

In 1989, Alan Bradley, a character in the soap opera Coronation Street, was killed when he was hit by Bispham tram 710 outside the Strand Hotel on North Promenade.

During the 1990s and through to the 2000s a number of Balloons that had been withdrawn from service were heavily modernised, with four of them re-emerging with flat ends and modern interiors known as Millennium cars.

From the 17 October 2002, the Balloons (and all other double decker trams) were banned north of Thornton Gate due to the poor condition of the track. Following heavy repair work the Balloons were allowed back from Easter 2004.

With the arrival of the Flexity 2 trams, some Balloon cars were fitted with widened doors and other modifications to enable them to run alongside the new fleet (see below). Several other Balloons were preserved: the first to leave, number 712, re-numbered back into its original number of 249, is preserved static (but with the lower deck interior open to the public as it was when withdrawn) in pre-war livery at the National Tramway Museum at Crich. 702 is preserved at the Heaton Park Tramway in Manchester. 703 is preserved at Beamish Open Air Museum, but as Sunderland 101 in a red and cream livery and had remained in operational condition, however it is currently out of service awaiting an overhaul to return it to service. 708 is preserved by Heaton Park Tramway, but is currently on loan to North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust. 710 and 726 are preserved by a local group named Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust. 721 is preserved by North Eastern Electrical Traction Trust. The remaining Balloon cars were retained as part of the heritage fleet (see below).

Until 2009, only one of the cars (705) had been scrapped, however on 15 October, number 722 made a move into the body shop to begin the scrapping stage, and, as of May 2010, has been fully scrapped. More cars were expected to follow over the winter closure period,^[3] however, this did not occur, as all the stored trams that had been put up for sale were sold. One of those sold, number 716, was purchased by a group named Ptarmigan Transport Solutions for use as an office. However, after they went into liquidation, 716 was offered for sale again but failed to find a buyer and was transferred to a scrapyard. Its current condition is unknown.

Jubilee cars

Jubilee tram 762 at the Sand Castle, Blackpool

In the late 1970s, Blackpool Corporation decided that the tramway fleet needed modernising after the closure of the inland routes during the 1960s. Attention was drawn to two Balloon Cars, 714 and 725, which had been mothballed as they were in dire need of an overhaul. It was felt that these would be useful on the promenade during the summer due to their high seating capacity and reliability. So, with funds left over from their One-Man Operated (OMO) programme the corporation set about rebuilding these old Balloons into "Jubilee Cars", named after the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.^[2] The first to be rebuilt, 725, was stripped down to its shell and had its under-frame and body lengthened, controllers changed, doors and stairs relocated to the front ends and its iconic pointed ends replaced with rectangular ones. The bogies were replaced with fabricated ones able to accommodate "Metalastik" rubber/ metal bonded suspension in the manner of the "OMO" vehicles and the tram officially entered service in 1979 after testing as Jubilee 761. Balloon 714 was later rebuilt in a similar fashion, except it retained its original central doors as well as the front ones to improve passenger flow at stops. 714 re-entered service in 1982 as Jubilee 762. Both cars were withdrawn in 2011 having become surplus to requirements due to the arrival of the Flexity 2 trams and unsuitable for conversion to run alongside them and entered preservation, with 761 being acquired by Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust and 762 being donated to the National Tramway Museum at Crich.

Millennium cars

Millenium car 718, pictured before receiving RVAR compliance modifications.

These are double deck cars which were rebuilt from four Balloon cars between 1998 and 2004 to an in-house design. They have a much more rectangular shape which gives the upper decks increased capacity. They were unofficially named Millennium cars due to their appearance after rebuilding and due to the beginning of the third millennium A.D. The trams retain the numbers they carried in the Balloon series, the numbers being 707, 709, 718 and 724.^[2] They have all since been modernised with widened doors and other modifications (see below).

Modernised cars

During 2011, a number of Balloon and Millennium class trams were modernised so that they could operate in ordinary revenue service after the £100 million refurbishment of the whole tramway to light rail standards. New widened doorways have been fitted, with driver operated doors which fit to the new platforms which have been built at tram stops for the new Flexity 2 trams. This means they also now have level access for disabled passengers within the centre of the cars, but retain a step leading into the saloons, giving them partial exemption for use in service through partial conversion to improve accessibility. Fixed seats and a new passenger information display have also been fitted to match the new trams. Speedometers have also been retrofitted to the driving console.^[4]

It was originally planned for these modernised Balloons to be used on a Pleasure Beach to Cleveleys service to supplement the Flexity 2 service, but due to the success of the Flexity 2 trams, this service has never once operated and these modernised Balloon cars are rarely used at all. In February 2015, Blackpool Transport announced that three of the fleet would operate in passenger service, both on the heritage service and during the busy October half-term period, including operating at any time if an incident prevents the Flexity 2 trams from operating. The three chosen trams were 700, 711 and 719 which are the only Balloons to have the purple and white Flexity 2 livery.^[5] 713 is also available for use if required, but this tram will only be used as a last resort due to it carrying a now expired advert livery for Hounds Hill Shopping Centre.

Heritage cars

With the tramway's conversion to a modern light rail network in 2012 and using the Flexity 2 trams to provide the core service, a number of the Balloon trams were retained for use as heritage cars within the heritage fleet. Initially only 706 and 717 were kept due to plans to dispose of Rigby Road Depot and to build an expansion of Starr Gate Depot for the heritage cars, which meant that there was only enough room for one example of each retained class of tram, 706 being open topped and 717 being enclosed. However, Rigby Road Depot was retained whilst the expansion of Starr Gate Depot was not built, allowing the heritage collection to expand. 701 and 723 were kept as reserve cars for works purposes and for consideration for modification to join the modernised Balloon cars to supplement the Flexity 2 trams. They were transferred to the heritage fleet. 704 and 715 were two of the trams sold in 2011 to a local group named Lancastrian Transport Trust but, when their aims to build and open a museum alongside the tramway failed to materialise, they were given to Blackpool Transport for inclusion within the heritage fleet.

Fleet details

Class	Operator	Number	Year built	Cars per set	Unit nos.	Notes
Modified Balloon	Blackpool Transport Services	9	1934-1935 2011-2012 (refurbished)	1	700, 707, 709, 711, 713, 718, 719, 720, 724	Refurbished to meet RVAR; supplement Flexity 2 fleet
Balloon		6	1934		701, 704, 706, 715, 717, 723	Part of Heritage Fleet

References

1. "Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramway Fleet List" (Microsoft Word Document). British Trams Online. 12 October 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
2. "The trams". thetrams.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
3. "Balloon 722 scrapped". Tramways Monthly. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
4. Tramways Monthly Issue 27
5. http://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/blackpoolfleet.html