Tramtown Blackpool

A trip by Tram in Blackpool and visit to Rigby Road depot

Google Maps

Rail Map Online Select "Historic Tramways" in Layers to see the abandoned routes.

1932 Map

I started at Blackpool North station and the recently opened tram extension to the station. The new tram terminus does infact sit on the original mainline station site. The current station occupies the site of what were excursion platforms used only in the summer season and their 1938 built concourse. This became the main station for Blackpool when Blackpool Central closed in 1964. In 1974 the main part of the station was closed and services were relocated to the former excursion platforms. Originally it had been proposed to close Blackpool North rather than Blackpool Central but the change of plans was due to the better value of the Blackpool Central station site for redevelopment. The 1932 map shows the station as Talbot Road, it was renamed Blackpool North that year. Note from the map the several tram routes that used to exist. Today just the routes along the coast to Fleetwood and Starr Gate survive.

Below - Tram 006 in the new North Station tram terminus.

1932 Map

From North Station I went to Central Pier. Just south of the stop was the junction with the route in to the Rigby Road depot from the north at Foxhall Square. When the route was recently upgraded with modern trams a new depot was built at Starr Gate. Though the Rigby Road depot remained in use for the vintage fleet this connection to the depot was disconnected.

Below - The former junction for the connection to the depot.

Below - The rails are still set in to the road along Princess Street and the masts can be seen.

Below - The view across Rigby Road to the north. The tracks and masts can be seen. Part of the depot site is being redeveloped to the right of the line along with land previously occupied by earlier housing on the left.

Below - The former Corporation Tramways head offices still in use with Blackpool Transport.

Below - The workshop buildings, these days accessed from the other end.

Below - A floral display at the entrance to the depot.

Below - An outbuilding with ramps to upper and lower levels.

Below - Two of the vintage fleet outside the depot. The roof of the depot has been condemned so movements in and out can only be done with special authorisation and hard hats. Starr Gate can accommodate four of the vintage trams, at the time of my visit these were ones used in connection with the illuminations. These two are enclosed vehicles so are kept outside where they are readily available for heritage tours.

To visit the depot I joined one of the guided tours, details available here.

The hope is to rebuild the depot as a museum under the name of Tramtown so these tours may be the last chance so see a big tram depot of one of the original tram networks in its original state.

Below - the main depot building was sealed off due to the state of the roof so these pictures are taken through the wire fence seen in the above picture.

Below - One of the Unimog maintenance vehicles used in place of the Engineering tram (which has a diesel engine for when the power is off) seen in the above shots.

Below - Note the sign on the building directing buses to the left and trams to the right (I thought that was the job of the tracks!) The buildings on the other side are still in use for the bus fleet.

Below - The workshop and stores building.

Below - A former Bolton tram which is part of the operational heritage fleet and is kept in the workshop where it is under cover but readily available.

Below - Some of the workshop equipment.

Below - In the foreground a complete new chassis is under construction for one of the vintage trams.

Below - Forge in the workshops.

Below - One of the open "boat" cars, again kept under cover in the workshop to be readily available for heritage tours.

Below - Tyre pit used for re-tyring wheels

Below - Lathes used for profiling wheelsets.

Below - The remaining entrance to the depot site from Hopton Road.

Below - The juntion with Hopton Road and Lytham Road. Trams once continued up Lytham Road, although the depot line goes from one to two tracks here it just serves as a depot access until it joins the main tram route along the promenade now.

I continued by tram from The Manchester to South Pier

1946 Map

Below - Next to South Pier a remnant of the junction with the line along Station Road.

From South Pier I continued to Starr Gate, the current southern terminus of the Blackpool system and now home of the main depot.

1946 Map

Below - A tram and rail grinder in the siding used to shunt vehicles within the depot site.

Below - The rail grinder.

Below - The modern tram depot.

Below - One of the vintage trams in use with the illuminations is shunted around the depot site.

Originally a balloon loop here allowed trams running along the promenade to turn back but part of the loop is now used to access the depot and trams now change directions and cross over just south of the tram stop. A junction here used to take trams along Squires Gate Lane where they continued to the mainline Squires Gate station (now on the Blackpool South branch line) and on to the route along Lytham Road. Another depot stood to the west of Westgate Road, the site of this is now occupied by houses.

I returned by tram to North Station for my train home.

Swindon Works

A short walk around the Swindon Works site from Swindon Station

The first buildings of Swindon Works were completed in 1841. Prior to the construction of the works the site was a green field site chosen as a sensible location for changing engines on the run between London and Bristol. Swindon is closer to Bristol than London but the terrain was more challenging between Bristol and Swindon than between Swindon and London. The works brought most of the Great Western Railway's engineering in house. It continued to build and maintain locos and carriages for British Railways, though the former LMS works of Crewe and Derby tended to be more highly favoured after nationalisation. In 1986 the works was closed. Many of the oldest buildings of the works survive as the home of Steam, the museum of the GWR, and the Designer Outlet retail park as well as offices for English Heritage, Historic England and other organisations. 

Google Map

1886 Map

Below - A map of the works from a 1979 open day brochure found on Flickr. 

The former works is a short walk from Swindon station.

Below - The station at Swindon with the former British Rail Western Region offices above.

Below - The former carriage works on the south side of the mainline seen from the station car park.

Below - An information board on the former carriage works.

1886 Map

As well as providing the main engineering facility for the GWR the company also established an entire town for its workers with all the amenities they would need. In fact Nye Bevan gave Swindon as an example of having an ideal health service, the NHS being described as scaling up what was available in Swindon to the rest of the country.

Below - Former housed for the works workforce.

Below - The Mechanics Institute contained some of the key amenities such as health care and a library. Since the closure of the works it has been allowed to fall in to dereliction despite its Grade 2* listed status.

Below - Opposite the Mechanics Institute a subway allowed workers to walk in to the works complex beneath the mainline and some of the buildings on the south side of the mainline.

Below - The entrance to the subway from the works side.

Below - One of the works buildings which does not seem to have found a new use, it still carries a sign showing it as a training centre.

Below - The passageway between works buildings after emerging from the subway. On the above 1979 map the building on the left in the first photo is the DMU and Carriages shop and the one on the right is the offices.

Below - The former works offices, now home to English Heritage and the Historic England Archive.

Below - A traverser used to move vehicles between parts of the works.

Below - Churchward House, its use isn't shown on the above map but it looks to have been more offices.

Below - The building on the right is shown on the old map as the wheels and bogie shop. It is now the Steam museum.

Below - The front of the Steam museum building.

Below - A foundry reconstruction in the Steam museum.

Below - A reconstruction of a scene from the carriage works.

Below - A workshop reconstruction with various machines driven by line shafts.

Below - GWR 4248 displayed as if it were under construction. The engine was built in 1916 when women would have filled some of the jobs in the works to cover for men serving in the First World War.

Below - Caerphilly Castle displayed with the Cheltenham Flyer headboard, the prestigious Worlds Fastest Train of the time.

Below - Of course when the works was started the locomotives were of the 7ft broad gauge used on the Great Western Railway. This replica of North Star was built in 1925 using some original parts. For many years it was displayed in the works. 

Below - The last Great Western Railway loco built at Swindon in 1947 before the railways were nationalised. Many locos were built for British Railways, including Evening Star, the last mainline steam locomotive for British Railways.

Below - The flagship of the GWR, the King Class, 6000: King George V.

Below - City of Truro, claimed to be the first locomotive to achieve over 100mph, though this was not authenticated with a Dynamometer Car like subsequent record runs by the LMS and LNER.

Below - 2818, one of the heavy freight 2800 Class locos.

Below - A glass fronted office and clock overlooking the shop floor. This would likely have housed offices overseeing the shop floor staff.

From Steam we went to the Designer Outlet which repurposed many of the other works buildings and retained many original features.

Below - Shown on the map above as Brakes in the foreground and Saw Mill in the background. Note the whistles on the roof that would have been sounded for shift changes. This location would have been fairly central in the works site but over the years the works expanded along the railway line towards Bristol.

Below - The building shown as Saw Mill.

Below - A set of wheels on display as a reminder of the history of the site.

Below - Better still as a reminder of the history of the site, a complete engine, Ditcheat Manor. The engine has been changed and will probably change again when the time comes to return Ditcheat Manor to working condition.

Below - A weighing machine, one of a number of pieces of machinery dotted around the Designer Outlet.

Below - A look along what was the Engines & Transmissions Shop in later days.

Below - More pieces of workshop machinery displayed in the retail complex.

Below - A crane that would have been movable using rails above and below.

Below - A few overhead cranes can be seen by looking up occasionally around the shops.

1947 Map

I exited the retail park towards the West Car Park which is built on a mostly cleared part of the works complex. It can be seen where Rodbourne Road passed through the site.

Below - The former Pattern Store, now a church, with the water tower on top. The track towards the turntable is now set in to the tarmac of the car park.

Below - A surviving turntable, once restored as a feature on the edge of the car parking but seemingly a bit forgotten now and fenced off with wire fencing panels.

West of here the later extensions of the works site have been mostly flattened and redeveloped with housing. Though a large perimeter wall survives between the backs of the houses on the original Redcliffe Street and those built on the former works site. A stretch of the wall can be seen on Penzance Drive. Another surviving building is "Harper's Steakhouse and Bar at the Weighbridge", a former building alongside the railway now converted to a restaurant. I didn't venture that far though, instead returning to Swindon station.