LAST EDITED ON Oct-03-04 AT 10:16 AM (EDT)
This is a British Tram ( or Trolley Route) which was the first electric tramway in Britain, opened in 1898 using a conduit system. This was converted to live overhead shortly after and the main section from Blackpool Starr Gate to Fleetwood Ferry, still operates today. It runs for a distance of 16 miles along Blackpool prommenade, through Cleveleys and through the town of Fleetwood, terminating at the Ferry along Fleetwood seafront.
It uses a wide variety of tramcars, ranging from the famous Balloon's (double deckers) & Railcoaches (single deckers) which were built in 1934. Some of these streamlined trams, still run today but most of them have been modified with new ends which are flat rather than pointed. Some of the old Balloons have been completely rebuilt and resemble large double deck buses.
Some of the single deck railcoaches pull trailers and are known as Twin Sets.
During the autumn ( or fall) the Famous Blackpool Illuminations take place and one or two trams are specially adapted for this purpose and take on the shape of various modes of transport.
At present there are two trams which are illuminated. A Fleetwood Trawler (fishing boat) and HMS Blackpool (depicting a British Frigate).
In the past there have been a Missisippi Showboat, Rocket, Gondola, American SataFe Train with Coach and a Hovertram. All these trams no longer run, but the Rocket is scheduled for preservation and is now in store in the depot.
Besides the Blackpool trams, there are a number of vintage trams which are on permament loan to Blackpool and these run during the summer season. Bolton 66 circa 1902, Sheffield 513 circa 1950, Birkenhead open balcony tram circa 1900. these were operational on their respective tramway before closure in the middle part of the century. There is also an old Blackpool Standard circa 1920 and many more old Blackpool Trams which are at the National Tramway Museum, Crich, Derbyshire, UK. These are sometimes transported over to Blackpool for special events, such as aniversaries of the oldest tramway still operating in Britain.So why am I writing this?There is now a Blackpool Tramway Route for MSTS, and most of the Trams to run on it, can all be downloaded from.http://www.uktrainsim.comIf you log on to the site listed above, all the information about the route can be read in the Forums under Trams & Tramways. this is where all disscussion about trams take place. You will need to look at the STICKY, Blackpool Route File ID Numbers at the top of the page. From here you can get all the File ID numbers for downloading everything for the Blackpool Tramway Route. There are additional files to bring the route up to version 1.2 with the installation of the Fleetwood Tram Sunday patch.
There are also nine activities to run on this route and you will need most or all of the available trams to run them.
This route is very poular with not only tram enthusiasts, but rail enthusiasts also.
More trams are presently beeing modelled for this route, including some illuminated trams and an old Dreadnought tram from 1898. Trams from Liverpool, Sheffield, London & Leeds are available for running on this route, together with some modern LRV vehicles that presently run on the Manchester Metrolink system ( this route is currently under construction for MSTS, as is the Nottingham Express Transit system).Your comments and feedback are welcomed on this topic. Thank you for taking the time to read this article, on behalf of all the members of the UK Trainsim Tram Group. If you download this route, ENJOY! I don't think you will be dissapointed!
Geoff Holt
Tram44
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And a taster of one of the many trams available for downloading for the Blackpool route, engineering car 3 rebuilt from a Blackpool Standard double deck tram of the 1920s. This tram has an animated platform which rotates, and many of the other trams have moving parts, such as opening doors and folding steps, etc.
Note the Central Pier in the background with the ferris wheel on it.Alan