Blackpool Tramways - January 26, 2019
Standard Car 147 seen at North Pier Loop/
Standard Car 147 was built by the Hurst, Nelson & Co. Ltd, Motherwell, in June 1924 as one of a batch of 42 double deck Standards supplied between 1923 and 1929.
This tram entered service during the summer of 1924, and the class were initially used all year round on the town routes to Layton, Marton and Central Drive and along Lytham Road, as well as providing extra services on the Promenade during the summer.
The new streamlined trams delivered in the 1930’s brought levels of comfort to the fleet not seen before, and the still young Standard cars were quickly upgraded with drivers windscreens and, for the majority, enclosed upper deck saloons, and were repainted in the new green and cream livery.
The Standard trams dominated the circular Marton route until the late 1940’s when they were superseded by upgraded single deck cars, but a dwindling number survived to provide summer season extras until final withdrawal of the type in 1966. 147 had been one of the last three Standards in use and after withdrawal was sold for preservation in 1967 to the Gerald E. Brookins Museum of Electric Railways in Ohio, USA.
147 was never used in the USA, and 33 years after leaving it was returned to Blackpool in October 2000 for restoration.
