1952 BLACKPOOL “CORONATION” TRAM
The last of Transport Manager Walter Luff’s acquisitions for the modernisation of the Blackpool Fleet, the 25 Coronations were certainly impressive, though not entirely successful.
Built by Charles Robert and Sons of Wakefield, to the maximum permitted width of 8ft, they were 50 feet long and were the largest single deck trams in the fleet.
The maximum speed was supposed to be 40 mph, though in service speeds of 50-60mph could be achieved! However they were expensive to run, consuming twice the power of the other members of the Blackpool fleet. The cars were heavy, weighing 19 tons, which resulted in numerous broken axles, and the troublesome VAMBAC equipment required constant attention, being eventually replaced by more conventional controllers from scrapped railcoaches.
Withdrawals commenced in 1964, but 3 examples of the class have survived into preservation.