Rolling stock › WithdrawnData updated
Balloon double-deck cars (English Electric)
Blackpool's streamlined double-deckers of 1934-35, built at Preston by English Electric: 13 open-toppers (top-covered in 1941-42) and 14 enclosed cars, nicknamed 'Balloons'. For over 75 years they carried the Promenade's crowds; the last regular double-deck service ran on 6 November 2011, the last in Britain.
Drawing to come
- Type
- Tram, double-deck, centre entrance, double-ended, on two four-wheel trucks
- Builder
- English Electric, Preston
- Built
- 1934–1935
- In service
- 1934–2011
- Lines
- Blackpool Tramway
- Formation
- One double-deck car with a centre entrance and a staircase each side of it; 27 built: 13 open-topped (the prototype and twelve more, 237-249) and 14 fully enclosed (250-263), renumbered 700-726 in 1968
- Trains in fleet
- 27
- Power
- 550 V DC overhead; two English Electric 305 motors of 57 hp; trolley poles, later diamond pantographs · how it works
- Profile
- tram
- Seats per train
- 94
- Total capacity
- 94 seats (National Tramway Museum); the modified 'B' fleet 94 (54 upstairs, 40 down) or 92 (British Trams Online)
- Status
- Withdrawn from regular service on 6 November 2011, when Balloons 707, 709, 711, 713, 718, 719, 720 and 724 ran the last evening of traditional service (British Trams Online). Nine (700, 707, 709, 711, 713, 718, 719, 720, 724) were given widened centre entrances for the new platforms, and 707, 709, 718 and 724 had already been rebuilt with flat ends. Heritage: Balloons survive at Rigby Road (B fleet 700, 707, 709, 711, 713, 718, 719, 720, 724; C fleet 701, 703, 704, 706, 710, 715, 723), and 717 is at Starr Gate. 717 last carried the public on the Illumination Tours of late 2025, occasionally alongside the Frigate (Blackpool Transport, quoted by British Trams Online, 1 January 2026); in 2026 it carried passengers only on private hires, for the Fylde Tramway Society on 3 May and a Trinity Hospice trip planned for 21 May. No heritage tram carried the public in Blackpool in 2026 after the Frigate's last Illumination Tours on 2 and 3 January (British Trams Online, 13 July and 1 September 2026); Blackpool Transport says the operational heritage cars need welding, electrical and axle repairs first, and 2027 is the earliest return.
- Preserved
- 249 (712) at the National Tramway Museum, Crich; 702 at the Heaton Park Tramway; the heritage fleet in Blackpool (see status)
- Replaced by
- Bombardier Flexity 2 (Blackpool)
unverified Some of these figures haven’t yet been checked against an official source or a published history. What’s in doubt ↓
Sources
How we source figures → · Spotted a mistake? Tell us → (opens in a new tab)
Show the 11 sources from British Trams Online, National Tramway Museum, Fylde Transport Trust and 2 more
- Blackpool Corporation No. 249 National Tramway Museum (Crich Tramway Village), read 12 October 2026the class: English Electric, 1934-35; the open-topped prototype and twelve more, 14 enclosed cars; 94 seats; top covers from 1941; renumbered in 1968
- Balloon 715 Fylde Transport Trust, read 12 October 2026the enclosed batch; renumbering; the last day of traditional operation, 6 November 2011
- Blackpool Tramway fleet list British Trams Online, updated 3 October 2026the modified B fleet and the heritage C fleet: seats, motors, trucks, pantographs, widened entrances, flat-fronted rebuilds, where each car is and the year it last ran
- British Trams Online at 15 - Events: Last Day of traditional trams operation in Blackpool British Trams Online, 10 December 2017the Balloons on the last evening, 6 November 2011
- Blackpool Tramway: Trams TheTrams.co.uk, read 12 October 2026numbers 700-726; the Millennium rebuilds; 550 V DC
- Last few tickets remain for Blackpool Illumination Tours British Trams Online, 1 January 2026the Balloon occasionally on the Illumination Tours of late 2025
- Blackpool Transport: "Ambitious plans for heritage trams remain on track" British Trams Online, 28 April 2026717's private hires planned for 3 and 21 May 2026
- In Pictures: Balloon 717 tours the Blackpool Tramway - including North Station! British Trams Online, 6 May 2026717's private tour on 3 May 2026
- They've Run in 2026! British Trams Online, 13 July 2026717 among the cars that carried passengers in 2026; no public tours
- No more heritage trams in Blackpool for 2026 British Trams Online, 1 September 2026, updated 5 September 2026no more heritage trams in 2026; 717 at Starr Gate
- Blackpool Heritage Blackpool Transport, read 12 October 2026 (undated)the repairs the operational heritage trams need
unverified
- Length 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m), width 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m), wheels 2 ft 3 in (686 mm): Wikipedia only (uncited), so not given; no published height was found
- Seats: 94 (National Tramway Museum; British Trams Online for 700, 713, 719 and 720) or 92 (707, 709, 711, 718 and 724, British Trams Online)
- The Millennium rebuilds' dates: the late 1990s and early 2000s (British Trams Online) or 2002-2005 (TheTrams.co.uk)
- The Trinity Hospice trip of 21 May 2026: announced (British Trams Online, 28 April and 6 May 2026); no report that it ran was found
Know a source for one of these? Send it to us → (opens in a new tab)