Just came across this video on TikTok, thought it might be of interest to people on here...
Original video: TikTok link
Original video: TikTok link
Last edited:
-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Blackpool tram incident
- Thread starter JG89
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
splashoutradio
Member
Looking at it from the perspective of someone who knows very little about light rail OLE systems, there does seem to be quite a bit of upward force from the pantograph, on to the netting above, before the panto catches and comes off.
edwin_m
Veteran Member
Almost certainly this is fixed (non-tensioned) overhead, which goes slack in high temperatures. Heavy rail overhead is tensioned so won't do this unless the tensioners reach their limit.
trainmananthon
Member
I believe the cause was due to the heat. All I know is I lost power, looked in the cameras and saw the pantograph hanging off the side so threw the brakes in and evacuated the tram.
Does this mean I've gone viral now...?
Does this mean I've gone viral now...?
That video now has 2.1 million views on TikTok!
Ashley Hill
Established Member
Lucky the knitting never came down too!
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
Far more importantly ( 
) has there ever been a more hideous advertising wrap applied to any vehicle?
) has there ever been a more hideous advertising wrap applied to any vehicle?I was thinking that. Seems very resilient though.
I imagine the panto is designed like that to collapse as it did .
Vespa
Established Member
Could having the panto facing forward increase the risk of that happening ? If it was trailing would it make a difference ?
If I recall the trams have two sets of pantos on the roof.
If I recall the trams have two sets of pantos on the roof.
trainmananthon
Member
Only 1 panto on the roof, hence I needed rescuing...
Whilst the panto direction could possibly have some effect, if the side hooks and snags on the other overhead as it did here then the direction it was facing wouldn't make a difference.
The same pan runs both ways round day in day out at speeds far greater than this incident all around the world.
If it’s gonna snag, it’s gonna snag.
Looks to me like the heat had caused the contact wire the pan is on to gain sufficient upward flex that the pan is effectively over height for the running in contact wire through the junction, then the horn catches it. It was indeed lucky that the wires didn’t come down. Low speed helped.
3rd tram to have this happened to in this place in the last 6 weeks. We had a tram pan snap when it was orientated the other way round a few years back, all it did was rip the pantograph frame off the roof as well as the power cables where they enter the vehicle.
In other news 018 is now fit for service, but currently unallocated for today.
In other news 018 is now fit for service, but currently unallocated for today.
Pakenhamtrain
Member
That panto was going to snap no matter what way it points.
ValleyLines142
Established Member
Just had 001 destine Sorry Tram Full and turn away loads of passengers at Waterloo Road and St Chad's northbound. Realise most people are leaving the Pleasure Beach for the day, but surely every 12 minutes (along with the reduction of the 1 bus) clearly isn't working in the summer? They should be at least every ten if not more!
I do wonder whether it would be better to maybe alternate terminating at Pleasure Beach and just have every other tram go onto Starr Gate? Trams are nowhere as near as busy on that section of the line as the majority of the hotels are between South Pier and the central zone. North Pier to Pleasure Beach in particular suffers chronic overcrowding; perhaps services starting from the depot could obviously run from Starr Gate and then throughout the day turn back at PB?
I do wonder whether it would be better to maybe alternate terminating at Pleasure Beach and just have every other tram go onto Starr Gate? Trams are nowhere as near as busy on that section of the line as the majority of the hotels are between South Pier and the central zone. North Pier to Pleasure Beach in particular suffers chronic overcrowding; perhaps services starting from the depot could obviously run from Starr Gate and then throughout the day turn back at PB?
Get the B Fleet out for goodness sake, that's what it's there for!
I believe that the B fleet competency for most of the LRT drivers has lapsed.
P*ss poor planning, etc...
185
Established Member
- Joined
- 29 Aug 2010
- Messages
- 5,014
Whoever put music to that video is going to hell in a handbag 
Pandemic.
The B fleet has been massively underutilised since well before the pandemic, since they were refurbished. Capacity in summer has Been an issue for years and there's a fleet of 70+ seaters that have only seen sporadic use since having a fortune spent on them.
It seems there main purpose now is to be passed off as a heritage tram tour.
B*llox!
You could be forgiven for thinking Blackpool tramway was being run by the DfT!
trainmananthon
Member
All well and good saying should be every 10 minutes, but we're that short of staff that were struggling to run this timetable! In an ideal world, trams would be every 7 minutes on the prom
Indeed it has, but that's just down to how desperately short of drivers we are on the LRT side. In order to do refreshers etc on the B fleet, we'd need our duties covered but there's simply nobody spare to cover them. Think we're at least 7 drivers short at the moment.
Be ironic if that was the corny music playing from the pier, wouldn't it...Whoever put music to that video is going to hell in a handbag
Last edited:
ValleyLines142
Established Member
Had a feeling that was the case. Seems to be happening all over the country unfortunately!
philthetube
Established Member
- Joined
- 5 Jan 2016
- Messages
- 3,762
every 15 through the day on the illuminations timetable.
D6130
Established Member
I see that there is a major fire in Blackpool this morning in a derelict building on a street corner very close to Rigby Road depot. Sorry I can't do a link, but it would appear from videos posted on YouTube that the access line to the depot runs right past the site in a street that is currently cordoned off. No doubt this will be affecting tram services.
- Status