Blackpool's Christmas Presents



New Years Day 2004 and Atlantean 364 waits hopefully for custom at North Station on normally minibus worked Line 2

Blackpool Transport has operated a skeleton service on Boxing Day and New Years Day since at least 1993. In this regard it was ahead of its time as very few operators did likewise until quite recently. However Boxing Day/New Years Day services are still the exception rather than the rule. Elsewhere in Lancashire, Preston sees a similar level of service - plus the Preston-Lancaster and Preston-Bolton interurbans - and a solitary service runs in Lancaster. Transdev provides a reduced network in Blackburn.

Until the 1970s such services we the norm - Blackpool Transport operating on Christmas day until 1970; New Years Day until 1972 leaving a Sunday service on Boxing Day for a few more years. 1987/8 saw the return of bus services on these dates thanks to Fylde. 12 buses were required and provided:

• Service 5 Market Street to Little Bispham every 30 minutes (1 bus)
• Service 8 Cleveleys to Lytham Square every 60 minutes (3 buses)
• Services 11A/22B Blackpool to Lytham Saltcotes Road each every 60 minutes (4 buses)
• Service 11C Blackpool to St. Annes Square every 30 or 60 minutes (2 buses)
• Service 66 Market Street to Sevenoakes every 30 minutes (2 buses)

This was Fylde's only such provision until 1993/4 when it provided a 3 bus Promenade service 1 from Harrowside to the Cabin using Leyland Atlanteans. This ran on Christmas Eve, and from Boxing Day until Bank Holiday Monday 3rd Jan.

Blackpool also entered the fray on Boxing Day 1993/New Years Day 1994 with 12 buses in use on seven services:

• Promenade Tram Replacement service Starr Gate to Fleetwood every hour (2 buses)
• 2A Bus Staton to Poulton every hour (1 bus)
• 6 Mereside to Grange Park every 30 minutes (3 buses)
• 12 St. Annes to Cleveleys every 60 minutes (2 buses)
• 14A Bus Station to Thornton every hour (1 bus)
• 22A St. Annes to Cleveleys every 60 minutes (2 buses)
• 26 Gynn Square to South Pier every 60 minutes (1 bus)

All services followed their normal routes, save for the 26 which was extended from the Town Centre to Gynn Square. This was repeated for 1994/5 - including the Fylde service 1 with Fylde now under Blackpool Transport ownership


1/1/2004 - Atlantean 355 on Line 6

1995/6 saw a slight revision to the Promenade service. A 15 minute Starr Gate to Cleveleys service was now provided with 1 bus per hour extending to Fleetwood. Everything else remained the same with 16 buses required. Typically Double Deckers were used - including minibus routes 2A and 26 and single decker route 6. On New Years Day 1996 Fylde turned out Atlanteans 41 and 71,plus ex Blackpool 323, 325, 327 which between them covered their four workings on service 1 to Cleveleys, including one change-over. Blackpool provided Olympians 368 and 377 for the Fleetwood 1 service; 375 for the 2A, 371/8 for the 12, 374 for the 14, 376/9 for the 22A. Atlantean 363 shared the 6 with Olympians 369 and 370 while 362 operated on the 26.


363 sits alone at Cleveleys Bus Station on Line 7 on 1 January 2004



On the same day 1982 vintage 352 was also on Line 7


By contrast New Years Day 1997 saw Atlanteans (10) out number Olympians (6). The 1 saw 326-329 operate from Squires Gate on the Cleveleys workings supported by 356 and 362 from Rigby Road on the Fleetwood trips. 363 worked the 2A, 350, 357, 359 the 6 with Olympians on the 12 (370/1), 14A (378), 22 (376/7) and 26 (374).


Tridents on Line 2 are very rare, 317 operates a South Pier to North Station journey on New Years Day 2004 before continuing to Fleetwood on Line 14

2000/1 saw a change to the 1, 14 and 26. Service 1 no longer extended to Fleetwood, with the 14 extended there from Thornton. On arrival back in Blackpool the 14 buses then operated to South Pier and back as a service 26 - this no longer serving Gynn Square. This reduced the bus requirement to 14. Further changes took place in 2001/2 reflecting the new Metro network with the 7 and 11 replacing the 12 and 22A bring buses to Lytham for the first time.

• 1 Pleasure Beach to Cleveleys every 15 minutes (4 buses)
• 2 Bus Staton to Poulton every hour (1 bus)
• 6 Mereside to Grange Park every 30 minutes (3 buses)
• 7 Lytham to Cleveleys every 60 minutes (2 buses)
• 11 St. Annes to Cleveleys every 60 minutes (2 buses)
• 14 Bus Station to Fleetwood every hour (2 buses with 26)
• 26 Bus Station to South Pier every hour (sharing 2 buses with 14) - this became route 2 in 2002

A spell of mixed double and single deck operation resulted with New Years Day 2003 seeing 6 Atlanteans (352/3/55/62 on the 1 and 358/9 on the linked 2/14); 6 Deltas (green 102 on the 2 to Poulton, branded 108, 116 and 117 on the 6 and branded 125 and 128 on the 7). Line 11 used two branded Olympians (378 and 379).

January 1st 2004 saw a return to full double deck operation Orange Olympians 365-367 and 407 ran the 1, Atlantean 364 the 2 (Poulton), 351/5/9 were on the 6, 352/63 ran the 7 while Olympians including 369 operate the 11 and the linked 14 and 2 (South Pier) used the two pool liveried Tridents 317/8.

Volvo 376 operates on Line 5 on New Years Day 2010

On New Years Day 2008 Tridents and Olympians shared the Line 1 duties with 333, 334 and 369 noted. Delta 124 appeared on the Poulton workings on the 2; 318/9 maintained the pool Trident tradition on the 14 and the South Pier 2s. Olympians ran on the 6 and 7 with Tridents 324 and 330 on Line 11. The following year saw the South Pier leg of Line 2 dropped with Line 14 extended to Freeport. This was much to the relief of the drivers who only had 33 minutes for the North Station to South Pier run and 40 each way for the Fleetwood run! The revisions allowed a more robust 2 hour round trip on the 14.

For 2009/10 an additional two buses were added to the network - these allowed the 11 to increase to every 30 minutes. Line 1 was reduced to every 20 minutes (3 buses) and the remainder of Line 2 was dropped. Line 5 (Halfway House to Hospital) provided a replacement service to the Hospital though quite inefficiently with over 30 minutes layover scheduled. Olympians provided the 5 and 6 services, branded Tridents operated on the 1, 11 and 14 with pool Tridents on the 7. 

2010/1 saw a further revision reflecting the post Metro era. The 6 - barely changed since 1993 has gone and the 9 has been added to the roster.  18 buses are required comprising:

• 1 Corporation Street to Cleveleys every 30 minutes (2 buses)
• 1A Corporation Street to Burlington Road West every 30 minutes (2 buses)
• 5 Hospital to Halfway House every 30 minutes (2 buses)
• 7 Lytham to Cleveleys every 60 minutes (2 buses)
• 9 Clifton Street to Cleveleys every 30 minutes (3 buses)
• 11 St. Annes to Grange Park every 60 minutes (2 buses)
• 14 Mereside to Fleetwood every 30 minutes (5 buses)

Not all vehicles were observed today, but Tridents were noted on all except the 1A which had at least one Volvo single decker out providing full low floor coverage.