Cleveleys Model Tramway Show

The excellent Rainy City layout, representing Manchester in the 1920s.

The Blackpool Model Tramway Exhibition had a new venue for 2025, the one day show being held at Cleveleys Park Methodist Church, conveniently situated adjacent to the West Drive tram stop on the Blackpool to Fleetwood tramway. The event was well supported by exhibitors, sales stands and visitors, and was a resounding success thanks to the hard work put in by the organisers. All the layouts are to 4mm scale unless identified otherwise. Apologies to exhibitors if the photo captions aren't quite correct.

A large scale operating Lego tramway, featuring a Blackpool Dreadnought and other trams

An Edinburgh tramway street scene

A Scottish micro layout

Yellowthreads Treat a Hong Kong bus and tram layout

An HO German layout featuring trams, buses and trolleybuses

The tiny Upson Down Tram Museum in 3mm scale

An N gauge layout running a Hong Kong and articulated tram

The N gauge Blackpool's Golden Mile with some very nice 3D printed trams

Electric Avenue based on the Sunderland system

The Pavilion layout with a nice steam tram and trailer in 4mm scale

An Austrian Tirol mini layout in HO

Burychester Trams in N scale, sadly with no trams in the photo

The model tram display on the TLRS stand

Sightseeing Manchester Scania Omnicity on Beach Bus 26

LX58CEV leaving New Bonny Street at 1545 on Thursday 8th May

Former Stagecoach London Scania Omnicity LX58CEV has been in use on the Beach Bus service 26 to Marton Mere in Blackpool this week. The open-top Scania is normally to be found operating the T1 Sightseeing Tour in Manchester, in fact this route was still being displayed in the nearside destination box while the bus was running in Blackpool. LX58CEV ran two round trips from Marton Mere holiday village on both Wednesday and Thursday afternoon this week.

LX58CEV passing the Sea Life Centre on the 1445 departure from New Bonny Street

LX58CEV at Bispham in April 2024 before its conversion to partial open top

Retro Ribble Livery on Stagecoach Bus

Stagecoach 10030 next to Booths supermarket in Poulton-le-Fylde on its way to Lancaster

Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire ADL Enviro 400 10030 (PX12 DNU) has recently been repainted in a retro colour scheme to represent the 1960s era Ribble crimson livery. The bus has been operating on various routes between Morecambe, Lancaster, Preston and Blackpool this week. The photos shown here are while 10030 was operating service 42 between Lancaster and Blackpool on 1st May.

Stagecoach 10030 passing through Layton on route 42 to Blackpool on Thursday 1st May

Beach Bus 26 Open Topper

LK08DXP approaching the Pleasure Beach on a return trip to Marton Mere on 10th April

During the recent sunny weather, Transpora North West have been using an open-top bus on their Beach Bus 26 service to Marton Mere Holiday Village. On 10th April ADL Enviro 400 LK08 DXP was in use on the 26, the bus being new to Metroline of London in 2008 in closed top condition. Service 26 is usually busy in the mornings bringing tourists from the holiday park at Marton Mere into Blackpool, with return trips being mostly empty on the early runs of the day.

LK08DXP on Clifton Drive, passing The Big One roller coaster at the Pleasure Beach

LK08DXP passing the wooden roller coasters along Bond Street at the rear of the Pleasure Beach

LK08DXP on New Bonny Street near the Tower in Blackpool town centre

LK08DXP heading west along New Bonny Street towards the Promenade

LK08DXP inbound along Preston New Road with a full load from the holiday park at Marton Mere

LK08DXP passing 'The Velvet Coaster' Wetherspoons pub near the Pleasure Beach

New Volvo MCV Evora buses for Archway

Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora BU25YSE leaving the Affinity shopping outlet at Fleetwood on service 74

Archway Travel of Fleetwood have purchased a batch of new Volvo B8RLE buses with MCV Evora bodywork to supplement their fleet. Several of the Evoras have been noted running on the 74 and 75 routes this week, with a number of their ADL Enviro200s being cascaded onto the St. Annes area 76 and 78 services, which Archway took over the operation of at the weekend. Only one of the Evoras was noted wearing the 'Fylde Villager' route branding graphics (BU25YSE), the rest of the buses seen were in plain white with the red Archway flash at the rear. All the photos in this report were taken on Tuesday 1st April.

Evora BU25YSE arriving at the Fleetwood Affinity shopping outlet on service 74

A rear view of Evora BU25YSE leaving the Fleetwood Affinity shopping outlet

Evora BU25YSH northbound on service 75 at Bourne Way in Thornton

Evora BU25YSG on Bourne Way in Thornton heading for Fleetwood on service 75

Evora BU25YSD southbound on Lord St in Fleetwood on service 74 to Preston

Optare Versa Hybrid enters service with Archway Travel

12.1m Optare Versa Hybrid AA59WAY on Denham Way in Fleetwood on 25th March

A 12.1 metre Optare Versa V1210 Hybrid 57 seat school bus has entered service with Archway Travel of Fleetwood, the high capacity being achieved by way of a 3+2 seating arrangement. The bus was previously Stagecoach 25331 (YJ12GXZ) in use with Transport for Greater Manchester, being one of a large batch of Versa Hybrids ordered by TfGM for their local school operations.

Optare Versa Hybrid AA59WAY returning from school service 527 to Elswick

Conventional Optare Versa AA53WAY (formerly Stagecoach VX57OEU) on 25th March

New Stagecoach Dark Blue Livery

Scania N230UD ADL Enviro400 15237 approaching Preston bus station on 6th March

Two buses in the new Stagecoach corporate dark blue livery were noted in Preston this week. 

The blue livery began to be trialled in a handful of locations around the country last year, and two Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire buses have now entered service in the new colour scheme. Scania N230UD ADL Enviro400 15237 (YN65XEM) and Scania K230UB ADL Enviro300 28711 (YN14FVC) were in operation in Preston this week, sporting the new rather plain dark blue livery. The unrelieved overall blue colour scheme on these buses is in stark contrast to Stagecoach's previous colourful 'Local' and 'Beachball' liveries.

Scania K230UB ADL Enviro300 28711 nearing Preston bus station on 6th March

Stagecoach 15818 wearing the 2020 'Local' livery in April 2021

Stagecoach 15472 displaying the colourful 'Beachball' livery on Church St, Preston in 2021

Stagecoach 15247 in the amber yellow 'Long Distance' livery in Preston in 2021