New Year Progress

Further work was undertaken on 624 during the first weekend of the new year. The sections of underframe along the side of the car were cleaned up and given a coat of protective red oxide paint.

Some areas inside the tram were also treated where no shotblasting / de-rusting is required.

The opportunity was also taken to remove the formica covered plywood panels covering the former concealed lighting and slender green side glasses. It is not proposed to restore the concealed lighting in the tram at this stage, but the formica panels will be replaced with varnished panelling more in keeping with the period of the tram.

Dec 2009 - Chassis Steam Cleaned

On 12th December the tram chassis was steam cleaned to remove years of dirt and grease and reveal areas that require repairs. This exercise has revealed a need for work on the radius plates at one end of the tram and repairs around the centre platform steelwork. Some areas may require localised shotblasting but in general the chassis is in good condition, attributed to the tram's limited mileage since becoming a works tram in 1971.

The next phase of work will be the shotblasting and cleaning up any surface rust prior to protecting the underframe with red oxide paint. Blackpool Transport will be commissioned to undertake the steelwork repairs. After this, 624 will be prepared for fitting a new saloon floor.

624 shunted at depot

After lying at the back of track one since August 2006, 624 is extracted from the depot by car 715 for steam cleaning of the tram chassis.