Leyland-powered Tram ,for Blackpool
Page 48
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
ADOUBLE-DECK tram operated by Blackpool Corporation has been fitted with a pre-war Leyland 8.6-litre oil engine. This drives a 30-year-old Mather and Platt 75 h.p. electric motor so that the tram can be employed as a Dieselelectric unit. The dynamo supplies current to two underfloor 35 h.p. electric motors.
The engine was taken from a Leyland Titan TD.5 double-decker which had covered 450,000 miles in the Corporation's service, and it is mounted on a sub-frame in the lower saloon of the tram, running at a governed speed of 1,350 r.p.m.
The tram can be operated from the normal overhead wiring system, but when the current is switched off it can run along the track under its own power. Acting as a combined engineering car and mobile power station the tram has a small workshop at each end of the top deck. The Leyland engine is stated to consume about. 20 pints of fuel per hour when coasting and 30 pints running under full load.
HIGHER FARES?
A N increase in fares or a reduction in services has been recommended by Mr. J. C. Wake, manager of the St. Helens undertaking. The number of passengers carried last year fell by more than 21m. compared with the previous year. Suggestions for reduced bus services are to be put forward by Oldham Transport Committee. following a deficit of £22,006 in 1957-58