David Lloyd – Restoration of Bolton’s Last Tram. |
Presented by David Lloyd, a member of ‘Bolton 66 Tramcar
Trust’, this was a pictorial story of over 120 years of tramcar
history in general and of Bolton in particular. David charted
the early horse drawn carriages, set in rails, through to the
development, and the improvement, of electric powered units
through to their eventual demise in the mid 20th century. |

David Lloyd |
The sad remains of one such Bolton tram, number 66, were
salvaged from a farmer’s field in Belmont by David Shepherd, in
the early 1960’s. That was the start of a restoration project by
David and a group of enthusiasts, spanning over 20 years. It is
a great credit to their technical and practical skills, their
vision and resourcefulness that this resulted bringing Bolton
‘66’ back to its former glory. |

Bolton's tram in Blackpool. |

The tram before restoration. |

Moving the tram by low loader. |
Following restoration, it was transported to Blackpool in 1981
for a month’s loan. Forty years later ‘66’ continues to carry
passengers along the promenade. David mentioned the trust’s
ongoing important work on Manchester’s Heaton Park heritage
tramway, which concluded a very interesting talk supported by a
wealth of photographs. == Bolton Corporation's first
electric service ran on the 9th December 1899, and the last
horse tram ran on the 1st January 1900. At its height, the
Bolton Corporation system totalled 32.36 miles Bolton’s last
tram stopped running on 29th March 1947. |

Comparing the height of the tram and conventional busses. |
 Bolton
Corporation Tram. |
 Bolton
Corporation Tram. |
 Bolton
Tram Conductor. |

Great War Conductress. |

Bolton's tram network. |
P. Robinson. |