On the morning of 23rd April 2023, a carefully planned tramcar swap took place. Leeds 602 was moved out of the Exhibition Hall and replaced with Blackpool 762 from the depot. The movement was in preparation for our upcoming Coronation celebration event in May, when we’re planning to have Leeds 602 on static display on the depot fan for several days. This is to celebrate the fact that Leeds 602 entered service in June 1953 at the time of Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation. The livery it carries was for that reason, with purple being a Royal colour.
These photos of the move show that it was a very tight fit for Blackpool 762 to get into the Exhibition hall! Thanks to the accurate measurements (down to the last millimetre) and detailed planning by our workshop team, we’re pleased to report that it all went smoothly.
We’re planning to keep the swap, with Leeds 602 being in the depots and Blackpool 762 in the Exhibition Hall, until the end of 2023.