Blackpool 570
Complementing 554 is 570 from the final batch of 30 delivered in 1974 entering service on 1 April. These replaced most of the remaining PD2s, with the last few (including our 346) surviving into 1975 to allow for the 1968 batch of PD3s to have their mid life overhaul.
New in all-over cream, a new green and ivory livery was applied to most Swifts from 1979. A few escaped treatment as the first withdrawals began in 1980 – at the age of just 10. The first batch was all gone by 1983, the later batches were withdrawn gradually until a purchase of second hand Leyland Nationals replace the last few in February 1988. 570 survived until December 1987.
The final survivors were sold to a dealer and No. 570 passed to Blue Saloon of Guildford before being acquired by member Graham Oliver for preservation. It returned to Blackpool for repainting in the green / off white livery in 1997. No. 570 joined the LTT collection in March 2003 and a further repaint was undertaken in October 2005.
Despite this, 570 was largely stored with various mechanical problems but these were attended to during the autumn of 2017 and in January 2018 the bus passed its Class VI PCV test. It has since been used occasionally in passenger service and on wedding hires and is available for events once more after some mechanical work in 2024.
You might be interested in these
Railcoach 279
45 Railcoaches were built at the Preston workshops of English Electric whilst other designs included an Open top single decker, and both enclosed and open-top double deck designs of similar streamlined appearance.
Balloon Car 703
Twelve streamlined open top double deckers were supplied by the English Electric Company of Preston in 1934. Officially called “Luxury Dreadnoughts”, after the old Dreadnoughts they replaced, they were numbered 238 – 249 and followed a prototype (226, later 237) which had been delivered for evaluation earlier that year.
Balloon Car 715
715 was one of the second batch of English Electric double deckers ordered by Walter Luff - this time fully enclosed cars instead of the open toppers delivered first. As with most trams of the Luff era, they were well appointed, ornate, streamlined, centre entrance cars.
