English Electric Balloon

The English Electric Balloon is a type of double-decker tram that operates on the Blackpool Tramway. Commissioned in 1933 by Walter Luff, the controller of the network, to modernise the fleet and replace the Dreadnought and Standard cars, the trams were built by English Electric during 1934 and 1935, the first being presented to Blackpool on 10 December 1934. Twenty-seven were delivered, numbered 237 to 263, the first thirteen open-topped and the remaining fourteen enclosed, with central doors and stairs and a capacity of 84 to 94 passengers. During the Second World War the open-top cars had their tops enclosed. The Balloons formed the backbone of the Blackpool fleet until the tramway became a modern light rail network in 2012; nine were then modified to run alongside the new Flexity 2 trams, and others are kept in the heritage fleet, although heritage use was temporarily suspended in December 2024.