In September 2010, OMO car 8 took part in the procession to mark 125 years of trams in Blackpool.

This was the first time a member of this class of tramcar had run since 1993, thus filling a huge gap in the Blackpool story.

It was back in the late 1960s when the idea of a one-man-operated tramcar was first mooted and between 1972 and 1976, thirteen such cars were rebuilt from Railcoaches.

Simply known as 'OMO' cars, these thirteen workhorses set about all-year service on the Starr Gate - Fleetwood route.

Their arrival helped slash operating costs, played a huge part in saving the tramway from full or partial closure and they gained a reputation for being fast, cramped, uncomfortable and over-worked.

Nevertheless, they did a job that had to be done.

Running in four different fleet liveries plus one advert livery, by the mid-1980s these trams operated half the total annual tramway mileage and a number of cars clocked the two million mile mark.

In 1984, the introduction of the Centenary cars marked the beginning of the end, although a few soldiered on for nine more years until March 1993.

In the end, ten of the thirteen cars were cars were scrapped, one was rebuilt whilst two are in preservation today.

From the one-man experiments with Brush car 638 until the triumphant return of car 8 in 2010, this 80-page hardback book tells the complete story of the OMO cars.

For the first time ever in print all thirteen cars in all their liveries are included, complete with behind-the-scenes images, the cars being built, drivers instructions, a typical day's work, pantograph experiments, winter snow scenes, internal shots and much more.

Following the Progress Twin Car book, this is the second in the series looking in detail at Blackpool's trams.

80 Pages - Hardback