'We want Tramtown to preserve Blackpool's history'

Paul Galley, pictured left with Kay Crewdson, says volunteers are tasked with "preserving history"

When I was a child visiting Blackpool was a given.

The bright lights of the illuminations, the screams of excitement from the Pleasure Beach and the buzz of the trams – these sights and sounds were the backdrop to any day trip.

I loved jumping on and off the trams, they felt modern and exciting at the time.

These days, while they are still very much in use, the trams of years gone by have long been forgotten. Until now.

Now you will find a huge collection of trams, some restored others waiting for TLC at Tramtown.

Or as Paul Galley describes it: "One of the most unique places in the world."

I went to visit Tramtown as part of my 25 in 25 project - a series showcasing some of the best people and places in the north-west of England.

The workshop, which is just set back off the Promenade, was once a condemned building.

Now it is a busy workshop and working museum – a place to love, nurture and bring back to life trams from days gone by.

Visitors are able to walk round the engineering works as part of an exhibition hall experience

When I walked in I felt like I had gone back to my childhood – seeing the boat tram with Charlie Cairoli and old Blackpool illuminations from My Little Pony to the Tardis.

It was a bit of Blackpool history in one place.

Phase two of Tramtown is the tram shed.

It holds roughly 47 different trams, some more unique than others.

One of the trams, which was found in a field in Fleetwood, is the very tram that killed soap character Alan Bradley in Coronation Street's most watched episode in 1989.

Tramtown is run by volunteers, whose aim is to "preserve the history, to have the engineering works re-open so the trams can ride again on the promenade".

"We give them skills, train them up so they have a sense of purpose, they're needed and have a responsibility," says Paul.

"We are in one of the poorest wards in the UK and we hope that Tramtown will not only regenerate the trams but it will regenerate lives."