I did not include a photo last time of the modification to raise the destination boards to the position used on Scarborough trams. So see the photo comparing a standard Corgi tram against a modified, painted and decorated Scarborough Tram. For those interested, “Red Seal” was a popular brand of “Scottish medication” in that era.

 Once the trams are stripped of their existing paint, they are spray painted in the Scarborough colours. The colours happen to be the same as the present Scarborough and district bus group. After talking with the local bus group and then a historian of their parent company East Yorkshire buses, it seems that using the same colours is likely just coincidence. There is no known connection. It does make the trams seem more at home to local people.

The two main colours of the Scarborough Trams were officially “Cream” and “Dark Red”. We used three spray paints, First a light undercoat of Wilco White all over, then all over Rust-oleum “Heirloom White”. Then the bits that remain cream were masked and the trams sprayed with Rust-oleum “Balmoral Red”. Finally the underframes were brush painted matt black and dabs of silver were added to the headlights.

The trams were covered in local adverts. Two such businesses that still survive today are Boyes’ on Queen Street, and Bonnets on Huntress Row. Others that have gone include “Hopper and Mason”, “Marshall & Snelgrove” and “Sinfields” One major advertiser was “Rowntree’s”. They must have had at least one advertisement on every tram, advertising coffee, cocoa, hosiery, China or furniture. Other local advertisements carried were for attractions in the town, the Aquarium, the Bathing Pool and the paddle steamers.

The adverts were taken from pictures of the trams and manipulated in Photoshop. After many hours work, the output from that was one A4 sized drawing. (See photo.) This was printed on a standard inkjet printer, although not with standard paper. A special waterslide transfer paper was used. After allowing the sheet to fully dry overnight, the sheet was sprayed with a few thin coats of polyurethane varnish to seal the ink to the paper. Then the sheet was cut up into the individual transfers and applied just like any other waterslide transfer to the trams. Finally the trams were sprayed with two thin coats of polyurethane varnish to seal the transfers and protect the tram. The last job before assembly was to fit the trams with drivers, conductors and some passengers. A photo of one tram with passengers and one of the whole fleet of eight trams complete the photos.