circuited the supply. Another problem was that electrical resistance was greater than anticipated and the voltage in portions of the conduit was far less than that generated at Blundell Street – 230V dropped to 210V at the junction with the main line on the Promenade, 185V at Cocker Street and 168V at South Pier (then Victoria Pier). In 1899, 550V overhead wiring was installed and the conduit removed. In 1900, the line was extended north to Gynn Square where it linked up with the Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramroad. In 1901, the Marton loop was opened, connecting Talbot Square and Central Station along Church Street, Devonshire Square, Whitegate Drive, Waterloo Road and Central Drive. A new depot was built on Whitegate Drive in Marton. A line was added from Talbot Square along Talbot Road to Layton in 1902. By 1903, the promenade line had reached the Pleasure Beach. Expansion and contraction (1920s–1960s) In 1920, Blackpool Corporation took over the tramroad, gaining of track and three depots, two in Fleetwood and one in Bispham. The small Bold Street Depot in Fleetwood was closed and a loop constructed at Fleetwood Ferry. Blackpool Corporation also gained all 41 trams from the tramroad. A larger depot site was developed on Rigby Road in 1920 due to the original Blundell Street Depot having become too small. Rigby Road Depot was built in 1935. Along the line to Fleetwood, between Rossall and Broadwater a more direct line was built in 1925. The final tramway extension was in 1926, along the promenade to Clifton Drive at Starr Gate where a connection was made with Lytham St. Annes Corporation Tramways. In the 1930s, manager Walter Luff, as part of a five-year plan for modernisation, introduced a fleet of modern streamlined tramcars including the enclosed Railcoaches, the single-deck open-topped Open Boats and the English Electric double-deck Luxury Dreadnoughts (later known as 'Balloons'). These formed the backbone of the fleet into the 21st century. In 1936, route closures began with the Central Drive and Layton routes. Lytham Road closed in 1961, Marton in 1962 and the tramroad line on Dickson Road to North Station in 1963. Marton and Copse Road Depots closed in 1963 and Bispham Depot in 1966. This left the line from Starr Gate to Fleetwood, which remains. Blackpool Borough Council transferred the operation of the tramway and buses to Blackpool Transport Services Limited in 1986. Blackpool was the