TWO tram-endous "old ladies" celebrated their centenary last week with a run along Blackpool Prom carrying VIP passengers.

The trams -- Stockport 5 and Bolton 66 -- took a return trip from North Pier to Starr Gate to commemorate the occasion, carrying the Mayors of Blackpool, Stockport and Bolton, along with tram enthusiasts involved in their restoration for the special birthday ride. By coincidence the two trams were both built at the Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works in Preston at around the same time and were restored -- a task taking between 18 and 22 years -- by enthusiasts before finally being housed in Blackpool, where they now operate special tours and trips.

And to celebrate the special centenary trip the passengers were treated to glasses of bubbly and celebratory cake. The drivers wore uniforms in the original style and the conductors carried old-fashioned bell punches to issue commemorative tickets.

Both trams were salvaged by enthusiasts -- Blackpool Transport's Liz Esnouf said that Bolton 66 had been used as a summer house and a hen coop and Stockport 5 had had a previous incarnation as a bird watching hide before its rescue and restoration.

Derek Shepherd, a tram enthusiast who used to work on the Bolton trams before they finished running in 1947, was one of the people who helped to restore Bolton 66.

"It took us 18 years. We had to travel all over the world to find the right parts and we had to look at photos and use our memories to work from. I enjoyed the celebration, but then if there's a tram about I will always enjoy it," he said.

And to cap the celebrations local tram author Steve Palmer made an impromptu presentation of his latest book, Highlights of Blackpool's Trams, which features both the trams, to the three Mayors at the town hall following the trip.