On 3 December 1884, Blackpool Corporation agreed to use Michael Holroyd Smith's conduit tramway and granted him a seven-year concession.

The Blackpool Electric Tramway Company was formed in January 1885, and set up with capital[2] of £30,000 (equivalent to £4,093,092 in 2023).

[3] The first rail was laid in March and the first test runs were made on 29 June.

The location caused many problems for the conduit system and the company employed horses to pull trams when the track was flooded.

[5] Car 4 survived and is preserved at the National Tramway Museum in Crich, Derbyshire.