As part of a thinning down of the tram fleet, Twin car unit 671/681 was 'mothballed' after 2007, but it did return to traffic for the 2010 illuminations. As the light rail era drew ever closer, the unit was withdrawn from service and sold during 2011 to Merseytravel. However, in a separate transaction, 671 was returned to Blackpool in February 2012 for preservation in an exchange deal that has resulted in the car's separation from its coupled trailer.
