Trolleybuses in London
A preserved trolleybus in Regent Street, 2014
|
|
| Operation | |
|---|---|
| Locale | London, England |
| Open | 16 May 1931 |
| Close | 8 May 1962 |
| Status | Closed |
| Routes | 68 |
| Operator(s) | London United Tramways (1931–1933) London Passenger Transport Board (1933–1947) London Transport Executive (1947–1962) |
| Infrastructure | |
| Stock | 1,811 (maximum) |
Trolleybuses served the London Passenger Transport Area for just over 30 years in the mid twentieth century. For much of its existence, the London system was the largest in the world. It had 68 routes, and a maximum fleet of 1811 trolleybuses.[1][2]
Contents
History
The first 60 trolleybuses were operated by London United Tramways (LUT), from a depot at Fulwell in South-West London. They were nicknamed "Diddlers" and first ran on 16 May 1931.[1][3] They were bought to replace the trams, which were old and poorly patronised.
In 1933, LUT was absorbed into the London Passenger Transport Board along with other tram operators. The LPTB decided to replace all trams with trolleybuses. This was started in October 1935 with two more former LUT routes, and continued in stages until June 1940, when it was suspended because of the war. By then nearly all the trams north of the Thames had been replaced, but there were still 1100 trams in use in south London.[4] In 1946 it was decided that the remaining trams would be replaced by diesel buses. Trolleybuses were bigger than diesel buses (70 seats compared to 56), and so more diesel buses would be required. It was thought, however, that there would be fewer uncollected fares on the smaller vehicles. "Pay as you Enter" (PAYE) experiments had not been successful as the dwell times at bus stops lengthened.
In 1948, a new batch of 77 trolleybuses replaced the Diddlers and trolleybuses that had been destroyed by enemy action. A further 50 new trolleybuses were delivered in 1952 to replace the oldest vehicles, the Diddlers, which, with a 10-year design life, were then 16 years old!
In 1954, it was announced that all trolleybuses were to be replaced, with the exception of the post-war vehicles, which would be retained until about 1970 and run over the original LUT routes. Conversion began in 1959, using RT buses for the first three stages and new Routemasters for the remainder.[5]
In the end, a change of policy brought forward the conversion of the ex-LUT routes, especially as the post-war trolleybuses had a sale value. A consortium of Spanish operators bought the post-war vehicles. The former LUT routes were the last to be converted to diesel buses, on 8 May 1962.[1][2][3]
Fleet
The trolleybuses were designed and built specifically to be worthy tram replacements. Like the trams, they were large high-capacity double deckers, with rapid acceleration. They had three axles (necessary as 30 feet long), and were much quieter in operation than contemporary trams or diesel buses.[6]
Apart from the Diddlers and a few experimental vehicles, most London trolleybuses were near-identical, although some were chassisless. All were three-axle with one having twin-steering and one was two-axle. A few were non-standard: in 1941 and 1943 London Transport acquired 43 trolleybuses that had been ordered for South Africa but could not be shipped there because of the war. These vehicles were allocated to Ilford depot and needed special dispensation, because they were six inches wider, at 8', than the law allowed.
One experimental vehicle was proposed and built, to be the forerunner of a fleet that would use the Kingsway Tram Subway. It had a second rear platform, off-side, with a pneumatic sliding door, to cater for the island platforms in the subway. However, the experiment was not successful and the change was never carried out. The trolleybus served out a full life, however.
Some trolleybuses are now preserved in the United Kingdom and abroad.[7]
One of the 1948 vehicles has also been brought back from Spain.
List of routes
At its peak, the network was the largest in the world, running 68 routes. The following is a list of the routes that were withdrawn in the replacement programme which ran from 1959 to 1962.[8]
- 513: Hampstead Heath - Parliament Hill Fields
- 517: North Finchley - Holborn
- 521: Holborn - North Finchley
- 543: Holborn - Wood Green
- 555: Bloomsbury - Leyton
- 557: Chingford Mount - Liverpool Street
- 565: Barking - Holborn Circus (withdrawn October 1956)
- 567: Barking - Smithfield
- 569: Aldgate - North Woolwich
- 581: Bloomsbury - Woodford
- 601: Twickenham - Tolworth
- 602: Dittons - Kingston Loop
- 603: Tolworth - Kingston Loop
- 604: Hampton Court - Wimbledon
- 605: Teddington - Wimbledon
- 607: Uxbridge - Shepherds Bush
- 609: Barnet - Highgate
- 609: Moorgate - Barnet
- 611: Highgate Village - Moorgate
- 613: Parliament Hill Fields - Holborn
- 615: Parliament Hill Fields - Moorgate
- 617: North Finchley - Holborn
- 621: Holborn - North Finchley
- 623: Woodford - Manor House
- 625: Woodford - Winchmore Hill
- 626: Acton - Clapham Junction
- 627: Waltham Cross - Tottenham Court Road
- 628: Craven Park - Clapham Junction
- 629: Enfield - Tottenham Court Road
- 630: Harlesden - West Croydon
- 639: Hampstead - Moorgate
- 641: Moorgate - Winchmore Hill
- 643: Holborn - Wood Green
- 645: Canons Park - Barnet
- 647: Stamford Hill - London Docks
- 649: Waltham Cross - Liverpool Street
- 649A: Wood Green - Liverpool Street
- 653: Aldgate - Tottenham Court Road
- 654: Sutton - Crystal Palace
- 655: Acton Vale - Clapham Junction
- 657: Hounslow - Shepherds Bush
- 659: Waltham Cross - Holborn
- 660: North Finchley - Hammersmith
- 661: Aldgate - Leyton
- 662: Sudbury - Paddington Green
- 663: Aldgate - Chadwell Heath
- 665: Barking - Bloomsbury
- 666: Edgware - Hammersmith
- 667: Hammersmith - Hampton Court
- 669: North Woolwich - Stratford
- 677: Smithfield - West India Dock
- 679: Waltham Cross - Smithfield
- 685: North Woolwich - Walthamstow
- 687: Walthamstow - Royal Victoria and Albert Dock
- 689: Stratford - East Ham circular via Plashet Grove & Green Street
- 690: Stratford - East Ham circular via Green Street & Plashet Grove
- 691: Barking - Barkingside
- 693: Barking - Chadwell Heath
- 696: Woolwich - Dartford
- 697: Chingford Mount - Docks
- 698: Woolwich - Bexleyheath
- 699: Chingford Mount - Docks
See also
- Buses in London
- Transport in London
- List of trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom
- East Anglia Transport Museum
- London Transport Museum
- The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft
References
Notes
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External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Murray, Alan (2000). World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia, p. 73. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. ISBN 0-904235-18-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Joyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). British Trolleybus Systems, pp. 84–95, 159. London: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-1647-X.
- ↑ London Trolleybus Routes, Hugh Taylor, Capital Transport, 1994
- ↑ Farewell to London's Trolleybuses, Michael H C Baker. Ian Allan Publishing, 1994
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