County Borough of Wolverhampton - Municipal Transport Department - Annual Repoert & Accounts : cover :
Every year the various trading departments of local authorities, and at the time these were issued there were many, produced an annual account of their activities - general facts and figures tabulated, profit and loss, and often a short summary that can include some real gems such as exact dates of service introduction or withdrawal. These are part of a small collection relating to Wolverhampton, an authority that during the inter-war years were actually of some importance as they were amongst the pioneers of the 'modern' trolleybus and the town became synomymous with their operation. For a few short years they are reputed to have had the world's largest fleet of them - helped in that the local vehicle builders, Guy Motors, were keen to break into the market for both electric as well as petrol and heavy oil engined buses.
The early years, 1921 onwards, relate the slow abandonment of the tramways, including the acquistion of the routes that had been leased to the private Black Country group of operating companies, the end of another "infamous" Wolverhampton oddity, the operation of the Lorain stud-contact system of tramway electrification, and the growth of 'country bus' services along with trolleybus conversions. They are issued under the name of the various Chairman of the Committee but with the name of the long serving General Manager, Charles Owen Silvers (1884 - 1972) who served from 1915 until 1949.
The reports vary little - minor changes of typeface and the later use of the County Borough rather than just the Borough. The Department were also unusual in the widespread use of the phrase "Municipal Transport" and indeed for many years they used the "mercury" logo of the Association of Municipal Transport Operators on publications and publicity.
County Borough of Wolverhampton - Municipal Transport Department - Annual Repoert & Accounts : cover :
Every year the various trading departments of local authorities, and at the time these were issued there were many, produced an annual account of their activities - general facts and figures tabulated, profit and loss, and often a short summary that can include some real gems such as exact dates of service introduction or withdrawal. These are part of a small collection relating to Wolverhampton, an authority that during the inter-war years were actually of some importance as they were amongst the pioneers of the 'modern' trolleybus and the town became synomymous with their operation. For a few short years they are reputed to have had the world's largest fleet of them - helped in that the local vehicle builders, Guy Motors, were keen to break into the market for both electric as well as petrol and heavy oil engined buses.
The early years, 1921 onwards, relate the slow abandonment of the tramways, including the acquistion of the routes that had been leased to the private Black Country group of operating companies, the end of another "infamous" Wolverhampton oddity, the operation of the Lorain stud-contact system of tramway electrification, and the growth of 'country bus' services along with trolleybus conversions. They are issued under the name of the various Chairman of the Committee but with the name of the long serving General Manager, Charles Owen Silvers (1884 - 1972) who served from 1915 until 1949.
The reports vary little - minor changes of typeface and the later use of the County Borough rather than just the Borough. The Department were also unusual in the widespread use of the phrase "Municipal Transport" and indeed for many years they used the "mercury" logo of the Association of Municipal Transport Operators on publications and publicity.