Preserved Christchurch No. 210 in Wellington, March 1999

One of my many photos taken between the period of Wednesday, 24 March-Sunday, 28 March 1999, during the 1999 Wellington trolleybus festival organised by the Omnibus Society to mark 50 years of continuous trolleybus operation in the Capital, Christchurch No. 210 of 1931 sits on the wharf on the Wellington waterfront after being shipped from Christchurch where it is preserved at the Ferrymead Historic Park by the Tramway Historic Society.

 

What turned out to be the star of the festival was later towed to Kilbirnie Depot and made ready for celebrations.

When last heard of, No. 210 was still to be certified for operating on the Ferrymead trolleybus museum system.

 

Sadly some 18 years and 8 months on, the festival has now also marked the demise of the Wellington system on 31 October 2017.

 

Decommissioning and dismantling of the [Wellington] trolleybus system continued in earnest through December with just a short breather over the Christmas holidays.

 

By the time you read this, Route 2 will have disappeared other than where it shared wires with other routes and the same goes for the Newtown Park branch from Newtown shops to the terminus beside the Zoo. If all goes to plan, commencement of the CBD wiring will start from Wednesday 3 January. This section was at first scheduled for dismantling from 27 December but it was decided to postpone the date to enable the two work gangs to take a well-earned break.

End of an Era boards have been placed on poles in Lambton Quay, Manners Street and Courtenay Place advising people of the upcoming work.

 

Once the overhead has been removed from city streets (and this is currently scheduled to be complete by the end of June) the only trace of trolleybus wires in the city will be found inside Kilbirnie depot. Initially the depot’s wiring was down for removal in March but it has been decided to leave it in situ. This is not because trolleybuses might one day return to the city streets (!) but more to do with the practicalities of the exercise.

 

As an example it would be interesting to see where about 55 trolleybuses could be placed while the work was being carried out. What a sight it would make if they had all been lined up in Onepu Road for a few days! Ironically, Kilbirnie depot will therefore be the only place where tram rails and trolleybus wires will be able to be seen side by side.

 

The Wrightspeed prototype, former trolleybus 362, continues to be an enigma. It was first touted for testing before Christmas 2016! The most recent expectation was for it to start trials in November 2017 but that deadline passed, as has December. And NZ Bus wanted to convert the trolleybus fleet and some of its diesels to this power application in readiness for the new contracts starting in 2018; it hasn’t quite worked out the way they expected. - Under The Wires, January 2018

 

The Christchurch trolleybus system opened in 1931 and reached its maximum extent by 1934. It was a small and distinctive operation, which served its city well for a quarter of a century, closing just as the expansion of the three NZ major systems was getting under way.

 

The system consisted of two routes running generally northeast from the CBD. The first opened in 1931. At its inner end it replaced a motor bus service. Beyond the intersections of Shirley and Marshland Roads, it replaced a loss-making electric tram service, the inner end of which remained as a tram route for anomer three years. The former tramway section of the route passed through the only predominantly rural area ever served by trolleybuses in New Zealand. The outermost section, between Norrh Beach and New Brighton Pier, closed after only 22 month's operation due to insufficient traffic.

 

In 1934, the surviving inner section of the former North Beach tram route, which had run via Richmond to a terminus at the intersections of Shirley and Marshland Roads, was also converted ro trolleybus operation. Trolleybuses continued to use the composite 1931 route via Shirley for through services to North Beach, while the newly converted length was operated separately. Occasional through-workings over the old tram route required trolleybus poles to be manually pulled across at the Marshland Road intersection. In May 1956 the newer and shorter route was closed. The older and longer North Beach route carried on for five more months.

 

Christchurch was the only New Zealand trolleybus system to depend exclusively on pull-offs for corners. There was only one set of facing points, situated at the intersection of Cashel Street and Fitzgerald Avenue, where the two routes parted. These were manually operated for many years. Turnback facilities were provided for short workings at Richmond, Shirley, Burwood and the racecourse (destination "Races"). However, all required the poles to be manually changed to turning wires. Movements to and from the depot also required manual pole changes.

 

The fleet totalled eleven vehicles, all of which had 3-axled chassis, a layout not seen again on New Zealand trolleybuses until 2007. Unlike Wellingron's new Designlines, both rear axles were driven and bogie-mounted, an arrangement thought at the time to provide a better ride on poor roads.

 

Another distinguishing feature was the use of trolley wheels, rather than the swivel heads with carbon inserts used on all other New Zealand trolleybuses, apart from Wellingron's original trackless tram.

 

Elsewhere in New Zealand, first generation trolleybuses were given a new number sequence starting at 1. However, in Christchurch me trolleybuses were added onto the tram sequence, resulting in higher fleet numbers than elsewhere, until 1981 when Wellington started a new sequence at 20 l.

 

The six buses supplied for the North Beach service in 1931 had English Electric chassis with bodies by local Christchurch tram builder Boon & Co. They originally had slatted doors, which allowed in dust from the unsurfaced roads on me outer parts of the system. This defect was soon remedied. Although the bodies were fitted with rear door, these were generally boarded up.

 

The seventh trolleybus, No. 213, was built by Ransomes Sims & Jefferies, and lent to the CTB as a demonstrator. Tested on the Ipswich system in the UK before shipment, it was the only pre-war trolleybus to be bodied overseas. No. 213 rode well and the bodywork was superior to that fitted to the English Electric trolleybuses. The trolley poles were mounted on a common pivot, and no retrievers were provided.

 

However, the rarcher-type EMB control gear was very unpopular with drivers and No. 213 was little used initially. The CTB eventually purchased the vehicle, and standardised the control gear and pole mountings with the rest of the fleet. Retrievers were also added.

 

Opened in 1934, the Richmond route required four further vehicles. Ransomes Sims & Jefferies supplied the chassis, which the CTB bodied in its own workshops. The entire fleet lasted in service until 1956.

After World War II, the CTB considered replacing most, or all, of its trams with trolleybuses. Nine of the existing vehicles received major overhauls in 1950 to fit them for extended service. In 1951, tenders were called for 64 new trolleybuses. However, local body elections produced a change of policy, and the system closed five years later.

 

CHRISTCHURCH ENGLISH ELECTRIC NO. 210

Date Built: 1930

Written Off: Withdrawn from service in 1956

Acquired by THS in 1965 from Transport North Canterbury Ltd.

Restored: c 1970

Make: English Electric, 3-axle

Bodywork: Boon and Company, Christchurch

Motor: English Electric 70 bhp DK 121

Controllers: 5-notch EMB non-automatic

Seating Capacity: 38 plus driver

 

Christchurch 209 and 210 are the only known English Electric trolleybuses to survive in the world.

 

Done