The end of Trolleybuses on the streets of Britain
A Bradford trolleybus slowly turns at 'Thackley Corner' during an enthusiast’s tour, one of the many tours that took place during the final months of the system’s life. Sometime prior to the end, the City Council had agreed that the last day of trolleybus operation was to be on Sunday 26th March1972, when the trolleys would be seen off in spectacular style.
Following the closure of the much smaller Teesside trolleybus system in 1971, Bradford was now the last place in Britain to operate trolleybuses in normal public service, so it was important that all went ahead smoothly, as Bradford’s last trolleybus would also be Britain’s last trolleybus.
During January 1972, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) went on strike over pay. The NUM's aim was to freeze domestic and industrial coal supplies to force the Coal Board to the negotiating table. At that time, three-quarters of the country’s electricity was generated by coal-burning power stations, not surprisingly coal stocks quickly ran down as a result of the strike action. The situation became so bad that the government declared a state of emergency on the 9th February; many people will remember the power cuts and having to use candles for lighting during evening time outages. From 11th February The Yorkshire Electricity Board introduced selective power cuts to preserve coal stocks. This action forced the decision to withdraw trolleybuses until a normal power supply was resumed, but enthusiasts and council officials feared that the trolleybuses might never return to the City’s streets.
On 26th February, the Country breathed a sigh of relief, as the seven-week strike ended; Power supplies began to return to normal allowing Bradford to reinstate its trolleybuses for the last few weeks of operation, during which time, the City was almost besieged by enthusiasts who came to witness their last days.
The biggest crowds arrived from Friday 24th March to Sunday 26th March, when many hundreds of people converged on Bradford to say farewell to the trolleybus. Enthusiasts crowded onto every available service trolleybus, some chased ahead of them in cars, waiting on almost every street corner to get their last glimpses and photographs of the remaining trolleybuses at work.
As planned, the end came on Sunday 26th March, when civic dignitaries and special guests boarded trolleybus 844 on the last trolleybus journey to Thornton. On 844’s return to Thornbury Depot, the civic party alighted the vehicle and several speeches were made to the crowds, before the Lord Mayor threw the switch, killing the power to the system and ending 60 years of trolleybus operation in Bradford and ending Britain’s trolleybus era.
The scene of the photograph as it is today:
The end of Trolleybuses on the streets of Britain
A Bradford trolleybus slowly turns at 'Thackley Corner' during an enthusiast’s tour, one of the many tours that took place during the final months of the system’s life. Sometime prior to the end, the City Council had agreed that the last day of trolleybus operation was to be on Sunday 26th March1972, when the trolleys would be seen off in spectacular style.
Following the closure of the much smaller Teesside trolleybus system in 1971, Bradford was now the last place in Britain to operate trolleybuses in normal public service, so it was important that all went ahead smoothly, as Bradford’s last trolleybus would also be Britain’s last trolleybus.
During January 1972, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) went on strike over pay. The NUM's aim was to freeze domestic and industrial coal supplies to force the Coal Board to the negotiating table. At that time, three-quarters of the country’s electricity was generated by coal-burning power stations, not surprisingly coal stocks quickly ran down as a result of the strike action. The situation became so bad that the government declared a state of emergency on the 9th February; many people will remember the power cuts and having to use candles for lighting during evening time outages. From 11th February The Yorkshire Electricity Board introduced selective power cuts to preserve coal stocks. This action forced the decision to withdraw trolleybuses until a normal power supply was resumed, but enthusiasts and council officials feared that the trolleybuses might never return to the City’s streets.
On 26th February, the Country breathed a sigh of relief, as the seven-week strike ended; Power supplies began to return to normal allowing Bradford to reinstate its trolleybuses for the last few weeks of operation, during which time, the City was almost besieged by enthusiasts who came to witness their last days.
The biggest crowds arrived from Friday 24th March to Sunday 26th March, when many hundreds of people converged on Bradford to say farewell to the trolleybus. Enthusiasts crowded onto every available service trolleybus, some chased ahead of them in cars, waiting on almost every street corner to get their last glimpses and photographs of the remaining trolleybuses at work.
As planned, the end came on Sunday 26th March, when civic dignitaries and special guests boarded trolleybus 844 on the last trolleybus journey to Thornton. On 844’s return to Thornbury Depot, the civic party alighted the vehicle and several speeches were made to the crowds, before the Lord Mayor threw the switch, killing the power to the system and ending 60 years of trolleybus operation in Bradford and ending Britain’s trolleybus era.
The scene of the photograph as it is today: