Inauguration of Wolverhampton's trolleybus system 29/10/1923
On what looks to have been a murky autumnal day, a crowd of onlookers have turned out to witness the inauguration of Wolverhampton’s first trolleybus service. That day being Monday the 23rd October 1923.
The new trolleybuses were replacing the former tram route to Wednesfield, a service that required the use of single-deck vehicles to pass under the low-slung Midland Railway bridge that straddled the Wednesfield Road near its junction with Broad Street.
As with all the Corporation’s tramcars, the Wednesfield service had employed the use of the ‘Lorain’ surface contact system to collect current by means of a skate fitted to the underside of the cars.
Installed in the early 1900s, the electrical surface collection system had become life expired, requiring ever increasing maintenance to keep it serviceable. Left with little choice and at great expense, the Corporation converted the entire tram system to overhead collection during 1921, installing several miles of new electrical infrastructure, disconnecting the old network route by route.
The new overhead system installed on the Wednesfield tram route became operational on 27th July 1921. However, the track work on this route was in a very poor state of repair and was in desperate need of replacement.
Having seen Birmingham’s new trolleybus service to Nechells in 1922, the Transport Watch Committee took the decision to replace the Wednesfield tram service with trolleybuses.
The recently installed tramway overhead could be easily adapted to operate trolleybuses, and at the same time the decision was taken to extend the trolleybus service from Rookery Bridge, New Cross to Pinfold Bridge, taking the trolleybuses into Wednesfield town.
While the works to convert and extend the overhead system was in progress, the tram track was lifted and the road surface reinstated. During that period, a temporary motorbus service was employed to replace the trams, the motorbus service starting on 28th July 1923.
Six new solid-tyred, Tilling Stevens trolleybuses had been ordered and these were trialled before the system opened to the public on Monday 29th October 1923. Following the success of this tram to trolleybus conversion, the rest of the town’s tram routes were converted to trolleybus operation, the last tram running in 1928.
…Which brings us neatly to this wonderful photo. Trolleybus No1 (DA7741) is pictured at the top of Wolverhampton’s Broad Street, having turned around on the muddy road surface, before beginning its journey to Wednesfield.
Scanned from a half-plate photograph in my archive.
Inauguration of Wolverhampton's trolleybus system 29/10/1923
On what looks to have been a murky autumnal day, a crowd of onlookers have turned out to witness the inauguration of Wolverhampton’s first trolleybus service. That day being Monday the 23rd October 1923.
The new trolleybuses were replacing the former tram route to Wednesfield, a service that required the use of single-deck vehicles to pass under the low-slung Midland Railway bridge that straddled the Wednesfield Road near its junction with Broad Street.
As with all the Corporation’s tramcars, the Wednesfield service had employed the use of the ‘Lorain’ surface contact system to collect current by means of a skate fitted to the underside of the cars.
Installed in the early 1900s, the electrical surface collection system had become life expired, requiring ever increasing maintenance to keep it serviceable. Left with little choice and at great expense, the Corporation converted the entire tram system to overhead collection during 1921, installing several miles of new electrical infrastructure, disconnecting the old network route by route.
The new overhead system installed on the Wednesfield tram route became operational on 27th July 1921. However, the track work on this route was in a very poor state of repair and was in desperate need of replacement.
Having seen Birmingham’s new trolleybus service to Nechells in 1922, the Transport Watch Committee took the decision to replace the Wednesfield tram service with trolleybuses.
The recently installed tramway overhead could be easily adapted to operate trolleybuses, and at the same time the decision was taken to extend the trolleybus service from Rookery Bridge, New Cross to Pinfold Bridge, taking the trolleybuses into Wednesfield town.
While the works to convert and extend the overhead system was in progress, the tram track was lifted and the road surface reinstated. During that period, a temporary motorbus service was employed to replace the trams, the motorbus service starting on 28th July 1923.
Six new solid-tyred, Tilling Stevens trolleybuses had been ordered and these were trialled before the system opened to the public on Monday 29th October 1923. Following the success of this tram to trolleybus conversion, the rest of the town’s tram routes were converted to trolleybus operation, the last tram running in 1928.
…Which brings us neatly to this wonderful photo. Trolleybus No1 (DA7741) is pictured at the top of Wolverhampton’s Broad Street, having turned around on the muddy road surface, before beginning its journey to Wednesfield.
Scanned from a half-plate photograph in my archive.