Huddersfield 541, Sedgley, near Wolverhampton, 1966
Are you ready for a longish read?
In 1962, Huddersfield Council had taken the controversial decision to phase out its trolleybuses, the route closures taking place between 1963 and 1968. Huddersfield 541 is one of three complete trolleybuses that survive from the former Huddersfield system, the other two being 619 and 631. The chassis of 470 also survives.
541, a 1947 Park Royal bodied Sunbeam MS2 had been saved to preservation in February 1964, when Huddersfield Corporation Transport Department allowed the National Trolleybus Association (NTA) to acquire 541 straight from service use.
After the phased abandonment of London’s trolleybuses between 1959 and 1962, the closure of Britain’s remaining trolleybus systems gathered pace. During this period, the NTA along with other preservation societies were busy acquiring examples of trolleybuses where it was possible to do so. The remaining operators were generally happy for examples of their trolleybuses to be saved for posterity, with the exception of Kingston-upon-Hull where the council were adamant that nothing should be saved, so none were.
The NTA were keen to see examples of their serviceable trolleys run under power before the last trolleybus systems were closed. After approaching Wolverhampton Corporation, the NTA were given permission to allow 541 to tour the town’s last remaining trolleybus route, the 58 route to Dudley via Sedgley.
On Sunday the 22nd May 1966 with an official Wolverhampton Corporation crew in charge of the bus, 541 toured the Wolverhampton to Dudley route to the delight of enthusiasts and the amazement of local onlookers. Thus 541 became the first ‘privately owned’ trolleybus to tour another operator’s trolleybus system. 541 is pictured at Sedgley during that tour, Sedgley being about halfway along the Wolverhampton to Dudley route.
As often happened on these tours and at the enthusiast’s request, trolleybuses were allowed to utilise sections of overhead wiring not normally used by in-service trolleybuses. In this case, service trolleybuses would not circumnavigate this traffic roundabout at Sedgley unless required to do so in an emergency; such as turn-around due to a sudden road closure. This operation required the manual operation of overhead switches to allow the trolleybus to turn, a slow and difficult manoeuvre for a six-wheeled vehicle at a time when traffic levels had greatly increased. You can see here that amongst the traffic, a normal in-service trolleybus to Dudley is having to give way to 541.
This venture started a short-lived trend of a few select privately owned trolleybuses touring some of the remaining systems. Bournemouth, Reading and Teesside were amongst those who allowed these tours. Wolverhampton was by far the most generous, allowing two further tours by preserved trolleybuses, when Rotherham 44 and preserved Wolverhampton 654 toured the Dudley route on the last day of trolleybus operations on the 5th March 1967. Worthy of note, is the fact that Wolverhampton had a few years early in 1963, allowed trolleybus 869 from neighbouring Walsall to tour parts of the Wolverhampton system on an enthusiasts outing, as well as organised tours using Wolverhampton trolleys for special Sunday tours. However, these were all municipal owned vehicles at the time.
With the NTA having acquired so many vehicles, storage became a major problem for the organisation, and many of these trolleybuses ended up being parked up in open storage leaving them exposed to the elements, and in some cases to vandalism. 541 eventually fell into a state of disrepair having being stored at a number of open-air locations over the years. It needs to be said that credit is deserved where credit is due, as without the efforts of these voluntary run societies very little would remain today of this important part of British transport history.
Eventually, 541 was moved to the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft where over a long period, dedicated restorer Brian Maguire and his helpers completely and expertly rebuilt the trolleybus back to operational condition. Much of the restoration cost was met by a generous donation from Museum member David Beach in 1994.
Rebuilt and repainted, 541 was launched to the public at the Museum in 2010. Today, all three surviving Huddersfield trolleybuses can be seen at Sandtoft, along with the chassis of 540.
Huddersfield 541, Sedgley, near Wolverhampton, 1966
Are you ready for a longish read?
In 1962, Huddersfield Council had taken the controversial decision to phase out its trolleybuses, the route closures taking place between 1963 and 1968. Huddersfield 541 is one of three complete trolleybuses that survive from the former Huddersfield system, the other two being 619 and 631. The chassis of 470 also survives.
541, a 1947 Park Royal bodied Sunbeam MS2 had been saved to preservation in February 1964, when Huddersfield Corporation Transport Department allowed the National Trolleybus Association (NTA) to acquire 541 straight from service use.
After the phased abandonment of London’s trolleybuses between 1959 and 1962, the closure of Britain’s remaining trolleybus systems gathered pace. During this period, the NTA along with other preservation societies were busy acquiring examples of trolleybuses where it was possible to do so. The remaining operators were generally happy for examples of their trolleybuses to be saved for posterity, with the exception of Kingston-upon-Hull where the council were adamant that nothing should be saved, so none were.
The NTA were keen to see examples of their serviceable trolleys run under power before the last trolleybus systems were closed. After approaching Wolverhampton Corporation, the NTA were given permission to allow 541 to tour the town’s last remaining trolleybus route, the 58 route to Dudley via Sedgley.
On Sunday the 22nd May 1966 with an official Wolverhampton Corporation crew in charge of the bus, 541 toured the Wolverhampton to Dudley route to the delight of enthusiasts and the amazement of local onlookers. Thus 541 became the first ‘privately owned’ trolleybus to tour another operator’s trolleybus system. 541 is pictured at Sedgley during that tour, Sedgley being about halfway along the Wolverhampton to Dudley route.
As often happened on these tours and at the enthusiast’s request, trolleybuses were allowed to utilise sections of overhead wiring not normally used by in-service trolleybuses. In this case, service trolleybuses would not circumnavigate this traffic roundabout at Sedgley unless required to do so in an emergency; such as turn-around due to a sudden road closure. This operation required the manual operation of overhead switches to allow the trolleybus to turn, a slow and difficult manoeuvre for a six-wheeled vehicle at a time when traffic levels had greatly increased. You can see here that amongst the traffic, a normal in-service trolleybus to Dudley is having to give way to 541.
This venture started a short-lived trend of a few select privately owned trolleybuses touring some of the remaining systems. Bournemouth, Reading and Teesside were amongst those who allowed these tours. Wolverhampton was by far the most generous, allowing two further tours by preserved trolleybuses, when Rotherham 44 and preserved Wolverhampton 654 toured the Dudley route on the last day of trolleybus operations on the 5th March 1967. Worthy of note, is the fact that Wolverhampton had a few years early in 1963, allowed trolleybus 869 from neighbouring Walsall to tour parts of the Wolverhampton system on an enthusiasts outing, as well as organised tours using Wolverhampton trolleys for special Sunday tours. However, these were all municipal owned vehicles at the time.
With the NTA having acquired so many vehicles, storage became a major problem for the organisation, and many of these trolleybuses ended up being parked up in open storage leaving them exposed to the elements, and in some cases to vandalism. 541 eventually fell into a state of disrepair having being stored at a number of open-air locations over the years. It needs to be said that credit is deserved where credit is due, as without the efforts of these voluntary run societies very little would remain today of this important part of British transport history.
Eventually, 541 was moved to the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft where over a long period, dedicated restorer Brian Maguire and his helpers completely and expertly rebuilt the trolleybus back to operational condition. Much of the restoration cost was met by a generous donation from Museum member David Beach in 1994.
Rebuilt and repainted, 541 was launched to the public at the Museum in 2010. Today, all three surviving Huddersfield trolleybuses can be seen at Sandtoft, along with the chassis of 540.