Bournemouth Trolleybus 274, Christchurch, 1969
In the last weeks of operation, photographers flocked to the seaside town of Bournemouth, to record to film the final days of the town's trolleybuses in public service. A popular location for photographers was the turntable situated at Christchurch, where the 20 and 21 services terminated. As can be seen, this was a manual operation requiring both the driver and conductor to physically turn the bus around. I would imagine that on a wet day with a grimy bus, especially in winter this would have been far from pleasurable.
The use of turntables to turn trolleybuses was an unusual practice, and particularly for in-service buses. Huddersfield Corporation had used a turntable at their Longwood trolleybus terminus. Wolverhampton also employed turntables; one at their Sedgley depot until its closure in 1938, and the other at their Bilston Depot until c1965. However, unlike Bournemouth and Huddersfield, the Wolverhampton turntables were used within the depot confines, and were not used to turn in-service vehicles around. Bournemouth became the last town to use a turntable for trolleybus operations. However, they were still extensively employed by the railways at that time.
Trolleybus 274 pictured, was a 1958 built Sunbeam MF2B with a Weymann H35/28D body, delivery new in January 1959. This vehicles was one of thirty nine Sunbeam MF2B trolleybuses ordered by Bournemouth Corporation, delivered between 1958 and 1962. Bournemouth numbered the new buses 258 -287/295-303 (WRU258-277, YLJ278-287, 295LJ-303LJ)
274 lasted until the end of trolleybus operations, but was sold for scrap after the system closed as no buyer could be found for these relatively new vehicles. There had been high-hopes that Walsall Corporation would purchase the MF2Bs from Bournemouth for further use, and that had been the intention. However, under the 1968 Transport Act, Walsall's Transport Department would fall under the control of the newly created West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority in 1969. The WMPTA had no want to continue trolleybus operations in the town, so all hope of these buses coming to Walsall were quashed.
As always, the image is scanned from the original material, in this case a 35mm slide.
Bournemouth Trolleybus 274, Christchurch, 1969
In the last weeks of operation, photographers flocked to the seaside town of Bournemouth, to record to film the final days of the town's trolleybuses in public service. A popular location for photographers was the turntable situated at Christchurch, where the 20 and 21 services terminated. As can be seen, this was a manual operation requiring both the driver and conductor to physically turn the bus around. I would imagine that on a wet day with a grimy bus, especially in winter this would have been far from pleasurable.
The use of turntables to turn trolleybuses was an unusual practice, and particularly for in-service buses. Huddersfield Corporation had used a turntable at their Longwood trolleybus terminus. Wolverhampton also employed turntables; one at their Sedgley depot until its closure in 1938, and the other at their Bilston Depot until c1965. However, unlike Bournemouth and Huddersfield, the Wolverhampton turntables were used within the depot confines, and were not used to turn in-service vehicles around. Bournemouth became the last town to use a turntable for trolleybus operations. However, they were still extensively employed by the railways at that time.
Trolleybus 274 pictured, was a 1958 built Sunbeam MF2B with a Weymann H35/28D body, delivery new in January 1959. This vehicles was one of thirty nine Sunbeam MF2B trolleybuses ordered by Bournemouth Corporation, delivered between 1958 and 1962. Bournemouth numbered the new buses 258 -287/295-303 (WRU258-277, YLJ278-287, 295LJ-303LJ)
274 lasted until the end of trolleybus operations, but was sold for scrap after the system closed as no buyer could be found for these relatively new vehicles. There had been high-hopes that Walsall Corporation would purchase the MF2Bs from Bournemouth for further use, and that had been the intention. However, under the 1968 Transport Act, Walsall's Transport Department would fall under the control of the newly created West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority in 1969. The WMPTA had no want to continue trolleybus operations in the town, so all hope of these buses coming to Walsall were quashed.
As always, the image is scanned from the original material, in this case a 35mm slide.