Traction pole removal, Wolverhampton, 1967
Workmen from Wolverhampton Corporation's Public Works Department removing redundant trolleybus traction poles on the A449 Penn Road. This was being undertaken in stages to upgrade street lighting along the length of the Penn Road to the town's boundary at Springhill. The method of removal was to dig around the base of the pole, then cut the pole off with an oxy-acetylene gas torch. The shallow hole would then be back-filled. The 5ft to 6ft of the base of the steel traction pole remained in the ground, and many of them are still there to this day.
The red tower-wagon belonged to the Transport Department, and would be used for removing redundant street lighting equipment from poles so fitted. In those days, the street lighting salvaged from the traction poles would be returned to the street lighting department for reuse.
Trolleybuses had ceased to use the Penn Road from the end of June 1963, when the No4 (Pennfields) and No11 (Penn) trolleybus services were converted to motorbus services. The overhead was removed soon after, but most of the traction poles were left in, many of them carrying street lighting. The replacement 39ft streetlighting columns were supplied by Cohen Ltd, and the lanterns by the REVO Electric Co of Tipton, these being Revo 'Saturn' cut-off lanterns for high-wattage sodium lighting.
Additionally, road-widening was envisaged along the A449's entire length within the Wolverhampton district. However, it would come to pass that only certain sections of the Penn Road would ever become dual-carriageway.
The tall building seen under the arch of the Hi-ab was the offices of the 'Star Aluminium' die casting factory. Today, a Tesco supermarket stands on the site.
Photo - Friday, 28th April 1967.
Traction pole removal, Wolverhampton, 1967
Workmen from Wolverhampton Corporation's Public Works Department removing redundant trolleybus traction poles on the A449 Penn Road. This was being undertaken in stages to upgrade street lighting along the length of the Penn Road to the town's boundary at Springhill. The method of removal was to dig around the base of the pole, then cut the pole off with an oxy-acetylene gas torch. The shallow hole would then be back-filled. The 5ft to 6ft of the base of the steel traction pole remained in the ground, and many of them are still there to this day.
The red tower-wagon belonged to the Transport Department, and would be used for removing redundant street lighting equipment from poles so fitted. In those days, the street lighting salvaged from the traction poles would be returned to the street lighting department for reuse.
Trolleybuses had ceased to use the Penn Road from the end of June 1963, when the No4 (Pennfields) and No11 (Penn) trolleybus services were converted to motorbus services. The overhead was removed soon after, but most of the traction poles were left in, many of them carrying street lighting. The replacement 39ft streetlighting columns were supplied by Cohen Ltd, and the lanterns by the REVO Electric Co of Tipton, these being Revo 'Saturn' cut-off lanterns for high-wattage sodium lighting.
Additionally, road-widening was envisaged along the A449's entire length within the Wolverhampton district. However, it would come to pass that only certain sections of the Penn Road would ever become dual-carriageway.
The tall building seen under the arch of the Hi-ab was the offices of the 'Star Aluminium' die casting factory. Today, a Tesco supermarket stands on the site.
Photo - Friday, 28th April 1967.