HUDDERSFIELD PASSENGER TRANSPORT GROUP

HUDDERSFIELD CORPORATION TROLLEYBUSES

HISTORY OF HUDDERSFIELD CORPORATION TRANSPORT TROLLEYBUSES & PICTURES

by Roy Brook and John S. Hinchliffe

Huddersfield Passenger Transport Group

HUDDERSFIELD

CORPORATION TROLLEYBUSES

click picture for larger view, click arrows at side of picture ↓↓ for more views

HUDDERSFIELD

HOME PAGE

Tram track renewal was however, now becoming increasingly expensive, and when the track on the Almondbury route became due for replacement, the Tramways Committee decided against this, and instead to replace the trams with trolleybuses. The first trolleybus service in Huddersfield from Byram Street to Almondbury was therefore inaugurated on 4 December, 1933, using 6 vehicles with varying chassis, bodies and electrical equipment with a view to evaluating the best types for local conditions.

When the question of renewing about a mile of track in Trinity Street, Westbourne Road and New Hey Road arose in 1933 it was again decided to substitute trolleybuses on the Outlane, Lindley and Waterloo routes and the changeover was made on 11 November 1934.

In April, 1935 a wholesale tramway abandonment scheme was approved by the Town Council, the programme being spread over five years. 24 Karrier trolleybuses with Park Royal and Brush bodies were ordered for the 1934 tramway conversion, followed by a further 2 ‘one off’ vehicles (Nos. 31 and 32) the latter becoming the prototype for the future fleet; it was also the first Huddersfield trolleybus to have the familiar cream lower front panel below the windscreen, a feature retained throughout the trolleybus era.

8 further Karrier / Park Royal trolleybuses were acquired for the Newsome route in 1937. This section was extended to Caldercliffe Road, Berry Brow, and a new route name ‘Newsome South’ was coined by the Department for this terminus.85 Karrier trolleybuses were then ordered, this being the largest single order for such vehicles ever placed in the U.K. up to that time. 10 of these had Weymann, 10 had Brush and 65 had Park Royal bodies one of which survived in preservation until 2003 it had been awaiting restoration when the body colapsed No. 70 (AVH470) which cost the department £2131 in 1938 it had run 436,667 miles in service, it was sold to Epsom and Ewell Council for £50 they used it at Epsom racecourse as a mobile toilet.

A new depot was built at Longroyd Bridge utilising the 1921 tram depot and the old 1901 Car Shed & Power Station areas, the old buildings on these sites being demolished. The 1921 tram depot is still in existence at present, only the wall flanking St. Thomas’ Road having been rebuilt in stone. This is the building now uses by a window firm.

Tramcar services were gradually withdrawn between 1937 and 1939 as new overhead wiring was erected and new traction poles planted where necessary. A necessary preliminary as with tramcars was the inspection of each route by the Ministry of Transport (successor to the Board of Trade) before public service was sanctioned. As trolleybuses consume more power than tramcars running on their smooth rails it was found essential to provide new sub-stations on each route to make this power available where needed. Very frequent services were the order of the day when new trolleybus routes opened, with 10/12 minute off-peak and 4/5 minute peak hour services.

Trolleybuses were painted in the same striking livery as the Joint Omnibus Committee, i.e. cream bands above and below the lower saloon windows, below the upper saloon windows (all edged with black lines), maroon below lower saloon cream bands, and Post Office red for the remaining parts. The Borough Coat of Arms appeared on each side on the maroon panel and also at the front and back of each bus.

The pre-war trolleybus fleet was completed by a final order for 15 Karrier/Park Royal vehicles delivered in 1939.

It was not possible to operate trolleybuses on the Honley route beyond Lockwood Church as they could not negotiate the low railway bridge in Woodhead Road, and the service over this section was provided by motor buses of the Huddersfield Joint Omnibus Committee with an annual adjustment to the Corporation of £2922. When war came in September, 1939, only the Brighouse tram service remained and conversion was delayed due to a problem in connection with the running of trolleybuses over the L.M.S. Railway bridge in Gooder Lane, Brighouse. 10 new trolleybuses (the Weymann bodied Karriers 116 to 125) were stored in brand new condition whilst difficulties were encountered in maintaining the tramcars in good condition for use on the Brighouse route. After various tests during 1940 the L.M.S. ultimately agreed to trolleybuses crossing the bridge at a dead slow speed in the central part of the road, and subject to the bridge being strengthened.

By 1940 the trolleybus fleet consisted of 140 vehicles. Huddersfield was in a more fortunate position than many other operators as its fleet was almost new and no further replacements were necessary for the duration of the war. A change in managership in 1941 resulted in vehicles being painted in Post Office red all over apart from the cream bands, although no trolleybus was ever painted in the grey or khaki wartime liveries seen in some towns and cities. During the emergency the trolleybuses were called upon to carry very heavy passenger loads, and the Karrier E6s proved equal to the task. Services were still running on frequent headways as they were unaffected by the reduction in fuel imports. On the other hand motor bus services were reduced in frequency and had an earlier close-down each evening.

When peace returned 52 new 70-seater vehicles were ordered to replace the ageing Karriers and the twelve Karrier/Brush bodied 1934 vehicles were sold to Reading Corporation for further service, although only 6 of these actually ran again, the others being used as a source of spare parts. In 1947 eight Karrier (Sunbeam) MS2 arrived with Park Royal 70 seat bodies at accost to the department of £4802 each one of which survived into preservation 541 (CVH741).

On 27 March, 1949, the first all-round fare increase for almost 30 years was imposed, but post-war conditions, without the stable economy of the inter-war years, have made periodic fare increases unavoidable.

A programme of re-bodying 28 Karrier E6 trolleybuses with new body shells by Charles. H. Roe Ltd was embarked upon in 1949, a scheme which gave these vehicles a further 10 to 12 years of life. The scheme was later extended to include trolleybuses built after the war, and in all some 69 vehicles were given this treatment. 14 Sunbeam trolleybuses with similar but longer Roe bodies were acquired in 1951, followed by 24 B.U.T. vehicles with bodywork by East Lancashire Coachbuilders. The last order for trolleybuses made by Huddersfield was in 1958 when 10 Sunbeam/East Lancs vehicles were added to the fleet. These were unique in being the last three-axle trolleybuses built for service in the U.K. These trolleybuses did not have ‘HUDDERSFIELD’ on the destination this was replaced with ‘MARKET PLACE’ or ‘ST GEORGES SQUARE’.

Post-war extensions were made into housing estates at Brackenhall and Riddings in March, 1949, whilst the Bradley (Keldregate) branch was opened in April, 1956, and proved to be the last trolleybus extension.

In the year ended 31 March, 1949, Huddersfield trolleybuses carried the largest number of passengers during their existence, i.e. 61,255,937!

By the early 1960s it was found that the trolleybus was in the same position as the tramcar had been 80 years earlier, i.e. the cost of replacing overhead equipment, copper wire, and the price of electricity had increased to the extent as to make trolleybus operation uneconomic. Motor buses also cost less to buy and they were more flexible.

After considering all the facts at a lengthy debate in October, 1962, the Town Council decided to replace all trolleybuses by motor buses. The abandonment programme was duly implemented and Huddersfield’s last trolleybus ran on the Waterloo-Outlane route on Saturday, 13 July, 1968, leaving Westgate for Waterloo at 2.31 p.m. Crowds of well-wishers lined the route to say farewell to a form of transport which had always been held in very high regard by the people of Huddersfield for 35 years. Apart from local pride, the Huddersfield system was renowned throughout the U.K. for its high standard of services, vehicles and maintenance. Two of these trolleybuses 619 (KVH219) a 1953 B.U.T. and 631 (PVH931) a 1959 SUNBEAM S7A both with East Lancashire 72 seat bodies are now preserved, along with 541 (CVH741) at Sandtoft trolleybus Museum.

The decision made in October, 1962, resulted in the replacement of all trolleybuses with motor buses, and between the years 1964 and 1968 the Corporation purchased 26 Daimler buses with Roe bodies, and 22 with East Lancs bodies. To these were added 32 Daimler ‘Fleetlines’, again with Roe bodies to complete the fleet at 104 vehicles. The Corporation also purchased from the JOC 2 elderly railway-owned 1947 AEC Regent buses with Park Royal bodies for peak period use and repainted them in the new Corporation style with cream fronts.

The trolleybuses were gradually withdrawn continuing in February, 1964, with the Birkby—Crosland Hill route (extended into Balmoral Avenue), until on 13 July, 1968, electric traction ended.