Trolleybuses in Nottingham

Nottingham Corporation had operated an electric tramway system since 1897, when they took over the network of horse-drawn routes run by Nottingham & District Tramways.[4] In 1913, they obtained an Act of Parliament to authorise additions to that system, and although trolleybuses were in their infancy, the Bill included powers to operate trolleybuses between Market Place and Trent Bridge, and onwards to West Bridgford. The second half of the route was contested by West Bridgford Unrban District Council, and was not included in the Act, although it did include powers to run trolleybuses along any of the tram routes in due course. The powers were not exercised at the time.[5]

While much of the tramway had double tracks, there were some parts where there was only a single track, and it was these sections that were the first to be converted to trolleybus operation.[6] Officials visited Birmingham in 1924, and were sufficiently impressed that they obtained powers to operate trackless vehicles on Nottingham Road. An order was placed with Railless for ten double-deck vehicles, with bodywork by Short Bros (Rochester and Bedford) Ltd.[7] The new service commenced on 10 April 1927, running along Nottingham Road from the city centre to New Basford. The new venture was heralded by a new livery, the predominantly maroon paintwork of the existing trams and motor buses being replaced by green.[6] The ten trolleybuses included the last nine built by Railless before they ceased producing them in favour of more lucrative work,[8] so when the Corporation needed eight extra vehicles, they bought them from Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies of Ipswich.[6]

The next extension to the network was a cross-town route, running from Wilford Road in the south to Wells Road in the north. The overhead wiring was extended beyond the original tram terminus along Wells Road to Kildare Road. Twelve more vehicles were purchased, six from English Electric and another six from Ransomes.[6] The public serice began on 23 February 1930. In order to assess the suitability of vehicles for further extensions to the system, the Corporation hired four trolleybuses in 1931, one each from Associated Equipment Company (AEC), Guy Motors, Karrier and Thornycroft. As a result of the trials, the first of several orders was placed with Karrier, although Ransomes also supplied additional vehicles.[9]

Nottingham Trolleybuses
44 Bulwell Hall Estate 43 Bulwell Market depot 42 Northern Baths Notts & Derby TC 41 Cinderhill 39 Carlton PO Square 36 48 Nottingham Road 38 Hooton Road 37 Haydn Road 40 Wells Road 47 Ransom Road Nottingham 5 Colwick Road 39 Wollaton Park 45 40 47 Wilford Road 43 45 46 48 Trent Bridge

By the time they submitted a Bill to Parliament in 1930, the Corporation had grand visions of what the system migh become, and sought powers to convert all of the remaining tram routes, and to extend the trolleybus routes, in several cases to well beyond the city limits. However, there was opposition from Nottinghamshire County Council and Trent Motor Traction, and only those routes within the city limits were authorised. The first of the new routes to open was to Wollaton Park, including the replacement of motor buses on Ilkeston Road, with services starting on 29 November 1931. Next came the route to Carlton on 29 November 1932, and the section from Nottingham Road to Cinderhill on 25 July 1933.[10]

In addition to Corporation trams in the city, the trams of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Tramways Company also ran between the city centre and Ripley, along the route from Nottingham Road to Cinderhill.[11] They too had been replacing their trams with trolleybuses, and the wiring on the final section between Heanor and Cinderhill was completed to allow through running to begin on 5 October 1933.[12] Although the Corporation ran a limited service to Cinderhill, the main service on that section was provided by Notts & Derby, whose trolleybuses reached the city centre via Nottingham Road and Mansfield Road, rather than the more southerly route along Radford Road and Alfreton Road which the trams had used. Trolleybus operation began on the Bulwell and Bulwell Hall Estate route on 13 May 1934, followed by the route to Colwick Road and that along London Road to Trent Bridge on 2 June 1935.[13]

There was then a period of uncertainty, after a new General Manager was appointed in 1934, who was less favourably disposed towards electric traction. The tram routes to Mapperley and Arnold were replaced by motorbuses,[6] with the final trams on the Arnold route running on 16 September 1936, just a little short of the 39th anniversary of the opening of the tram system.[14] Two years later there was serious discussion about abandoning the trolleybus system, but another change of management occurred, and the idea was shelved.[6] The vehicles that were in service in 1939 were renumbered, by adding 300 to the original fleet numbers. Traffic levels increased during the Second World War, and to meet the need at a time when most factories were engaged in war work, four AECs were borrowed from Cleethorpes, two English Electrics from Southend-on-Sea, six Guys from Hastings, and a Daimler demonstrator from Kingston upon Hull. In 1942, five trolleybuses with utility bodywork were obtained from Sunbeam Commercial Vehicles, and subsequent utility vehicles came from Karrier.[13]

The value of electric traction was appreciated in 1943, when wartime conditions made it difficult to obtain sufficient fuel for motorbuses. Plans were developed for an extension to the route to Carlton, to form a loop running along Main Street, Burton Road, Conroy Road, and Station Road, to Post Office Square. Plans for an extension to Wollaton were shelved because of the difficulties of running a joint service with private companies. The Notts & Derby Company withdrew its plans for a route to Wollaton after the Corporation objected, and revived plans for a Wollaton route by both Notts & Derby and the Corporation in 1947 failed when each objected to the other's scheme.[15]

• Nottingham City Transport
• History of Nottingham
• Transport in Nottingham
• List of trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom

Media related to Trolleybuses in Nottingham at Wikimedia Commons

• SCT'61 website - photos and descriptions of Nottingham trolleybuses and early motorbuses
• Nottingham trolleybuses picture gallery
• National Trolleybus Archive
• British Trolleybus Society, based in Reading
• National Trolleybus Association, based in London