The Derby trolleybus system once served

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

, the former

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

in central England. The

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

service started in 1932 and ran until 1967.

History

The Derby trolleybus system opened on , and it gradually replaced the Derby tramway network. The trolleybus system was opened just a year after

London United Tramways London United Tramways Company Limited was an operator of trams and trolleybuses in the western and southern suburbs of London, UK, from 1894 to 1933, when it passed to the London Passenger Transport Board. Origins The company was formed in 189 ...

, although nearby Nottingham had started using trolleybuses five years before. The trolleybuses operated by Derby Corporation led to the last Derby tram being eventually withdrawn from regular routes at the end of June with a special last journey on 2 July 1934. By the standards of the various, now defunct,

systems in the United Kingdom, the Derby system was a medium-sized one, with a total of 11 routes, and a maximum fleet of 73 trolleybuses. The system was much cheaper to run than motorbuses but the end was signalled when proposed extensions to the network were blocked by protest to the additional poles and cabling that would be required. The system was closed on . DerbyTrolleybus

There were over the years 165 Derby trolleybuses although this figure includes six that were second-hand. Five of the former Derby system trolleybuses are now preserved. One of them is at the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft in Lincolnshire, a second one is kept at the

Westgate Transport Museum Westgate or West Gate may refer to: Companies * Westgate Resorts, a real estate company and timeshare company * Westgate Department Stores, the department store division of Anglia Regional Co-operative Society in the United Kingdom Events * Westg ...

, Belton, near Sandtoft, and a third is based (but privately owned) at the

East Anglia Transport Museum The East Anglia Transport Museum is an open-air transport museum, with numerous historic public transport vehicles (including many in full working order). It is located in Carlton Colville a suburb of Lowestoft, Suffolk. It is the only museum ...

, Carlton Colville, Suffolk. The other two are privately owned and stored at unknown locations in the UK.

Services

Route 22 extended to the outer ring road until 1952, when it was extended to the

Mackworth Estate Mackworth is a suburb and electoral ward of the city of Derby, England. Is it located on the north-west of the city near to Markeaton Park and the suburb of Mickleover. It is also known as Mackworth Estate, to distinguish it from the nearby Mackwo ...

. This route continued until the trolleybus operation closed in 1967. The picture shows a trolleybus at the end of this route.

Culture

A Derby Corporation Roe trolleybus was die cast in 1:76 scale by the Corgi Toy company. The limited-edition model advertised the ''Wardwick Restaurant'' and electricity. The

indicator Indicator may refer to: Biology * Environmental indicator of environmental health (pressures, conditions and responses) * Ecological indicator of ecosystem health (ecological processes) * Health indicator, which is used to describe the health o ...

display was for route 22 to ''Prince Charles Avenue''. As the model bus had ''Roe'' coachwork then it would have been a trolleybus made after 1960.

References

Notes

External links

SCT'61 website
– photos and descriptions of Derby trolleybuses and early motorbuses
National Trolleybus Archive

British Trolleybus Society
based in Reading
National Trolleybus Association
based in London {{Historic UK Trolleybuses Transport in Derby