The Belfast trolleybus system served the city of
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. It was the only
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 ...
system built in Ireland. Opened on , it gradually replaced the city’s
tramway network.
The Belfast system was the second largest trolleybus system in the United Kingdom, after the
London system
The London System, also known as the Mason Variation, is an in chess where White opens with 1.d4 but does not play the Queen's Gambit, instead opting to rapidly develop the . This often results in a . The London System can be used against virt ...
. It had a total of 17 routes, and a maximum fleet of 245 trolleybuses. It closed on .
History
In 1936,
Belfast Corporation's tramway committee recommended that an experimental trolleybus service be inaugurated after inspecting the
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
,
Bournemouth
Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
and
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
systems. Seven pairs of chassis from
AEC,
Crossley
Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group.
More than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines ...
,
Daimler
Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to:
People
* Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies
* Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler
* Paul Da ...
,
Guy,
Karrier
Karrier was a British marque of motorised municipal appliances and light commercial vehicles and trolley buses manufactured at Karrier Works, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, by Clayton and Co., Huddersfield, Limited. They began making Karrier moto ...
,
Leyland and
Sunbeam
A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sunl ...
were acquired. These were fitted with six types of electric motor with coachwork by five different builders, and were supplied on the proviso that should the trial be a success, Belfast Corporation would purchase them, and should it fail they would be returned.
On 28 March 1938, operations commenced out of Falls Park depot along
Falls Road. This was chosen as being a virtually stand-alone route.
[Joyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 22–26, 159. London: ]Ian Allan Publishing
Ian Allan Publishing was an English publisher, established in 1942, which specialised in transport books. It was founded by Ian Allan.
In 1942 Ian Allan, then working in the public relations department for the Southern Railway at Waterloo st ...
.
Judged a success, Belfast Corporation decided to replace the entire
tramway network. An order was placed with AEC for 114 trolleybuses; however, wartime constraints resulted in only 88 being delivered.
[
* AEC 664T 98 and Guy BTX 112 at the ]Ulster Folk & Transport Museum
The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past ...
, Cultra
Cultra ( - ) is an affluent residential neighbourhood near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is part of Greater Belfast. It is in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area.
Cultra is home to the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Cl ...
*Guy BTX 168 at the Keighley
Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish
in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford.
Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...
Bus Museum
*Guy BTX 183 at the National Transport Museum of Ireland
The National Transport Museum of Ireland ( ga, Iarsmalann Náisiunta Iompair na hÉireann) is based in the grounds of Howth Castle in Ireland.
The museum is located in the Heritage Depot, Howth Demesne, Howth
Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) i ...
, Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
*Sunbeam
A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sunl ...
F4A 246 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
Carlton Colville is a civil parish and suburb of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. It is south-west of the centre of the town, in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district. The area lies along the A146 road, A146 Lowestoft to ...
East Anglia Transport Museum Fleetlist
East Anglia Transport Museum
Depots
Trolleybuses operated from three depots:
[
*Falls Park
*Haymarket
*Short Strand
]
See also
*History of Belfast
Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, and throughout its modern history has been a major commercial and industrial centre. In the late 20th century manufacturing industries that had existed for several centuries declined, particularly shi ...
*Transport in Belfast
Transportation systems in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland include road, air, rail, and sea. It is still a relatively car dependent city however it is also served by a comprehensive rail and bus network. Belfast also ran electric trams prior t ...
*List of trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom
This is a list of trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom by Home Nation
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdo ...
References
Notes
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
National Trolleybus Archive
British Trolleybus Society
based in Reading
{{Historic UK Trolleybuses
History of Belfast
Transport in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
1938 establishments in Northern Ireland
1968 disestablishments in Northern Ireland