The Bournemouth trolleybus system once served the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of Bournemouth, then in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, but now in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, England. Opened on , it gradually replaced the Bournemouth tramway network. By the standards of the various now-defunct

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 trol ...

systems in the United Kingdom, the Bournemouth system was a medium-sized one, with a total of 22 routes, and a maximum fleet of 104 trolleybuses. It was also the second largest trolleybus system in southern England, 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 was closed on .

Notable features

The most notable feature of the Bournemouth system was probably the

Christchurch trolleybus turntable The Christchurch trolleybus turntable formed part of the Bournemouth trolleybus system, which served the town of Bournemouth and its environs, on the south coast of England. It is still in existence, and is now a Grade II listed building. Hi ...

, which is said to be one of only five such turntables ever to have been constructed worldwide. It is now a Grade II listed building. The turntable was manually operated and was in use from 19 June 1936 until the closure of the system. Also notable was the style of bodywork employed on most of the Bournemouth's trolleybuses. Many featured two staircases and the traditional open rear platform was supplemented with a front passenger exit fitted with folding doors.

Preservation

Several of the former Bournemouth system trolleybuses are now preserved, in their distinctive yellow and maroon livery. Two are 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 museu ...

(fleet numbers 282 and 286), and two Sunbeam MF2B trolleybuses plus one other (fleet numbers 99, 297 and 301) are at

The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft is a transport museum which specialises in the preservation of trolleybuses. It is located by the village of Sandtoft, near Belton on the Isle of Axholme in the English county of Lincolnshire. Description The ...

. One is in private ownership in England. One is in the National Transport Museum of Ireland.

References

Notes

External links

Bournemouth trolleybus picture gallery
– photos and descriptions of Bournemouth trolleybuses and early motorbuses
National Trolleybus ArchiveBritish Trolleybus Society
based in Reading
National Trolleybus Association
based in London History of Bournemouth Bournemouth Bournemouth Transport in Bournemouth {{England-transport-stub

Notable features

Preservation

See also

References

Notes

Further reading

External links