The Hastings 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 ...

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Opened on , it gradually replaced the Hastings tramway network, with the first route to be converted that from the Fishmarket to

Hollington, East Sussex Hollington is a council estate and local government ward in the northwest of Hastings, East Sussex. The area lies next to Baldslow, Ashdown, North and Conquest, and less than five miles southeast of Battle, East Sussex, the home of Battle Abbey ...

and the last, the circular route.Historical Hastings Wiki
Trolleybus - Historical Hastings Wiki
accessdate: 14 January 2020 Tram replacement cost £1,383 per mile, but increased average speed from 7.5 to over 10 mph and cut costs from 13 d to 10d per mile. 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 troll ...

systems in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, the Hastings system was a moderately sized one, with a total of 10 routes, and a maximum fleet of 58 trolleybuses. However, by May 1929 Hastings had 21 miles of trolleybus routes, then the longest in the world. It was closed relatively early, on .

Maidstone & District Motor Services Maidstone & District Motor ServicesCompanies House extract company ...

bought the Tramway Co. in November 1935, but didn't merge it until 1957. The livery changed from brown to green after the takeover, but the 'Hastings Tramways' logo remained until 1957. The power source also changed in 1936, when the tramway power station at Ore was replaced by municipal power. Four of the former Hastings trolleybuses are now preserved. One is 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 ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, and another at

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 ...

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 ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. The remaining two, one of which was fitted with a diesel engine in 1959–60, are owned by the Hastings Trolleybus Restoration Group,

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of arc ...

. The earliest is 1929 open top No.3, which was stored in 1938, but restored in 1952 to run summer open top services.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Hastings Trolleybus Restoration Group
- photos and descriptions of Hastings and District trolleybuses
Historical Hastings Wiki - TrolleybusesNational Trolleybus ArchiveBritish Trolleybus Society
based in Reading
National Trolleybus Association
based in London {{Historic UK Trolleybuses Transport in Hastings

History of East Sussex 1928 establishments in England 1959 disestablishments in England

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links