RIP to all the drivers who got us to where we were going in the 1960's and '70's. We wouldn't have got there without you. And thanks to Bob Grant and Reg Varney for making us laugh.
Brings back wonderful memeries... I remember as a small boy going to Cardiff, and riding my first trolly bus. The fact that it was silent when stopped, and then when moving you just heard the whine of the gearbox was quite fascinating to me. Thanks for the splendid film. Anton in Cornwall.
What a joy to come across this wonderful video. Thank you so much for making it available to us. I always think when I hear the commentary from Martin Jenkins that we are in heaven! His delivery is meticulous and certainly unmatched. And what a splendid collection of old vehicles you have enabled us to see here. I gained my PSV on a Leyland PD2 and seeing some in operation made me feel my age! We are reminded in this video of an earlier age when people were content to live a simpler life.
For me as a German it is strange and lovely to see these different bus types! 60 and more years ago we also had many busses, trolleys and tram over here, all gone.... A great movie!
Massive nostalgia thanks. Glad they finally used coloured buses at 12:55 after 60 years of only black&white buses. March 1964 I was a bicyclist (not just now) and during a March 1964 time trial just past Watford it started snowing. Never occurred to me the other lads would just give up & go home, my mate taking my clothes from the grass at the start/finish, and I rode past on the way back because all snow no landmarks and I thought they'd be there with Joe's car. At Amersham I knew I'd overshot and was cold so I rode straight into Amersham bus garage through those big wide bus doors and they sat me in front of their pot-bellied coal stove & gave me mugs of tea and a plate of buttered toast. Took my cycle racing jersey off and dried it in front of the stove. The road dried and the trip home was fine. Got the Underground and rode with all the Sunday people in their coats wearing teeny tight shorts & a cycle racing jersey. Amersham bus garage is my favourite bus garage.
Recognized Kingstone Bus Station on the other side of the road was a wonderful bakers and confectioners, mum would buy my sister and I a cake to eat on the way home to Chessington. I had one of the Dunkirk Little Ship and she was fitted with a pair of Leyland 2.5 diesels lay over engines. The port engine was a pig to work on, but the other one was a piece of cake.
A very well made Video, good clear films. The post war recovery saw the mass ownership of private cars, and a huge blow to public transport and the Railway. What an incredible choice of Bus Manufacturers, and Coach body works we had---add the loss of railway bodyworks, and that's a hell of a lot of jobs gone. What a crowded history of Transport development, during a relatively short period. Horse drawn Trams, to Electric Ones, Petrol driven Buses, to Diesel, throw in some steam driven Buses, add Electric Trolley Buses, remove the Electric Trams and Petrol Buses, and Diesel Buses remain. With the huge development in Electric Cell propulsion, maybe buses will be at the forefront again--why not, there's talk of an electric Aeroplane.
Fascinating to see busy streets of a century ago , I can still laugh today as I remember in 1964 a man running after a bus that he just missed intending to jump on the back , it took him a while to realize it was a new model with front entrance .
wow...brings back a few memories...I recall being a 'clippie' in my student days on the West Yorkshire buses up around Harrogate...had to move fast to collect all the fares on the double deckers doing short runs...hated those halfpennies which would always get stuck in the lining of your leather money bag!
Interesting video. Thanks for sharing. I have travelled on trolley buses in Sydney Australia, Auckland New Zealand and Wellington New Zealand over the years. all systems have now gone, with Wellington closing their trolley bus system as late as October 2017.
Ah, Kingston Bus Station at 5:16, how many times I used to wait there at the corner for the 131 to draw up, just inside by the tiny waiting room. Old reels of moving pictures of life recalling events as they were lived....if not quite worth their literal weight in gold they are most definitely worth an awful lot to many people for the memories they help recall. Thanks a million for showing them, sincerely…
If you search for a video on You Tube called Burning Buses, you can see how they got rid of this scrap. Absolutely busted the shit out of them with sledge hammers, burned the frames, and chopped up the rest with cutting torches for recycling It's a great video!
605? They were great. There was a sharp turn at Norbiton Church, Cambridge Rd. Sometimes they'd come off the wires and a 7 year old, who lived there, would watch the conductor put them back on. 1959.
The speaker said that Ipswich trolleys went in 1950. They closed in 1963 and I remember them about 1960.I even saw one of the single deckers, albeit abandoned in a field.
The London T and TD classes lasted for ages despite looking far more old fashioned than the only slightly younger RF. The trolleys looked so modern I am still shocked by their retirement - (the petrol lobby of course).
The real Barton Transport Ltd (NOT the trent outfit) in the 1960s and 1970s would have been a bus enthusiasts heaven the buses were a generation out of date, and many odd types , many were kept going out of scrap yards and our own scrapers, l worked in the garage also on nights , recovery and emergency psv driving also odd times coach driving, it was as good when we had the new fleet l was finnished on the trent take over l am glad to say Bill Redfern
Nice video. Thanks for showing evolution of buses generations. Thanks for showing trolley buses of London which Is not seen in India. Video was very informative about Double Decker buses.
I too remember Banstead Coaches. They used to run a bus service using their coaches between Chipstead Valley, Midday Sun and Banstead, Victoria via Woodmansterne. If I remember correctly it was not allowed to use the Banstead Coaches bus if only wanting to ride the length of Banstead High Street as that part of the route was the soul preserve of London Transport buses in respect of carrying fare paying passengers. The Banstead Coaches service is long gone. For many years now the connection between Chipstead Valley and Banstead has been met by London Transport bus 166, with some journeys extented to Epsom. The 166 used to terminate at Chipstead Valley, Midday Sun and therefore connected with the Banstead Coaches bus.
The clowns who got rid of the trolley buses and trams need erased from history, it’s now costing ratepayers a fortune to get them up and running again, all those early electric vehicles and technology already there ,
They don't need to be erased from history, they should be named and shamed instead. The main perpetrator is Lord Latham, he did this and also cut suburban trains (an event known as Beeching cuts) because his family owned an asphalt company
No ghost David. With clean streets and no rubbish blowing about like now it must be the sun reflecting on the ground from the rear windows of that lovely Bedford OB on a hot summers day sometime in the 1950s.
Locally - Youngstown, Ohio, we had a lot of "trackless trolleys" in the 50's. I don't remember any tracked routes, but we did have some suburban light rail (and the associated parks) - my dad used to ride with his uncle. I always liked to watch the overhead power connection on the overhead rail. At some point, the light rail vanished (much of the track is still in use!), and the trackless trolleys lost their wired connection. In those days, a six-year-old riding a bus across town by himself wasn't unusual. Did it all the time.... Today, the local PD would be a little upset if such a youngster was armed. No need when I was riding alone, but nobody would have raised an eyebrow if nobody got shot. I did get to ride some real streetcars in Pittsburgh - a couple of old-maid great aunts lived there, and we'd go visit sometimes. One aunt liked to take me to a "5 & 10" store that was a good five minutes away by streetcar. Fun for me, at least....
They had electric buses over a hundred years ago. So why were they not used since, as they were zero emissions capable. Today, they're doing it as if electric vehicles are a new technology and forcing it on the people. Why did they bring in Diesel buses when they already had electric buses/trams running?
In the sixties, when diesel buses replaced trolley buses, they claimed that diesel was more flexible, could be used on a variety of routes, and one could overtake another.
By the late 50's early 60's it was the infrastructure built in the 30's that was wearing out and would be more expensive to replace than new buses. Traffic volume had built up to such an extent in towns that it was brought to a stand behind the trolly bus at each stop as the roads were too narrow to overtake.
I live in Nottingham, can well remember trolley buses they had comfy leather seats can remember that chrome rail at the back entrance and seeing a cyclist which was common, holding onto it they had a fast 0 to60 take off and the cyclist ended up over his handlebars and into the backof bus, were now back to trams! I had visions of monorails for the 21st century my parents would laugh if they knew lol
What a pity you didn't manage to get the two AEC Regal single deckers of Southend Corporation that saw wartime service as ambulances during WWII. They eventually returned to bus operations and one (fleet n° 203 JN823) was converted to o.m.o. with a lever to operate the passenger door. N°204 (JN824) was consigned to driver training. Both had wooden framed bodies with a canvas roof and if one was riding on the full width back seat, seeing the sides and roof waving about could be quite alarming.
All the British trolleybus systems from 1911 to 1972 operated at a nominal supply voltage of about 550 volts DC. Worldwide, the supply voltage varies between 400 and 1,000 volts DC depending on the country.
Why ☎️not give the old buses a run in service🐢 from april to july every year they would be great fun 🎢and a great tourist Attraction '🎩they could get people 'n companies💰 ' Hotels ' 💰cinemas'💰 charities ' 💰sports bodies 'to sponsor 💰 a Double DECKER OR SINGLE OLD BUSE 'YEAH LETS GO BACK TO THE FUTURE ⌚⌚⌚⌚⌚⌚⌚⌚
They don't have old buses in Malta anymore.... In about 2010 Arriva took over all bus services on the island using ex-London Mercedes Benz Citato 0503G buses but poor service caused by strikes and a few buses catching fire led to renationalisation although they've since been privatised again...
@@wclifton968gameplaystutorials thanks for the info , our last and only time in Malta was 2008 , you always think things will stay the same , rather sad , I suppose they ran out of spare parts.
Did these trolley buses have to follow an exact course to keep on the electricity supply? What would happen if there was an obstacle in their path that they would have to drive around such as a broken down car?
@@nysun6293 yep , in many ways! Around 1905 (or so) there were more electric / battery cars than internal combustion engine ones! They only fully died out in the later 20s / early 30s when i.c.e. got more efficient.
@@lffuwefgseghhfd9848 Silly comment...! As I said previously, this channel is for serious grown up comments, you know, comments that make sense. Juveniles with stupid threats should go the kids channel, watch some cartoons, Now if you can't understand that you ask your parents to explain for you, discussion end, I won't respond further.
