London trolleybusIn 1931 the London United Tramways (LUT) started London's first trolleybus service. It replaced trams service on the Twickenham Junction to Teddington route. The trolleybus had been demonstrated in London as early as 1909, and were running in Leeds since 1911. Like trams, the trolleybus ran on electricity drawn from a "trolley" running along overhead lines. Trolleybuses had pneumatic tyres to run on the same road surface with other traffic. London trams, their rail maintenance expense and trouble to other vehicles, were thus all abandoned by 1952. Yet by 1959, the era of the trolleybus was closing, as diesel-fuelled buses became economical alternatives. London's last trolleybus ran from Wimbledon to Fulwell on 8 May 1962.«[Image: An “A” class, first design of London trolleybus brought out of preservation retirement making its Last Day Run, 8 May 1962, on King's Road, Kingston.] |
