Great to see these shots, familiar territory for me. Slight errors in that Hanwell railway bridge is labelled Southall (which it nearly is) and the 607 did not run past Brentford Central (now Brentford) railway station, maybe confused with the 657. Good quality pictures too considering.
When I was a kid I lived in Norwood Green & had piano lessons in Hanwell so I got the 232 to Southall Town Hall then the 607 trolleybus to Hanwell, that was around 1958
That scene at Southall is great- where the pannier tank reverses back over the bridge across the road. There's the big ad for AEC- and when I was a teenager, the man over the road got me to do DIY with him- taught me loads- he was a perfectionist. He had been an apprentice at AEC Southall and he had huge cans full of washers, split pins, nuts and bolts he had acquired there- thirty odd years before. I thought he was crazy with all that junk- now I wish I had all those treasures. I used to get to snog with one of his daughters on the sofa whenher parents were out and a couple of shillings for toiling away sanding the life out of anything and everything. I wish I could go back and start again!Happy days...AEC built trolleybuses chassis but later combined with Leyland and the new organisation was known as BUT- British United Traction- some were sold abroad.
Trolleybuses are the best transport for towns and cities since they combine the best features of trams and buses. The last one in the UK ran in 1972 in Bradford. Why can't we have them now?
How about that for a wallow in Nostalgia? Brilliant!! I can still remember riding on the trolleybuses in Croydon over fifty years ago...so this lovely little film and the evocative music bring back so many memories. Thanks for posting this!
Slim trolleybuses- 7 foot 6 wide- ours in Reading were 8 foot!One of my friends went to San Sebastian, Spain in'65 to see London trolleybuses in action- his dad must have beeen a fan. See the AEC WORKS sign on the Southall bridge? A lost world..
@Quarkman0 Thanks. The routes (connecting old Middlesex towns and suburbs) were: 645 Barnet to Canons Park via North Finchley, Golders Green, Cricklewood, West Hendon, Colindale, Edgware. 662 Sudbury to Paddington via Wembley, Stonebridge Park, Harlesden, Harrow Road. 664 Edgware to Paddington via Harlesden, Harrow Road. 666 Edgware to Hammersmith via Colindale, Cricklewood, Willesden, Harlesden, Acton.
The last of these routes were closed in early 1962. All the best.
great film, a little point, 1-48 to 2-02 is St Johns Hill Clapham Jct, and as I lived at the top of the hill, (Vardens Road) Bloody marvellous, great to see it how it was,
i vaguely remember that planet I was young. I remember you could walk the streets in relative safety nobody had shooters unless you Reg and Ronnie Kray
wonderful, I grew up in ealing in the 50's&60's, nice to see shepherds bush and ealing common, we had a school visit to the AEC works, coal and timber barges still sailed the grand union canal well into the 60's, Lammertons still had a horse drawn furniture van with 4 horse team making deliveries, the milkman had a horse drawn milk float, replaced by three wheeler electric, gas lamps replaced with electric lights, rag&bone men bought the milk floats to go round shouting any old iron rags& bones
Really enjoyed the video. Pure nostalgia. As a former Eastender I rememberd trolleybus routes 557, 685, 687, 699 and 699 which went mostly between Chingford/Walthamstow and the Royal doack or Liverpool St. I wonder if anyone has any footage of these routes.
Thanks for the memory,rode the 607 as a lad. Campaigned against 'Red Kens' Tram route, offered a Trolley system as an alternative, from manufacturer in Uruguay. Ken was against it, thankfully Ealing voted against it, so, no tram. Love to asee trolleys again so clean and quite
Yes, for once the residents voices were heard. The tram would have meant closing off parts of the Uxbridge Road and diverting all the other traffic down side roads. Great memories of the wonderful trolleys and the humming motors and Ealing as it used to be.
@Quarkman0 OOPS! not the Light Programme, it was Radio 2! The programme was called "Thanks For The Memory" and ran from 1972 until shortky before his death in 2004.
@20pipedreamer OK, cast your mind back to the fifties (oh to return!!), BBC Light Programme, Sunday afternoon (I think) - "Down Your Way" with Franklin Engleman> The piece of music is called "The Horseguards".
@MrLesbailey OK Les, I'll put you out of your misery! The piece of music is called "Time Was" and was the theme music for Hubert Gregg's show on the Light Programme.
Cont; Lammertons was a furniture store in ealing broadway by the way, when trolleys were tobe scrapped, the red rover was used to ride as many as possible at weekends, and when the saddle tanks were to be replaced by AEC engined DMU's I went to school and back on them for their last year, a longer walk than by bus. and at school a joke I didn't understand at the time about southall having its independance day! in ealing never saw any asians, a few african types, very few. but thanks 4 reminding.
I'm asian, born in Hillingdon, lived in Northolt since 1969, i do miss my earliest memories of Northolt/Southall/Greenford, i do agree it really is a third world mess now!
We should never have got rid of trolleybuses in London. They are arguably more practical than trams, as they don't require tracks to run on. The air quality in London would be better if trolleys were still running - no doubt about that. Even despite all the cars now.
@wordsmith52 I might be able to help there but can't promise anything! Do you remember any of the route numbers? That would help me to track footage down.
brilliant video is there anymore footage of this anywhere maybe dvd etc id love to see more of hayes and uxbridge its great to see i wasnt born in 1960 it looks alot better than it does know hate to say it but third world country is correct when you look back and see how it used to look nice and clean shame these trolley buses didnt survive but then they belong to a time thats been forgoten along with our heritage
Great memories preserved. I remmeebr these vehicles so well. Do you know if teher are any videos or stills of the Edgware / Willesden / Barnet routes? (As for BTF and their kind - they are totally selfish, ignorant and shortsighted idiots - like most copyright fanatics who think they own everyitng on earth outright!)
Not a speed camera in sight? 6,000 people died on the roads in the UK in 1960 compared with 2,000 in 2012. With far fewer cars around. Nail 'em up I say! Nail some sense into them! (speeding motorists that is).
Motorcyclists (see at 2:22 to 2:25) weren't required to wear helmets either - it was left up to the individual to decide to wear one - unbelievable! Most didn't........motorcycle accidents were unsurprisingly more frequent then (despite the smaller number of cars), and as now, fatal alot of the time.
That won't satisfy the car haters. They want zero road casualties. They think slapping down silly 20mph limits on most of the roads shown in this video will achieve that. It's leading to more tailgating and irresponsible overtaking, and making pedestrians (and cyclists even more) more careless than ever. Bring back the 30mph limits and enforce them properly, ditch the traffic lights and replace them by roundabouts.
Wonderful footage of England, when people still had pride and decency, in the years before it started to collapse in to the Third World mess it has become. What a lovely time to be a Londoner this must have been ! Where did it all go wrong ?
Wish I remember trolley buses. I wasn't born then. But my mum and dad definitely remembers them x🥰
I used to get the 'Red Rover' all day ticket and ride the buses every saturday around 1960-61 at the age of 9 or 10!! brought back memories.
Once again a great piece of film, thanks for posting.
I sometimes travel on the "new" 607 from Uxbridge to the Bush; would love a chance to go back in time when it was a trolleybus route!
A fascinating and nostalgic trip back into a period long gone yet strangely missed.
Brings back my childhood in Ilford in the early 50s. Including a trollybus trip the day of the eclipse, to Seven Kings I think...
Oh how I wish I had a time machine. Would love to go back and take a ride on that bus and see the sights as was back then.
Great to see these shots, familiar territory for me. Slight errors in that Hanwell railway bridge is labelled Southall (which it nearly is) and the 607 did not run past Brentford Central (now Brentford) railway station, maybe confused with the 657. Good quality pictures too considering.
When I was a kid I lived in Norwood Green & had piano lessons in Hanwell so I got the 232 to Southall Town Hall then the 607 trolleybus to Hanwell, that was around 1958
That scene at Southall is great- where the pannier tank reverses back over the bridge across the road. There's the big ad for AEC- and when I was a teenager, the man over the road got me to do DIY with him- taught me loads- he was a perfectionist. He had been an apprentice at AEC Southall and he had huge cans full of washers, split pins, nuts and bolts he had acquired there- thirty odd years before. I thought he was crazy with all that junk- now I wish I had all those treasures. I used to get to snog with one of his daughters on the sofa whenher parents were out and a couple of shillings for toiling away sanding the life out of anything and everything. I wish I could go back and start again!Happy days...AEC built trolleybuses chassis but later combined with Leyland and the new organisation was known as BUT- British United Traction- some were sold abroad.
Trolleybuses are the best transport for towns and cities since they combine the best features of trams and buses.
The last one in the UK ran in 1972 in Bradford.
Why can't we have them now?
Because the people of Ealing voted against them!
This is fantastic to see Lyons corner house,shepherds bush station,bush green........i lived just round the corner from here in norland market.
How about that for a wallow in Nostalgia? Brilliant!!
I can still remember riding on the trolleybuses in Croydon over fifty years ago...so this lovely little film and the evocative music bring back so many memories. Thanks for posting this!
Great memories,bring back these quality machines,they were awesome!! Thanks for posting vid 5+5
Slim trolleybuses- 7 foot 6 wide- ours in Reading were 8 foot!One of my friends went to San Sebastian, Spain in'65 to see London trolleybuses in action- his dad must have beeen a fan. See the AEC WORKS sign on the Southall bridge? A lost world..
I rode that route a couple of times as a kid. Happy memories - and thanks !
eflatsharpness hey, you still here?
good shots passing Aec who built so many classic buses!
@Quarkman0 Thanks. The routes (connecting old Middlesex towns and suburbs) were:
645 Barnet to Canons Park via North Finchley, Golders Green, Cricklewood, West Hendon, Colindale, Edgware.
662 Sudbury to Paddington via Wembley, Stonebridge Park, Harlesden, Harrow Road.
664 Edgware to Paddington via Harlesden, Harrow Road.
666 Edgware to Hammersmith via Colindale, Cricklewood, Willesden, Harlesden, Acton.
The last of these routes were closed in early 1962. All the best.
great film, a little point, 1-48 to 2-02 is St Johns Hill Clapham Jct, and as I lived at the top of the hill, (Vardens Road) Bloody marvellous, great to see it how it was,
i vaguely remember that planet I was young.
I remember you could walk the streets in relative safety nobody had shooters unless you Reg and Ronnie Kray
wonderful, I grew up in ealing in the 50's&60's, nice to see shepherds bush and ealing common, we had a school visit to the AEC works, coal and timber barges still sailed the grand union canal well into the 60's, Lammertons still had a horse drawn furniture van with 4 horse team making deliveries, the milkman had a horse drawn milk float, replaced by three wheeler electric, gas lamps replaced with electric lights, rag&bone men bought the milk floats to go round shouting any old iron rags& bones
I used to follow the Lamerton´s horses with a bucket and sell the dung for garden manure on Bob a Job Week
wow thats brilliant never seen bush and acton in that way
Really enjoyed the video. Pure nostalgia.
As a former Eastender I rememberd trolleybus routes 557, 685, 687, 699 and 699 which went mostly between Chingford/Walthamstow and the Royal doack or Liverpool St.
I wonder if anyone has any footage of these routes.
loved the cameo appearance of the tank engine reversing over the bridge at about 2:20
Thanks for the memory,rode the 607 as a lad. Campaigned against 'Red Kens' Tram route, offered a Trolley system as an alternative, from manufacturer in Uruguay. Ken was against it, thankfully Ealing voted against it, so, no tram.
Love to asee trolleys again so clean and quite
Yes, for once the residents voices were heard. The tram would have meant closing off parts of the Uxbridge Road and diverting all the other traffic down side roads. Great memories of the wonderful trolleys and the humming motors and Ealing as it used to be.
i remember sheperds bush like that and anyone notice the steam engine reversing over the iron bridge in
southhall great stuff
@Quarkman0 OOPS! not the Light Programme, it was Radio 2! The programme was called "Thanks For The Memory" and ran from 1972 until shortky before his death in 2004.
By 1948 there were 60 trolleybuses per hour running on route 607, so there was always another one beind. It was the busiest route on the system.
That's right. If I remember correctly it became route 207 and route 667 which I used as a child became 267.
Thanks Ronnie! The only other one on my channel is called "East End Trolleys". More of the same nostalgic indulgence! Hope you like it!
I just remembered, London's first (and last) trolleybus, "The Diddler" was built by AEC.
@20pipedreamer OK, cast your mind back to the fifties (oh to return!!), BBC Light Programme, Sunday afternoon (I think) - "Down Your Way" with Franklin Engleman> The piece of music is called "The Horseguards".
2.20 delightful steam shunter
Brilliant footage - Come Back Trolley buses - (a drain on the National Grid - but it would stop all the pollution freaks!!)
@20pipedreamer If it's nostalgia you're after, my other Trolleybus videos all have a similar soundtrack - enjoy!
The shot through Ealing Broadway is actually travelling Eastwards !
@MrLesbailey OK Les, I'll put you out of your misery!
The piece of music is called "Time Was" and was the theme music for Hubert Gregg's show on the Light Programme.
Cont; Lammertons was a furniture store in ealing broadway by the way, when trolleys were tobe scrapped, the red rover was used to ride as many as possible at weekends, and when the saddle tanks were to be replaced by AEC engined DMU's I went to school and back on them for their last year, a longer walk than by bus. and at school a joke I didn't understand at the time about southall having its independance day! in ealing never saw any asians, a few african types, very few. but thanks 4 reminding.
I'm asian, born in Hillingdon, lived in Northolt since 1969, i do miss my earliest memories of Northolt/Southall/Greenford, i do agree it really is a third world mess now!
GREAT STUFF
We should never have got rid of trolleybuses in London. They are arguably more practical than trams, as they don't require tracks to run on. The air quality in London would be better if trolleys were still running - no doubt about that. Even despite all the cars now.
and now in 2020 Moscow has committed the same mistake
Excellent!!
@redfred70 I also agree fred where indeed has it all gone, what have they done to our wonderful Island
Where about in Uxbridge was that? The Bus station there is pretty massive.
Well spotted! Yes, sorry, I forgot to mention that!
Nice video but isn't the section 1:46 to 2:00 a view of St. John's Hill, Clapham Junction on the 626, 628 and 655 routes?
I'm guessing about 1963.
Trolleybus goes under the railway bridge and, wait a moment, a pannier tank trundles across i..........Dreadful!
Wasn't life sweet!
trolleybus route 607 terminated at friars park uxbridge
@wordsmith52 I might be able to help there but can't promise anything! Do you remember any of the route numbers? That would help me to track footage down.
brilliant video is there anymore footage of this anywhere maybe dvd etc
id love to see more of hayes and uxbridge
its great to see i wasnt born in 1960 it looks alot better than it does know
hate to say it but third world country is correct when you look back and see how it used to look nice and clean
shame these trolley buses didnt survive but then they belong to a time thats been forgoten along with our heritage
@redfred70
Well said!
Great memories preserved. I remmeebr these vehicles so well. Do you know if teher are any videos or stills of the Edgware / Willesden / Barnet routes? (As for BTF and their kind - they are totally selfish, ignorant and shortsighted idiots - like most copyright fanatics who think they own everyitng on earth outright!)
Not a speed camera in sight? 6,000 people died on the roads in the UK in 1960 compared with 2,000 in 2012. With far fewer cars around. Nail 'em up I say! Nail some sense into them! (speeding motorists that is).
Motorcyclists (see at 2:22 to 2:25) weren't required to wear helmets either - it was left up to the individual to decide to wear one - unbelievable! Most didn't........motorcycle accidents were unsurprisingly more frequent then (despite the smaller number of cars), and as now, fatal alot of the time.
That won't satisfy the car haters. They want zero road casualties. They think slapping down silly 20mph limits on most of the roads shown in this video will achieve that. It's leading to more tailgating and irresponsible overtaking, and making pedestrians (and cyclists even more) more careless than ever. Bring back the 30mph limits and enforce them properly, ditch the traffic lights and replace them by roundabouts.
and not a yellow line in sight.This is when Britain was great instead of the third world country it is now,
Wonderful footage of England, when people still had pride and decency, in the years before it started to collapse in to the Third World mess it has become. What a lovely time to be a Londoner this must have been ! Where did it all go wrong ?
What with the music- and the footage this is about as close to time travel as you can get!
beautiful before west London became new delhi
i'd love to leave a comment but i can't think of anything racist to say
beautiful film.
but could we have a little less originality in the comments and a bit more complaining about indians please?
I loved being young in the 1950s, always happy and safe.