Bradford Trolleybuses 1970, 1971 and 1972 - including the last day
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 พ.ย. 2024
- Scanned from 8mm cine, filmed by E.J.M. Abbott.
This film was shot over three separate dates, the 26 September 1970, the 25 August 1971 and on the last day of operation - the 26 March 1972.
Bradford was the last trolleybus system still operating in the UK at the point of closure - thus relegating trolleybuses in the UK to Museum pieces.
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What's difficult to understand is that electric traction was ideal on the steep hills of Braford. Trolleybuses that zoomed up the hills replaced by slow chugging diesel buses. Also what's ironic is these last UK trolleybuses stopped running 26th March 1972 using home produced electricity (coal fired power stations) replaced by diesel buses running on imported oil. Just over 1 year later in October 1973 there was an international oil crisis that pushed up the cost of oil by near 400%. Crazy, short-sighted economics. If the 1973 oil crisis had happened 10 years earlier many trolleybus systems may have survived.
Absolutely right about the oil crisis, Neville, but in fairness nobody predicted the Arab/Israeli conflict at that time. If only the trolleybuses had lasted a little longer, the economic case for abandonment would have collapsed.
My dad worked for Bradford Council at the time, and he told me that the Bradford hills played havoc with the clutches and gearboxes of the replacement Leyland Atlanteans leading to much higher maintenance costs than anticipated.
Same thing goes for Belfast, which had the largest network outside of London. The trolleybuses were overtaking the diesel buses which struggled to climb the hills.
Bradford looked so much better back then....... amazing footage of better days now sadly passed...
It's absolutely Incredible that both Bradford and leeds had pretty much the best transport systems in the country at one point, Leeds with its massive tram network that covered every part of the city,not just a few lines and Bradford with its unique and first trolley bus network. Now west Yorkshire has the worst transport system!
Unfortunately Leeds and Bradford have missed out on the new trams. Hopefully they'll come in the future.
Having moved from West Yorkshire to Staffordshire, I'd happily go back. It may not be as good as places like Manchester, Birmingham or London, but it's infinitetly better transport wise than where I am now.
My granddad lived at 76 Thornbury Drive, and worked in the tram shed in Thornbury. He would be spinning in his grave if he could see what's happened to it today.
Its the people here that made it bad unfortunately.
Brilliant films, thank you for posting them. I remember the trolley buses. I grew up very close to Thornbury so I often went on the trolley bus that started there and went on to Saltaire. Also going to Bradford Royal Infimary from Sunbridge Road. They were lovely buses with wood inside and really thick material on the seats. They were clean and quiet, especially compared to the diesel buses that replaced them.
I wish some British cities would have been able to preserve their trolleybus networks. It would be so cool to ride even in contemporary double-deck trolleys! Something that is not possible in those continental cities, that kept their trolleys, where all modern vehicles of course are either single units or bendy buses. This film has a lot of nostalgic flair, thanks for sharing it! :)
IIRC double deckers busses are fairly unique to 🇬🇧.
Excellent video. All the buses looked smart up to the end and it was interesting to see 758 being towed away for preservation.
👍 from me and my dad. He worked on the Trolleybuses during 1963 to 1967 and this brought back some great memories!
As someone who wasn't born yet, this footage looks downright alien to me. It's ostensibly the past, but it contains vehicles with the propulsion system of the future, whizzing along cleanly. Electric trolley buses are far cleaner, more powerful, and space-efficient than diesel buses, yet in the latter half of the 20th century they just disappeared!
Totally bonkers. Did this not feel like a total regression at the time?
I came across trolleybuses in Switzerland and assumed they were some sort of advanced technology and was amazed to discover we had had them here in the UK, but they had all been discontinued.
Yes CH, it did, we all lamented it at the time…..eventually they’ll be back in one form or another, Bradford today is unrecognisable……
I remember them because I was doing a lot of work around Bradford at the time, fitting oil fired burners to the boilers at the various swimming and slipper baths - Windsor, Drummond Road, and Thornton spring to mind.
The trolley buses were ideal on Bradford's hills because their electric motors gave them immense torque, and they didn't leave a trail of diesel smoke !
C,I
It's Bradford. Regression is what we do.
I used to have occasional trips to Bradford as my dads family was a Bradford one. Although being very much a car buff I had forgotten the trolley buses....as late as 72 indeed. Yes, we all like Electric now don't we ! Bradford ate itself in the 60s and 70's with its new square cold concrete edifices that aged badly. I remember Jacobs Well being built, so I didn't half feel old when they blew it up. The missus worked in there about ten years ago. She quite enjoyed seeing it demolished.
Wow,what did they do to Bradford? Have you seen it lately?
I think you and me both know the answer to that question.
@@SandyYoung1 I hope you don't mean Asian immigration. Think about it, at the time of this video most of the populace including the new migrants were all working in the industries, contributing to the local economy. The decline started not long after when Thatcher killed manufacturing. It's the Tories of the time who single handedly punished the W Yorkshire and the rest of the North into decline.
Can't respond without having my reply censored.
Amazing footage. Thanks 😊
How on earth did literally EVERYTHING in this video just disappear, almost nothing is the same
By stealth. One piece at a time making sure that the new is cheaper and nastier every time. Totally depressing, where is my country.
Gentrification and immigrants.
Thatcher the Milk Snatcher.
All the moaning and groaning about diesel fumes and the solution was there before the problem.
Mental how little some parts of Bradford have changed. I recognised a bunch of places from this video, and I wasn't even born when this footage was shot.
I was born right in this era. I don't remember the trolleybuses but I remember the buses in the blue Corpoation livery as a child. A lot of those locations are still recognizable even today nearly 50 years later.
They should have kept the trolleybuses going, they were cleaner than desil buses.
Wrong electricity production take lots of pollution than disel Engines
@@rohitmarkande244 true
@@rohitmarkande244 what about maintenance, ability to climb steep hills and the horrendous noise pollution of a Diesel engine
This is an absolute gem of a video thank you for posting it ❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👌👌👌
My Granddad Albert Smith was working in the trolley shed at Duckworth lane in 1935 ish to 1987. He worked with a Mr Burns who liked fishing.
A wonderful film I travelled on the last day.
from Bradford Movie Makers. we are currently archiving over 300 films 8mm Standard, Super 8, 9.5mm and 16mm.
Quite a bit of Bradford hasn't changed that much! Nice upload that Nick, many thanks..
Harry Callahan the people’s have changed
@@throwow1014 Yep, you're not wrong, I still live there.. ☹️
Marvelous machines, with an elegant livery too. How monumentally short-sighted to get rid of them in favor of diesels. A regressive step if ever there was one!
Also interesting to note that a lot of the ugly concrete buildings that were put up during the 60s and 70s have/are being torn down now, while most of the old stuff that survived is still there. So much for the merits of short term-ism!!!
soundseeker63 sadly this country is littered with short term thinking, besides trolley buses look at the railway network, you could even drive your cars onto a train and a plane
I was 7 in Huddersfield, when trolleybuses were running. Though my parents would drive to Co-op in Bradford, brown and muffs department store as well aa Rackhams, with it's staff operated cage lifts 2 elevators side by sids, and wooden step escalators.
Wonderful historic footage.
Superb quality film. Quite foggy in places as was common then. Singer Dionne Warwick was struck by a trolley bus in Glasgow during a foggy night. No-one heard it because they were so silent, unlike the clackety trams.
Fantastic ! So many memories of my youth.
735, seen at around 7:08 is at the Black Country Living Museum but disguised as a Walsall bus. It is privately owned and leased to the BCLM, I have the pleasure of driving it sometimes.
What has happened to Bradford should be classed as a crime against humanity
Soviet Union make a similar double decker trolleybus based on this model. And he's name is "ЯТБ-1" (YaTB-1). He was followed by the same fate, and it gone in history.
It's YaTB-3, and it sadly was not preserved. YaTB-1, on the other hand, was a single-decker that was restored and can be seen in St.Petersburg's museum of electric transport.
Just found my b&w negatives from the final weekend. Only just found this video, will have to watch it all carefully & see if I see myself anywhere!! Lived there for 5 years, in Idle, the 40 Saltaire was my local route. Still have some tickets somewhere, 4d for kids 7d for adults, I think it was, to get to Bradford back in the 60s.
How I wish I was old enough to remember all this. Trolleybuses & proper cars.
Can you imagine trolley buses operating in Britain in 2022.
I feel sad and nostalgic when i see this! Bring it back!
How can any council spend this amount of money that resulted in making the city far worse
Love the way the bus driver indicates left when pulling out to the right. 😁
That was an excellent video, although being only 5mths old I do not remember too much of it!
This time was so old that there isn’t any volume!
Bradford was so much better 50 years ago. Now it is a sesspit.
Lived in thornbury until i was 23 left in 1985. Thornbury itself now is a real dump, and leeds rd is just mental busy after 3pm, theres 27 curry houses, 13 waffle shops, 6 chicken shops, 11 sari shops.
🤣🤣
Great stuff. Must see if any of my "Super 8" is suitable for conversion.
Unfortunately people who live here have given the town a bad name.
Ironically we need to go back to this of electric buses. Not the battery powered ones either!
How nice that was compare to those dirty buses now days causing more pollution.
You could catch a bus anywhere at anytime. No fuss, no noise, never remember standing waiting for a broken down bus Occasionally the pole would come off the line Out popped the driver grabbing a pole and hoisting the fallen rod back onto the line Conductors took your money and chatted You got used to the same conductors Always friendly and helpful. Shame the took them off.
Excellent quality what did you use to scan it?
Dave, the films were scanned on a converted cine projector, using a Raspberry Pi camera, and post processed to adjust colour and stability of the image.
Well, We had the Trolleybuses Since 1930, But we closed them in 1970, The Lines were separated from the rest of the Network
I like the bus that was being towed with the registration number beginning FKU 3:50.
Lovely Bradford City Centre before they turned it into the shambles it is today.
Vote Reform UK and Make Britain Great Again.
The Odeon at 8:53, brings back memories!
Trolleybuses used to be worshipped in the morning in Bradford called weather
Look what's missing from these pictures
The opening sequence looking across Thornton rd was the site of a fatality involving a young child and the derailment of one of the "arms" outside the pub. The arm struck the child on the head...I can still see the ice cream melting on the pavement...
😢😢
When was small we used to go to my nans on trams in cardiff ...that was in about 1973\ 4 tram lines are still there,but now under 10 inches of tarmac.....road still cracks because the rails still down there
Id like a time machine.
Look how clean the streets were...Can you guess why it looks like poop now ...
Pigs like to live in pigsty's
@@butterwortha1 And on sink estates.
I think I remember this happening. It would be on tv and black and white. We didn't have colour and I couldn't read.
Good clear footage you can relate to because it's almost modern, but definitely dated.
2:37 What are these wee handles on the stanchions for the overhead? A bloke pulls one for someone in white who waves a clipboard in thanks as he walks past. It looks like those handles on rods, not chains, that some public bogs had.
The handles are to change the direction the trolleybus goes - there are points in the overhead, like on train tracks.
Interesting, blue electric buses. I have never seen a double decker bus. The cars I remember when I was in NZ 1969-71.
First trolley buses I've seen with just one rear axle. They must have been shorter. Without the lines they look just like the diesel ones.
It was so stupid to decide to get rid of the whole electric public transport. I wish I knew why
At the time I don't recall anyone who wasn't glad to see the back-end of those ugly overhead cables.
And to say hello to smelly fumes!
@@Isochest We'd already got "smelly fumes" with the old (red) West Yorkshire buses. Bradford Corporation (blue) buses were always newer and cleaner And you boarded them at the front! Ha ha!
@@joshrogan9981 Do carry on.
it's a shame we cannot see Midland Road and Forster Square centre of town near the railway station that would have been interesting footage
Cracking car spotting footage - my favourites were the Triumph Herald, Fiat 600, Saab 92, Citroen DS and Renault 12. What was the 3-wheeler at 5:35?
DEL BOY.
Graham, looks like a Reliant Rialto, either a 3/25 or 3/30 or R21E or R21E 700 but I'm no expert!
No scratch that it's a Reliant Regal, either a 3/25 or 3/30 or R21E or R21E 700 or something!
I thought it was a reliant robbin?
It's a reliant regal 3/30 . Common sight at that time, as it could be driven on a motorbike licence.
1:48 - Lilycroft Road roundabout 😊
And now 50 years later we've realised electric vehicles were the way forward all along.. As my dearly departed father used to say "what I dooooooooooo" !!!
All those British Leyland cars on the road...bet they spent more time repairing them than driving them!
Double Decker trolleybuses?
those were used in Moscow as well, but were scrapped in favor of single-deckers
3:55 tetley teabags still going strong since the 70's haha
Sad to think they are all gone in the UK.
What i dont understand is why every town got rid of them, was it the fashionable thing to do?
Now they want battery buses.
Batteries are expensive, wear out and ave to be recycled.
Bring back trolleybuses , even Sanfransisco has them
steven rowe I thought the same but now have a battery car, battery technology is advancing at such a rate, they will increase in range and go down in price, now there are cobalt free batteries and a life of a million miles, my Kia niro ev does 250 miles no sweat, drive one you will become a convert .....honestly they are that good
@@pjohnson9576 you may be right, batteries are improving.
I bought a new car last year a top line Corolla.
I live in Aus and so distance are greater, Im sure in time they will be mainstream here.
Also they are so expensive at present.
I love the idea of electric, Les be honest we have all been forced into breathing petrochemical exhaust for as long as I can remember, also he noise factor
Electric cars will not vibrate as much, require less maintenance plus brakes are need far less due to regenerative braking.
As long as it is not made in China, we have been suckered into cheap Chinese imports and t does people of jobs
@@pjohnson9576 Yeah maybe not a Kia though
There were only 2 companies that made the trolley buses and one company that made the overhead wires.
And they call it progress .
Last tbuses in England
I'm playing spot my great grandad game
2024 watching this feed but what about all those cars when 🇫🇴🇬🇧 had a car manufacturing history. All individual designs unlike today's cookie cutter indistinguishable models. I guess that's because I am a child of that period 😎😎
Where was that depot?
One of them was on Duckworth Lane.
Thornbury, Leeds Road
Walking through Monaco
When England was English...
excellent shots they should bring them back 100% if they ran them then they can do it now no excuse
Not one halal chicken shop in site .🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊
🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Ok, BNP/EDL turd. Now crawl back under your stone 😊
@@WillScarlet1991 So he a turd for stating a fact, he left out no grooming going on apart from mr saville and it does look like a more welcoming place to live.
Mass immigration of Pakistani Muslims took place later on in the 1970s.
@@WillScarlet1991
Marxist imbecile
Everyone in this chat knows what’s wrong with Bradford now🤭...........
😁😁😁😁😁
Wow all those white people
Which country is this plz