News Archive

Lyon 1704

The latest addition to the world's largest collection of trolleybuses here at The Trolleybus Museum is Lyon 1704. After being dedicated to route 6 Hôtel De Ville to Croix Rousse in the French city of Lyon, number 1704 was withdrawn over 6 years ago. Since then 1704 has been left in a tram depot on the outskirts of Lyon awaiting its fate. On Monday 18th September 2006 a team of three set out from The Trolleybus Museum to rescue this iconic French trolleybus for preservation. The trolleybus arrived at The Museum on Friday 22nd September 2006 and was inspected by our skilled engineers. After only an hour the trolleybus was hooked up to the wiring and, amazingly, after 6 years out of service, number 1704 was found to be in full working order. Some work needs to be done to make this vehicle available for service but we hope it will feature at our European Weekend in May 2007. Lyon 1704, registered 7830-LG-69, is a Vetra EH85, new in 1964 with a B22T+55 seating layout. Picture: Lyon 1704 basks in the French sunshine for the last time before being loaded onto a lorry for its long journey to The Trolleybus Museum.

Rotherham 37

Rotherham trolleybus number 37 has re-entered service at the Trolleybus Museum after 41 years. Officially re-launched on June 11th number 37 was one of the star attractions at this years Sandtoft Gathering, running with capacity loads.

Rotherham was a very early operator of trolleybuses in Britain, starting in 1912 with solid-tyred 'Railless' vehicles. Vehicle technology improved and by the late 1940's Rotherham had a fleet of 44 vehicles, all 3-axle single deckers from various makers - Guy, AEC and Sunbeam. These were replaced in 1950 by 44 brand new 3-axle single-deck Daimlers, all fitted with 38-seat East Lancs. bodies. After only 6 years 20 of the batch were rebodied by Roe as 70-seat double-deckers, 17 were exported to Spain whilst a handful remained untouched to work to Conisbrough route. Number 37 was the first to be rebodied and therefore Rotherham's first regular double-deck trolleybus, often working the busy Kimberworth and Thrybergh routes. 

Number 37 now joins our extensive list of service trolleybuses and can be seen on service again at the Six Wheeler event in August or the St. Leger Rally Rally event in October. 

Click here for a picture of 37 before restoration
Click here for a picture of 37 after restoration - This is what we do here at The Trolleybus Museum, be a part of it and become a member.

Tony Peart

It is with deep sorrow that we report the death of Tony Peart who died on Friday 29th September in Doncaster Royal Infirmary after a long fight against cancer.

Mr Peart, or Tony to all who know him, was an influential character within the bus and rail preservation movements for many years. As far back as the 1950’s, when Tony was leading the Doncaster Grammar School Model Railway Society, he was supporting the bus preservation scene too. Indeed, he was also a staunch supporter of Doncaster’s trolleybus network, which sadly came to an end in 1963, and made many aware of the beauties and benefits of the trolleybus. There are still members at our museum today whose interest in trolleybuses Tony sparked in those early days.

Tony was a prominent figure in the Doncaster bus enthusiast circle and at a time when railway sheds were starting to close and railway enthusiasts were becoming frustrated, a group was formed to organise trips to bus and trolleybus depots in the area. This group became known as the Doncaster Omnibus & Light Railway Society (DO&LRS), a title deliberately designed to encompass all areas of bus, rail and light rail interests. As a co-founder of DO&LRS Tony become the Vice President of the group. With Tony’s involvement DO&LRS preserved five historic Doncaster Motorbuses and Doncaster’s last ever trolleybus, which all live at The Trolleybus Museum. Many members of DO&LRS played an instrumental role in the formation of The Trolleybus Museum and many early members are still involved with us today.

Tony had always had an undying love for vehicles with AEC engines. So much so that Tony’s biggest desire was always to preserve Doncaster Corporation Motorbus number 60, a pre-war example of an AEC bus. Unfortunately this never transpired but Tony was not deterred and he scoured the country looking for a similar example. Eventually finding an example in York, Tony purchased it and slowly and painstakingly restored this bus, number 64, into a pristine condition. Tony also purchased a Doncaster motorbus of his own, number 122, and having been significantly battered and bruised as a driver training bus, it too has been meticulously restored back to working condition. Tony traveled many thousands of miles each year with his buses parading them at bus rallies around the country. His buses are never seen in public if not in perfect condition. The effort he put in was almost always rewarded with a prize or two at each event he attended. Tony set the standard in bus preservation for many years and was a clear role model for anyone preserving a bus. Tony also had the foresight to buy a vast amount of spare parts for his vehicles when many examples were being scrapped in the 1970’s. This prudence not only enabled Tony to keep his two vehicles on the road but also allowed many other preservationists to acquire parts that simply wouldn’t still exist otherwise. 

The thousands of miles travelled each year were not simply for self-pleasure. As he traveled, Tony spread the word about both The Trolleybus Museum and DO&LRS. Often carrying posters on his buses for our events he also handed out leaflets and encouraged others to attend our events. Tony also enabled others to travel the country with him to enjoy seeing other fine preserved vehicles, one of his regular passengers for many years being otherwise quite immobile. 

As well as preserving his two buses Tony took the unusual step of taking sound recordings of many specific buses and railway locomotives. This has ensured that sounds from the day’s of silent films have not been lost. Some of these recordings have been used by filmmakers to add the correct sounds to silent footage to accurately recreate the scenes of yesteryear for the viewer and to ensure history is not forgotten.

Tony’s knowledge of transport history and the bus preservation scene was unbound. He had regular features in several nationally published transport heritage magazines. Through this work he continued to influence and educate others around the country as he championed the transport preservation movement. Money earnt from this work, and all work throughout his life, had been put back into his preservation work. As well as passionately supporting his own two buses, Tony was a member of many other transport groups and societies, all of whom require financial support. 

Tony Peart was a widely renowned and respected authority on bus and railway preservation. He allocated all his life to recording transport history and was instrumental in preserving Doncaster’s transport heritage too. A friendly man who always had time to talk, Tony will forever be remembered for his everlasting and enduring commitment to transport heritage, he will be sorely missed.

Marseilles 202 to operate in service.

Sea of Green at East Midlands Event

The Trolleybus Museum was a sea of green during August Bank Holiday 2007 with Nottingham and Derby trolleybuses in operation. The East Midlands area had several trolleybus operations. Derby, Nottingham and Chesterfield Corporations all had their own system, as did private operator Notts & Derby Traction Co. The year 2007 marks 75 years since the start of the Notts & Derby and Derby Corporation systems, whilst it is 80 years the first trolleybus ran in Nottingham and Chesterfield. The Trolleybus Museum held a special event over the 2007 August Bank Holiday to commemorate and relive the heyday of trolleybuses in the East Midlands. Trolleybuses ran in Nottingham, mainly replacing trams, between 10 April 1927 and 30 June 1966. Number 506, one of the 4 trolleybuses operating in service over the weekend, operated the official last journey, on Friday 1 July 1966. Also from Nottingham was trolleybus number 493, which was new in 1948 and returns to service after 10 years out of service. Nottingham trolleybuses numbers 367 and 466 are preserved at Sandtoft, along with ‘tower wagon’ number 802. Number 172 represented Derby. Built during WWII no. 172 has a utility body with single skin panelling and wooden slatted seats! We were pleased to welcome Derby trolleybus number 224, which was on loan from our colleagues at the East Anglia Transport Museum. We also had a variety of new and old motorbuses visiting over the weekend to add to the East Midlands theme. We’d like to thank all of the vehicle owners who made this event happen and Stagecoach East Midlands.	A line-up of the 4 East Midlands Trolleybuses in service over the weekend. L to R: Nottingham 506, Nottingham 493, Derby 172 & Derby 224.
	A line-up of Nottingham vehicles. L to R: 506, 493, Tower Wagon 802, motorbus 137 & trolleybus 466.
	Nottingham trolleybus 493 back in service after 10 years.