| Huddersfield trolleybus system | |
|---|---|
 Huddersfield trolleybus at the Newsome Road terminus,Newsome South, June 1966 | |
| Operation | |
| Locale | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire,England |
| Open | 1933 (1933) |
| Close | 1968 (1968) |
| Status | Closed |
| Routes | 15 |
| Operator | Huddersfield Corporation |
| Infrastructure | |
| Electrification | |
| Depot(s) | St Thomas’ Rd,Longroyd Bridge[1] |
| Stock | 140 (maximum) - mostly 137 60-seat Karrier E6 (bought 1933-40, withdrawn 1946-63), 52 70-seat Karrier/Sunbeam MS2 (1947-52, 1964-67), 24 72-seat BUT (1952-56, and 10 72-seat Sunbeam S7 (1959, 1967-68). Most hadMetrovick electrical equipment, with bodies byBrush,East Lancs,Park Royal,Roe andWeymann. All were 6-wheeled. |
| Statistics | |
| 1949 | 61,255,937[1] |
TheHuddersfield trolleybus system once served themarket town ofHuddersfield, inWest Yorkshire,England. Opened on 4 December 1933 (1933-12-04),[2][3] it gradually replaced theHuddersfield tramway network, which closed on Saturday, 29 June 1940.[4]
By the standards of the various now-defuncttrolleybus systems in theUnited Kingdom, the Huddersfield system was a medium-sized one, with a total of 15 routes and a maximum fleet of 140 trolleybuses.[3] It was closed on 13 July 1968 (1968-07-13).[2][3]
A notable feature of the system was theLongwood trolleybus turntable, which was one of only four such turntables ever to have been constructed worldwide (one of two in theUnited Kingdom). The turntable was manually operated, and was in use only in 1939–1940 until wartime conditions forced the introduction of other arrangements. However, it remainedin situ until demolished in the 1980s.
Three of the former Huddersfield trolleybuses are now preserved, atthe Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft,Lincolnshire.[5]
The first conversion was the 1.9 mi (3.1 km)Almondbury tramway. It was converted in sections with a temporary motor bus link as the road was resealed and electrified.
Six different 6-wheel buses were bought to trial on the route withKarrier,Ransomes andSunbeam chassis and bodies by several builders. Most later buses were Karrier, though the local factory had closed.
The Almondbury route closed on 14 July 1965. The dates of the rest were:
| Terminus | opened | closed | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lindley andOutlane | 11/11/34 | 13/7/68 | |
| Newsome | 2/5/37 | 13/7/66 | |
| Crosland Hill | 3/10/37 | 5/2/64 | |
| Birkby/Fartown Bar | 7/11/37 | 5/2/64 | cut back to Wasp Nest Rd due to danger of using Woodbine Rd turning circle in wartime blackout. |
| Marsden | 10/4/38 | 30/1/63 | |
| Sheepridge | 19/6/38 | 13/7/66 | extended to newBrackenhall estate 5/3/49 and circular via Woodhouse closed. |
| Bradley | 19/6/38 | 12/7/67 | extended to Keldregate 2/4/56 using poles recovered from Brighouse section. |
| Woodhouse | 19/6/38 | 13/7/66 | extended to Riddings estate 5/3/49. |
| Lockwood | 1/1/39 | 12/7/67 | due to a low bridge the tram route toHonley was taken over by buses. |
| Longwood | 12/1/39 | 13/7/66 | |
| West Vale /Elland | 28/5/39 | 8/11/61 | |
| Fixby /Brighouse | 30/6/40 | 14/7/65 | cut back to Fixby 9/7/55 due to increasing traffic creating problems when reversing at Brighouse. |
In 1958 Edgar Dyson became general manager. The council then agreed to a closure programme, ending with 5 crowded Outlane buses on 13 July 1968. Rates paid to the county council were among reasons for early closure of the West Vale and Marsden routes.[6]
Six experimental trolleybuses were bought in 1933, three of the chassis being ordered from the local firm ofKarrier, with the others being one each byAEC,Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies andSunbeam. The bodywork was byBrush,English Electric orPark Royal. Following trials on the route to Almondbury, quantity orders totalling 134 were placed for the Karrier E6 chassis, with bodywork mostly from Park Royal, but also Brush orWeymann, and these were delivered between 1934 and 1940. Several of these were given newRoe bodies during 1950–54. Sixty-six trolleybuses bought between 1947 and 1951 had theSunbeam MS2 chassis (although badged as Karrier) with either Park Royal or Roe bodywork, and they were followed by 24BUT 9641T withEast Lancs bodies between 1953 and 1957. The final trolleybus order – and the last order by a UK operator for three-axle trolleybuses – was for ten Sunbeam S7 with East Lancs bodywork, built in 1959.[7][8][9][10][11][12]
Media related toTrolleybuses in Huddersfield at Wikimedia Commons
