Volume 56 TRO EYBUS The magazinell of the British Society

JANUARY 2017

EXPANSION IN LUZERN & SALZBURG SANDTOFT RUNNING DAYS 2017 666 AGM and Members’ Day Recent Donations For our fourth Members’ Day event we were Simon Brown is the latest member to make made very welcome at the Oxford Mu- a donation to the Mexborough & Swinton 34 seum. A good turnout of members took part in restoration fund. Many thanks to Simon, who the AGM and then were free to look round the also supports 34 as a member of SponsorTrolley. Museum, which has benefitted from Heritage Another supporter for Bournemouth 301 is Lottery Fund assistance to stage some inter- David Lovegrove, who has made a donation esting exhibitions telling the story of public towards the cost of transporting the trolleybus transport in Oxford. from Winkleigh to the Reading area, where it Our thanks to Chris Butterfield and his col- has taken the place vacated by Johannesburg leagues for working so hard to give us a 589. memorable visit, to Graham Bilbé for arranging the transport and driving us, and to Martijn Gil- Prize Draw Report 2016 bert, CEO of Reading for facilitating the Each year the proceeds from the Prize Draw hire of a low-floor recently refurbished bus. go to restoring one of the Society’s vehicles. At the formal proceedings our Secretary, In 2016 this was Mexborough & Swinton 34 Andrew Barton, announced the result of the and attracted 23 members, holding a total of ballot for the proposed increase in subscrip- 65 shares. Five participants (maybe to their tions. 69 voted in favour of the Committee’s annoyance!) made a profit. The Draw forms proposal and 3 against. The motion was there- cost £47 to produce. From this the organiser, fore carried and will be effective for all new Andrew Barton, would like to thank the partici- membership and for subscriptions due on and pants for making a total of £736 towards the after 1 April 2017. This will be the first increase restoration of 34. for five years. Gift Aid Matters Change of Address, etc May I gently remind those new and fairly new If you have changed your address the best way members who have not recently replied to a of updating your record is to use the BTS web- letter I sent out in November inviting you to site (www.britishtrolley.org.uk). Go to Member join our Gift Aid scheme to please do so at Login and once logged in click on “Change your earliest convenience. If you have lost the Password/Edit Profile”. This is our central letter or have not previously joined due to a membership database and so it registers the low income but are now paying income tax change immediately. and wish to join, the form may also be down- loaded from our website. If you don’t have access to our website please advise your new address to the Secretary, An- Conversely, I would also ask all existing mem- drew Barton, (address on the “contacts” panel). bers to make sure that they are still eligible to be in the scheme. U.K. Tax-free allowances have risen significantly in the last few years On The Cover and it may be that you have stopped paying The sun bursts through the archway which is all income tax altogether. If so, you are obliged that remains of Luzern’s1896 station after it was by HMRC to inform the Society accordingly. destroyed by fire on 5 February 1971. lighTram For the current tax year the tax-free allowance 408 waits to depart on 11 December, the first day is £11,000 and it rises to £11,500 for 2017/18. of the return of trolleybus operation of service 2, Thank you. which has joined the Rbus network. Martin Harvey, Gift Aid Administrator, Sandro Flückiger 30 Brooksby Road, , Reading RG31 6LY TROllEYBUS NOTICE BOARD The magazine of the READING MEETINGS British Trolleybus Society MEETINGS Held at the Reading District Meetings are held at the Penning- Oddfellows’ Hall, 118b Oxford ton Midland Hotel (old Forster 666 Road, Reading RG1 7NQ. Admis- Square Station); the precise room sion Adults £2.50, Juniors £1.50, details will appear on the func- Non-members £3.50. Meetings tions board in the foyer. Admis- commence at 19.30. Organised by JANUARY 2017 sion: Members £3, non-members the BTS. NTA members welcome. £4. Organised by the BTA. BTS Meetings Organiser: Graham Bilbé, members welcome. Editor: Dave Chick 12 Belle Avenue, Reading RG6 7BL. Meetings Organiser: Gary Wilkin- 23 Pryor Close, Purley on Thames, Email grahamebilbe@btinternet. son 59a Pentland Avenue Clayton, Berkshire RG31 6UG com Bradford BD14 6JF [email protected] Friday 3 February Jim Dunning Friday 13 January Robin Kitson: Production Editor: presents a selection of his photo- and Philip Jenkinson graphs taken over many years. 32 College Street, Crosland Moor, Friday 10 February John Friday 3 March Huddersfield HD4 5EB Holroyd: A - Z of West Riding blindlemonjenkinson@btinternet. LONDON MEETINGS Transport Part 1 com Held at the Model Railway Club, West Midlands Transport Preservation News Editor: Keen House, 4, Calshot Street, Gus Seipp London N1 9DA Circle 107 Bray Towers, Adelaide Road Secretary: Mike Richardes michael. London NW3 3JU Start 19.00 – doors open 18.30. Bus routes 30, 73, 91, 205, 214, 394 [email protected] museumnews@britishtrolley. Meetings are held on the second org.uk 476. Nearest Underground station – Kings Cross. Organised by the Wednesday of each month (except August) at Bradmore Community World News Editor: Bruce Lake NTA. BTS members welcome. 35 Warneford Road, Cowlersley, Centre (main hall) at the corner of Huddersfield HD4 5TW Meetings Organiser: John Parkin, Bradmore Road and Birches Barn Road, WV3 7BW. The Circle [email protected] 59 Beechwood Court, West Street Lane, Carshalton, Surrey SM5 2QA. has a general transport interest and Distribution: Derek Pearson e-mail address trolleybus654@ there are no specific trolleybus items in the current programme, but several 25 Caldbeck Drive, Woodley aol.com RG5 4LA members belong to the BTS, and any other BTS members attending will be [email protected] Wednesday 18 January “West Croydon to Nr Willesden Junction“ made especially welcome. Subscriptions and Membership: Eddie Dawes illustrates London’s Website: www.wmtc.webs.com/ Andrew Barton trolleybus route 630 and its - meetinglist.htm 2 Josephine Court, Southcote way predecessors Road, Reading RG30 2DG Wednesday 11 January M Rich- [email protected] Wednesday 15 February “Travels ardes - ‘A short Scottish Odyssey’ in 1970 – Slides from 35 Trol- - Trip made in 2016 to fulfill two Website: leybus Systems” – Peter Haseldine original objectives which became www.britishtrolley.org.uk seven! Plus some material from Printed by Barden Print MONTHLY PRIZE DRAW previous visits. Birkby, Huddersfield As usual, December is “bonus Wednesday 8 February AGM, Telephone (01484) 422522 month” with higher prizes. followed by A Gauden - subject tba. Trolleybus should be regarded as December Winners overdue to subscribers if not re- £75 S. Bradbury Reading ceived by the 20th of each month £60 S. Bradbury Reading © The British Trolleybus Society £25 R.C. Clark Abingdon Registered Charity No. 1033666 Expansion in Luzern Sandro Flückiger

228 is one of four new Swisstrolley 4s purchased for service 5.

Coinciding with the annual timetable change on 11 New trolleybus line 5 Kriens Busschleife December trolleybuses returned to and new to Emmenbrücke Bahnhof Süd (Seetalplatz) trolleybus service 5 was inaugurated. To celebrate was introduced on the same day to supple- these events, which came 4 days after the 75th ment lines 1 and 2. Trolleybuses now run anniversary of the opening of Luzern’s trol- every 3.75 minutes between the Pilatusplatz leybus system, festivities were held including and Kriens or Emmenbrücke until 8pm entertainment and catering. Despite icy tem- Monday to Saturday. At present line 5 does peratures the occasion was very well attended. not run after 8 or on Sundays and public During reconstruction work line 2 had holidays. temporarily been operated by buses, but with At the same time the new bus station at the return of trolleybuses, service 2 Sprengi Emmenbrücke station came into use, replac- - Emmenbrücke Bahnhof Süd (Seetalplatz) - ing the existing Seetalplatz stop and improv- Luzern Bahnhof has joined the Rbus (Rapid ing the connections between bus and train. Bus) network, which will be further expanded The Seetalplatz now has a bushub with four until 2025 to provide an optimal urban trans- stops. port system for the greater Luzern area. It is now worked exclusively by double-articu- Thanks to vbl and to member Sandro Flückiger lated Hess lighTrams. for their help with this report. 4 TROllEYBUS Sandro Flückiger

Above: 227 was the first of the new vehicles to enter service, on 12 September 2016. Below: Two lighTrams pass outside Emmenbrücke Bahnhof. 237 was originally branded “1er” but all members of the batch which introduced this livery have been rebranded “Rbus” and so may operate on lines 1 or 2. Sandro Flückiger

JANUARY 2017 5 Sandro Flückiger

409 enters the bushub on battery power. Luzern Expansion 409 ceremonially launches the bushub as well as new service 5 and the return of trolleybuses to line 2. vbl/Eveline Beerkircher vbl/Eveline

6 TROllEYBUS Expansion in Salzburg Gunter MackingerGunter

Brand new Solaris Metrostyle trolleybus 355 overtakes a motorbus on service 20 at Taxham Europark. The 20 service was withdrawn with the opening of the new trolleybus line.

New line 9 opened on Monday 12 Decem- first day only brand new Solaris/Cegelec ber, replacing bus service 20, which ran for MetroStyle trolleybuses were used to oper- the last time on 10 December. ate the 9. vbl/Eveline Beerkircher vbl/Eveline The new service operates between Euro- In October 2016 Salzburg city coun- park via Taxham to Maxglan on the new cil decided to build two more exten- infrastucture and then via line 2 – 4 and 7 sions of the trolleybus system in 2017: to the city centre and working in peak hours from line 7 via Bessserabier Strasse to Messe to Kommunalfriedhof via line 5. Again the (line 1) to allow daily operation of line 8 link between and 7 via Lindhofstrasse to Messe as well as Besserabier Strasse; is now operated in daily service. from in Itzling through a new railway The opening ceremony was short and underpass to Landstrasse, to connect with simple. Trolleybus 358 was used to carry the interurban buses. official guests but was not specially deco- rated. Further developments of the trolley- Gunter Mackinger bus infrastructure were announced. On the Thanks also to Peter Short

JANUARY 2017 7 Above: The first test run of a trolleybus using the new infrastructure for line 9 took place on 30 November using driver training Solaris Trollino 314. Here is the first trolleybus in Siezenheimer Strasse as it passes through the oldExpansion centre of the former village of Maxglan. in Salzburg Below: 349 at Martin Luther Platz, Taxham. The Roman Catholic church tower is seen in the background.

8 TROllEYBUS All photographs by Gunter Mackinger An invitation to the opening of new trol- leybus line 9. The same photo was used in advertisements along the line of the new service proclaiming that new line 9 was a gift for the whole of Salzburg and was part of a better life for everybody.

Above: Trolleybus 338 at line 9’s Europark terminus, which is also served by lines 1 and 12. Below: Under the new infrastructure in Maxglan, 341 meets 338, with Maxglan Church on the left. Except for top left, photos taken on first day of service, 12 December 2016

JANUARY 2017 9 Book Review

Glasgow Trolleybuses by Colin Barker Trolleybus Classics Number 33. 96 pages on gloss paper with card covers 2 colour photos (on covers), 120 monochrome photos. Published by Middleton Press www.middletonpress.co.uk. ISBN 978 1 908174 96 3. Price £18.95

The latest album in the eight routes. The days of Trolleybus Classics series, “Things that go bump in prepared by Middle- the night” were few: the ton Press stalwart Colin system opening and clos- Barker, features Glasgow, ing again within 18 years. in principle Scotland’s This well-researched sole trolleybus operator book follows the estab- if one excludes Dundee’s lished recipe with brief short line that lasted just historical notes, some nineteen months in 1912- wonderfully-atmos- 14. Glasgow was nota- pheric photographs ble as being the only UK with extended captions trolleybus system to open sequenced street by street, after the Second World followed by fleet and War and, at maximum garage details. The pho- extent (1959), having the tographs illustrate the second largest provincial trolleybuses in the four trolleybus fleet. different liveries used Yet Glasgow was a during their lifetime and tramway city. Even today, 54 years after the show that, despite its reputation, the city last tram ran, Glaswegians still enthuse about has many attractive Georgian buildings and their trams but ask about trolleybuses and leafy suburbs. It is unfortunate that the clear they are likely to say they don’t recall that and detailed overhead wiring map drawn by the city ever had them! The trams ran on a Roger Smith requires sections on three sepa- huge network totalling almost 135 route rate pages due to the system’s far-flung nature. miles, stretching from Airdrie in the east to One wonders which operator, if any, Kilbarchan in the west and Milngavie in the will appear next in the Trolleybus Classics north to Clarkston in the south, served at series. Every provincial operator that sur- maximum by over 1,200 cars. vived the experimental period, but for Belfast Glasgow’s trolleybus system was dimin- and Hartlepool/West Hartlepool, has now utive in comparison, although in 1959 it been covered. Worthy of note is that Stephen extended over 43.34 route miles served Lockwood has penned 11 of the series with by 194 vehicles, of which 170 were in daily Colin Barker close behind with 9. Are we use, carrying over 60 million passengers on nearing the end of the line? DRHB 10 TROllEYBUS 301 Moves Home

Bournemouth 301 has left the West of England Transport Collection at Winkleigh and been moved to the Reading area to take up the space

recently vacated by Johannesburg 589. Richard Bilb é Before the transfer four new tyres were fitted, with new tubes in all of them. The Soci- ety contracted with Cockerham - cials of Bow, Devon, for the tow, which was delayed when the company had two emer- gencies to deal with. 301 was collected on 20 December and taken the ten miles to Bow where it stayed overnight with the intention 301 has just arrived on 21 December. of making a very early start the next day. Unfortunately by 9 am when the driver group thanks are due to BTS Vehicles Officer pulled in to Taunton Services and checked Francis Whitehead for making the arrange- 301 it was found that one of the new tyres was ments for the move and having suitable tyres leaking. The driver contacted Richard Bilbé, fitted, Richard Bilbé for being the main point who agreed that the only sensible solution of contact at the Reading end and organising was to call out a tyre firm. The problem was the safe stowage of 301 in the shed using his identified and quickly rectified and the rest , and Graham Bilbé and Wayne of the journey was uneventful, with arrival at Ball for turning out and helping with getting the new location at 1.40 pm. 301 into the shed. As well as everyone who has made dona- It is hoped to arrange a work- tions or belongs to the 301 SponsorTrolley ing party in the New Year to give 301 a thorough internal and external clean.

Connected to the Land Rover ready for shunting. Richard Bilbé

JANUARY 2017 11 MUSEUM & PRESERVATION NEWS edited by Gus Seipp

The Trolleybus Museum at MF2B chassis with locally-assembled bod- Sandtoft ies. The first batch (nos. 1-30) had bodies by Walsall 864 has finally been broken up. Past Charles Hope Ltd and dated from 1950. The volunteers at Sandtoft may remember the second batch (nos. 31-36) were bodied by vehicle languishing at the back of the site, Athol Hedges and dated from 1957. All bod- amongst the accommodation vehicles and ies were to B42D layout. partly blending into the surrounding trees The Museum has preserved one of each and hedges after having been painted green. batch. No. 1 is fully restored and on display 864 saw service on the last day in Walsall in at the museum. It is illustrated here in three October 1970. It was then acquired for pres- photographs. No. 34, from the second batch, ervation and was kept in no less than six is currently undergoing restoration. The locations across England, before arriving at museum also operates a short tramway line. Sandtoft in July 1984, where it was used as a The museum shop has many interest- store. Its deterioration was deemed too severe ing items for sale, including a DVD and a to preserve the vehicle. Any useful body parts book on Brisbane’s trolleybuses. The DVD have been kept for future use. is entitled Whispering Death and is priced 864 was one of the first batch of fifteen at $39.95, plus P&P. The book, Slow at Frog, Sunbeam F4As with the innovative but unu- is better value at $10.95, plus P&P. We’ll be sual Willowbrook bodies, delivered to Wal- reviewing this book in the February edition sall Corporation in 1954-5. They were also of Trolleybus. Shoppers are advised to contact the first 30 foot buses to be allowed to run on the museum before ordering. only two axles in Britain. Sister vehicle 862 The museum is open every Sunday is operational at the Black Country Living between 1230 and 1600, except when it rains! Museum, while the BTS owns 872, which is It is closed on Christmas Day. Admission kept at Sandtoft and is expected to re-enter charges are: $14 adult, $11 seniors, $7 chil- service this year after some technical prob- dren, $42 family. Discounts are available for lems have been rectified. groups of 20 or more. The museum even encourages night bookings! The Brisbane Tramway Museum More information is available from the Brisbane City Council, Australia, used to following contacts. operate five trolleybus routes over 30 km, Website: www.brisbanetramwaymuseum.org from August 1951 to March 1969. This net- Post: Brisbane Tramway Museum, PO Box 94, work complemented Brisbane’s much larger Ferny Hills, Queensland, 4055 tramway network and two of the routes actu- ally replaced tramway routes. The entire fleet was single-deck and there were finally 36 trol- leybuses in total. They were all on Sunbeam 12 TROllEYBUS Brisbane no. 1 (photographed by David Bowler) Left: Exterior view. Left below: The interior passenger area; the seats are 2+2, but individually designated. They look well-upholstered. Right below: The driver’s seat. It is made from rattan, with generous gaps between the stems to minimise uncomfortable sticking in Queensland’s humid heat!

Bottom of page: Walsall 864 about to pass The Crite- rion pub in Stafford Street in October 1967. The pub closed in January 1980. In 1955 864 spent several days in Portsmouth in association with the MPTA Conference. It operated for the delegates and ran in normal service from 23 to 28 September. RF Mack, copyright NTA RF Mack, copyright

JANUARY 2017 13

RUNNING DAYS IN 2017 (Open 11.00am - 5.00pm unless stated otherwise) Saturday, 15 April  Easter Weekend Trolleydays Sunday, 16 April Remembering trolleybuses in Maidstone Monday, 17 April Free Bus May Day Bank Holiday Weekend Trolleydays Plus Saturday, 29 April  - featuring trolleybuses and buses from Yorkshire Sunday, 30 April and SUNDAY ONLY – LIVE MUSIC FROM ROOM 21 BIG BAND Monday, 1 May Free Bus Saturday, 13 May  Weekend Trolleydays Sunday, 14 May Saturday, 27 May  Spring Bank Holiday Trolleydays Sunday, 28 May - presented by the British Trolleybus Society Monday, 29 May Free Bus 1940s Trolleyday Saturday, 17 June  Trolleyday Plus with East Yorkshire Thoroughbred Car Club Rally Sunday, 18 June Free Bus Worldwide Weekend Trolleydays Saturday, 1 July  featuring our trolleybuses from overseas Sunday, 2 July ’Gathering Saturday Trolleyday - a preview of ’Gathering Saturday, 29 July  Day itself with twilight trolleybus operation, BBQ & real ale beer tent (Open 11.00am - 10.00pm Sandtoft Gathering 2017 Sunday, 30 July with visiting historic vehicles, transport flea market, live music, real ale Free Bus (Open 10.00am - 6.00pm) beer tent & lots for the family to see & do Blues & Twos Weekend & Trolleydays Saturday, 19 August  featuring visiting historic 999 vehicles with dramatic emergency Sunday, 20 August services displays and demonstrations Free Bus Saturday, 26 August  (Late Summer Bank Holiday) Big City Weekend Trolleydays Sunday, 27 August featuring trolleybuses from big cities Monday, 28 August Free Bus Trolleyday Saturday, 16 September  Trolleyday Plus with Vintage Coach Rally Sunday, 17 September Free Bus Saturday, 23 September  Weekend Trolleydays Plus with 2-Day Steam Rally Sunday, 24 September Plus with Isle of Axholme Running Day & Rally Trolleyday Sunday, 15 October - presented by Doncaster Omnibus & Light Railway Society Free Bus Weekend Trolleydays Saturday, 28 October  - and it’s Halloween ! Sunday, 29 October Twilight & After Dark Trolleyday Saturday, 18 November  with twilight & after-dark trolleybus operation (Open 11.00am - 6.00pm)  denotes Isle Coaches service 291 11.00am departure from Doncaster Interchange Bay C5, connects with free Museum bus at Epworth. Return at 4.10pm to connect at Epworth with Isle Coaches service 399 to Doncaster (where it arrives 5.35pm) Free Bus denotes FREE bus service from Doncaster Interchange (adjacent to railway station) direct to The Trolleybus Museum. Departs Interchange, Bay C6, at 12.00noon. Return departs Museum at 4.00pm. (journey time approximately 40 minutes) Additional journeys will run on Sandtoft Gathering Day (Sunday) and on 15 October - visit www.sandtoft.org for times ADMISSION (charges include a Gift Aid donation): Adult £8.00 Senior (61+) £7.00 Concession £6.00 Family (2 Adults + up to 4 Concessions) £25.50 On days shown on red background: Adult £10.00 Senior (61+) £8.50 Concession £6.50 Family £29.50

F or full details, visit www.sandtoft.org

14 TROllEYBUS WORLD NEWS edited by Bruce Lake

AUSTRIA Salzburg On the same day, route 108 was also CZECH REPUBLIC extended northward for about 2 km New line 9 opened on Monday 12 in off-wire mode from Huang-shi České Budějovice December. It runs from Europark via Road (Yellow Stone Road) to Nan- The first of two new Škoda 27 Tr Taxham to Maxglan on new infra- yue-yuan which is a big low income Solaris trolleybuses, and the first in structure and then via line 2 – 4 and housing complex with many apart- the fleet with an auxiliary battery 7 to the city centre, working in peak ment flats; the large population in drive, was presented to the public hours to Kommunalfriedhof via line 5. this housing complex will provide the in náměstí Přemysla Otakara II, the See feature elsewhere in this edition. trolley route with steady ridership. town square, on 11 November. Pazardzhik CHINA Shanghai Numbered 92 it was also formally Once a year one weekend is devoted christened “Martin” in the presence of The first Yutong trolleybus type to overhead maintenance during the Mayor. ZK5180A was delivered on 30 Novem- which time no trolleybuses operate DPMCB Director Slavoj Dolej an- ber. This is Shanghai’s first articulated and motor buses run in their place. In nounced that it is intended to equip trolleybus for nearly 14 years. 2016 the work was completed over 25 - 30 trolleybuses with auxiliary the weekend of 22 and 23 October. A new service on Shanghai’s Me- batteries in the coming years. dium Capacity Transit will retain the An invitation to tender for two route number of the existing cross- CHINA Guangzhou new trolleybuses was issued on town service on Yan-an Road, route Trolleybus routes 107 and 108 were 17 November with the contract to 71, which is the most iconic bus extended on auxiliary power mode be awarded imminently and the route in Shanghai. Just as route 20 is on Saturday 26 November. vehicles to be delivered during the the face of Shanghai’s trolley system, Route 107 was first extended from last quarter of this year. route 71 is the face of Shanghai’s Dongshan Terminus to Hua-cheng- motor bus system. guang-chang (Flower City Square) FRANCE Limoges on March 30, 2013; the extension The western part of this route has Cristalis ETB12 trolleybuses 101 - 115, was entirely off-grid which was had overhead wiring installed and dating from 2006/7, are to be refur- made possible with lithium ion this portion is planned to be opened bished. The work will involve bodies batteries. to trolleybuses in January 2017 and mechanical and electrical units. According to the information source The power crews worked very hard It was not possible to use the original on 52bus forum, route 107 runs from in November; all wiring works are contract with Hess to procure two Zhongshan Eight Road (Dr. Sun Yat- now finished. new articulated trolleybuses and so san Road, section 8) to Mei-hua-cun The medium capacity does have the municipal council approved an (Plum Village) on wires for 7.5km; the three intersections where wires cross invitation to tender at its meeting on next 3.1 km from Mei-hua-cun to existing trolley routes. All these 27 September. Hua-cheng-guang-chang is off-wire. crossings were installed during the The new vehicles will allow the Now it has been further extended week of November 20-26. exclusive operation of line 4 by from Hua-cheng-guang-chang into a articulated trolleybuses. new transit centre at Xing-min Road, CZECH REPUBLIC a further 1.4 km, making the entire Industry Budapest Ikarus 280.94T articulated trolley- one way off-wire distance 4.5 km. SOR displayed a new 12 m trolleybus buses nos. 228/40/59/72 have been Trolleys depole at Mei-hua-cun; by in Brno livery at the Czechbus 2016 sold to Bila Tserkva, , and the time they reach Xin-min Road, transport fair in Prague in November. were transported on low loaders batteries are still 93% charged, and Designated model TNB 12 it is when they return to Mei-hua-cun to before Christmas, still bearing Buda- equipped with auxiliary batteries pest fleet numbers and Hungarian repole, batteries are on average at which have a range of 15 km. 80% capacity. adverts. They date from 1988/89. JANUARY 2017 15 KYRGHYZSTAN Osh 21 battery packs will be purchased UKRAINE for retrofitting to members of the 23 Trolza Optima 5275.03 trolley- existing fleet. National Urban Public buses have been ordered for early delivery with the support of a 12- Gdynia’s strategy for becoming an Transport Programme year loan from the European Bank for environmentally-friendly city will also Under this programme public Reconstruction and Development be boosted by a plan to equip the transport infrastructure in 20 Ukrain- (EBRD). roof of Leszczynki depot with solar ian municipalities will be upgraded. panels totalling approximately This is part of a project to modernise The total investment is expected 5,000 m2 with an output of about the city’s infrastruc- to be €400 million with up to 50% 0.5 MW which will be fed directly to ture, including the introduction of a being supported by a loan from the the trolleybus system. new automated billing system and European Investment Bank. the refurbishment of the electricity An application is to be made for The purpose is to support sustain- supply and the depot’s infrastructure. European funding of up to 75% able municipal transport through a of the cost of the project with the modal shift to electric transport and MEXICO Mexico City remainder being funded by the city. improved efficiency of operation of A group of Parliamentarians is op- SWITZERLAND Luzern existing public transport. posing the city’s plans to replace The investment will involve the trolleybuses with battery buses. They New trolleybus line 5 (Kriens Busschleife-Emmenbrücke Bahnhof purchase new or modernisation have stated that a lack of investment of existing trolleybuses, trams and in the trolleybus system has led to Süd (Seetalplatz) opened on Sunday 11 December, four days after the buses and the construction of public pollution levels in the city to rise at a transport infrastructure. faster rate than the national average. 75th anniversary of the system’s opening (which was celebrated with The president of the workers’ as- UKRAINE Dnipro events during the summer). See the sociation has presented evidence This city was renamed from Dnipro- feature elsewhere in this edition. that it would be more cost-effective petrovsk in 2016. to invest in the trolleybus system. SWITZERLAND VMCV The first of 13 new Belkummunmash He provided quotes showing that On 29 November 2016 Transports AKM-321 rigid trolleybuses was deliv- the price for a trolleybus equipped publics Vevey Montreux Chillon ered in November with delivery of with batteries allowing travel up to Villeneuve (VMCV) published an the batch expected to be completed 20 km away from the invitation to tender for the supply of during the spring. was little more than half the cost of a 16 new articulated trolleybuses with battery bus. an option for five additional vehicles. USA Dayton MOROCCO Marrakech The closing date is 27 January with Following the testing of prototypes the contract expected to be awarded 1403 and 1404 it has been decided The new trolleybus system has not at the end of April. Delivery of the that the next generation of trolley- yet opened but some of the new ve- new vehicles is required between 18 buses will be equipped with auxiliary hicles were used during the United June 2018 and 9 August 2019. battery packs rather than diesel Nations Climate Change Conference engines. The procurement process The new trolleybuses will replace which was held in Marrakech in will start once funding has been the existing 16 Van Hool AG300Ts November. confirmed. which remain from the 18 delivered Vehicles were exhibited at various between 1994 and 1996, nos. 2 and locations and were used for a dem- UKRAINE Bila Tserkva 15 having become Salzburg 259 and onstration shuttle service. Four Ikarus 280.94T articulated trol- 260 in 2009. These had replaced the leybuses have been purchased from original fleet dating from 1957/58 POLAND Gdynia Budapest. It is intended that 30 new trol- of 18 Bernas, which had trailers at- leybuses will be purchased in the tached for peak-hour operations. next two years, of which 16 will be The 12.8 km line is to be extended by With thanks to: Blickpunkt articulated. These will be the city’s about 3 km from the eastern (Ville- first articulated trolleybuses since the neuve) terminus to serve a large new Strassenbahn, Eurotransport, withdrawal of the last Ikarus 280T regional hospital in Rennaz which is Dave Chick, Peter Short, circa 2002. scheduled to open in 2018/19. Peter Whitehead, Trolley:Motion, The new vehicles will all be Internet sources. equipped with auxiliary batteries and

16 TROllEYBUS Silviu Sintea

No 118, one of Cluj Napoca’s new Astra Town trolleybuses, displaying the new livery introduced with these vehicles.

On The Back Cover Uzbekistan’s only remaining trol- leybus system will celebrate its 20th anniversary on 20 October. Jürgen Lehmann Jürgen On 29 October 2016, Škoda 24 Tr 017 stands in front of the old city of Khiva, a UNESCO World Herit- age site, at the end of the long interurban line. Gunther Pitterka Esslingen Solaris MetroStyle 501 on line 118 under the new overhead between Bahnhof and Vogelsang bridge on 19 Novem- ber 2016. Salzburg 358 is shown on its journey launching new service 9. Gunter Mackinger

JANUARY 2017 17 Index to Volume 55, 2016 Articles and features Schaffhausen Trolleybuses, East Kent 1253 (London)...... 93 50 years of ...... 193 Trolleybus Group ...... 60, 100, 118 Belfast Trolleybuses Book Launch ..36 Seattle Says Farewell to its Bredas 232 Glasgow Riverside Museum ...... 220 Belkommunmash Trolleybuses... 109 Solingen’s Last MAN Out ...... 20 Glasgow TBS 13 ...... 220 Biel/Bienne Celebrates Sponsortrolley Update ...... 2 Transport Museum ...... 141 75th Anniversary ...... 13 Trolleybus Driving Experience ... .218 Johannesburg 589 ...... 238 Bournemouth MF2Bs, Trolleybus Encounters ...... 68 ...... 16 ...... Secure Future 128 Trolleybuses on the Home Service 46 London 796 ...... 100 British Trolleybus Exports ...... 33 York Trolleybus Depot London 1201 ...... 100 Budapest 400 (photos) ...... 104 Demolished ...... 98 London 1253 ...... 93 Cagliari, The old and the new ...... 96 London 1348 ...... 220 Capital Closure Anniversary Regular Items Mexborough & Swinton 34 ...... 221 (Paris & Madrid) ...... 84 Letters to the Editor .86, 119, 140, 240 Nottingham 367 ...... 100 Cedes-Stoll Replica Trolleys in the Press ...... 21 Nottingham 506 ...... 160 Launches in July ...... 78 Trolleys on the Radio ...... 159 Reading 174 ...... 200 Chicago Transit Authority Rotherham 37 ...... 81 Trolleybus Primer ...... 48, 208 Book Reviews Rotherham 73 ...... 81 Chisinau (photo feature) ...... 214 1941 - 2016: Rotherham Trolleybus Group ...... 81 Gdynia, Historic Operations in (pho- 75 Jahre Trolleybus in Luzern... . 117 Sandtoft, Trolleybus Museum at tos) ...... 224 Around Bournemouth ...... 39, 141, 160, 180, 218, 220, 238 End of King Coal, The ...... 30 by Trolleybus ...... 216 Wellington 82 ...... 100, 180 Eyes Have it, The ...... 179 Atlas trolejbusů 2016 ...... 86 Overseas Illinois Railway Museum, British Trolleybuses in Colour ...... 116 Bulgaria Sofia Museum ...... 24 Trolleybuses at the ...... 52 Buses, Coaches, Trams, Trolleybuses & Bulgaria Stara Zagora ...... 24 Kaunas Celebrates 50 Years ...... 61 Recollections 1959 ...... 117 Czech Republic Košice (photo feature) ...... 74 Cardiff’s Municipal Buses ...... 236 České Velenice ...... 78, 198 Leeds Trolleybus Scheme Rejection. Cardiff Trolleybuses ...... 235 Czech Republic Pardubice ...... 220 ...... 108, 137, 177, 182 Hold on Tight ...... 152 Czech Republic Pardubice ... 136 220 London’s Disappearing London’s Trolleybuses Czech Republic Traction Poles ...... 58 a colour album ...... 178 Plzeň Anniversary ...... 100 London Q1s on their way to Spain 28. Nottingham Trolleybuses ...... 38 Czech Republic Praha 9493 ...... 220 London Trolleybus 260 ...... 148, 173 Swiss Tram & Trolleybus Atlas ...... 152 Czech Republic Teplice ...... 39 Luzern at 75 1...... 53 Trolleybus Pilot ...... 236 France St Etienne 72 ...... 238 Luzern, Trolleybus Days ...... 159 CD Review France St Etienne 126 ...... 238 Luzern’s Trolleybus The British Trolleybus Database . . ..59 France St Etienne STAS ...... 238 Trailers in Germany ...... 217 Germany ’s Thriving Museum and Preservation Obus Museum Solingen ...... 60 Trolleybus Network ...... 88 UK (including overseas vehicles in Chisinau ...... 01 Manchester & Ashton UK museums) New Zealand Dunedin 1 ...... 180 (photo feature) ...... 228 Aachen 22 ...... 220 New Zealand Mariupol MAN Launch 120 Ashton 87 ...... 100 Ferrymead, Christchurch ...... 180 Mercédés-électrique-Stoll Athens 5088 ...... 100 New Zealand Foxton ...... 81 Replica Launched ...... 198 Belfast 168 ...... 16, 39, 118 New Zealand Omnibus Society . 238 Newcastle Trolleybuses ...... 188 Black Country Living Museum ... .141 Spain Castellón ...... 118 Nottingham’s 50th Anniversary . 112 Bournemouth 246 ...... 60 Switzerland Luzern 25 ...... 39 Pleven System Expands ...... 201 Bournemouth 297 ...... 39, 128 USA San Francisco ...... 200 Plzeň: 75 Years/80 Years ...... 168 Bournemouth 301 ...... 128 Prague Praga Progresses ...... 80 Cardiff & South Wales Obituary Reading’s First Trolleybus Service, Trolleybus Project ...... 60 Ing Dagmar Braunova ...... 76 80th Anniversary of ...... 134 Cardiff 243 ...... 60 David Croft ...... 160 Remembering the 654 ...... 4 Cardiff 262 ...... 60 Jean Flint ...... 46 Rimini Trolleybuses ...... 6 East Anglia Transport Royston Clifford Jenkins ...... 108 Rimini, on the Beach at ...... 73 Museum ...... 16, 100, 118, 141 Brian Longworth ...... 206 18 TROllEYBUS World Systems ITALY Chieti ...... 122 SLOVAKIA Žilina ...... 123, 163, 242 Córdoba ...... 161 ITALY Modena ...... 102, 242 SPAIN Castellón de la Plana ... 18, 124 ARGENTINA Mendoza 121 ITALY Rimini ...... 6 SWEDEN Landskrona ...... 42, 203 ARGENTINA Rosario 101, 241 ITALY Roma 1...... 22 SWITZERLAND Bern ...... 42, 203, 242 AUSTRIA Salzburg ... ..40, 62, 101, 121, ITALY San Remo ...... 19 SWITZERLAND Biel/Bienne ... 43, 103, ...... 161, 181, 222, 241 Riga ...... 63, 181, 242 203 Minsk ...... 88 LITHUANIA Kaunas . 17, 61, 162, 222 SWITZERLAND Genève ...... 203 BELGIUM Gent ...... 222 KYRGYZ REPUBLIC Bishkek ...... 63 SWITZERLAND BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA MEXICO Guadalajara ...... 142 La Chaux-de-Fonds ...... 203 Sarajevo ...... 101 MEXICO Industry ...... 142 SWITZERLAND Lausanne ...... 19, 223 BRAZIL São Paulo ...... 121, 181 MEXICO Mexico City ...... 122 SWITZERLAND BULGARIA Pernik ...... 62, 101 MOLDOVA Bender ...... 182 Luzern ... 82, 123, 142, 153, 163, 223 BULGARIA Pleven MOLDOVA Chisinau ...... 214, 223 SWITZERLAND Neuchâtel ...... 43 ...... 62, 82, 161, 181, 201 MOLDOVA ...... 182 SWITZERLAND BULGARIA Vratsa 1...... 01, 161 MOLDOVA Tiraspol-Bender ...... 182 Schaffhausen...... 193, 242 CHILE Valparaíso ...... 41 MOLDOVA Marrakech ...... 223 SWITZERLAND Zurich ...... 182 CHINA Baoding ...... 222 NETHERLANDS TAJIKISTAN ...... 203 CHINA Beijing ...... 40, 62, 121, 202 Arnhem ...... 42, 63, 143, 223 TURKEY Malatya ...... 123 CHINA Hangzhou ...... 40 NEW ZEALAND Wellington ..122, 242 UK Leeds ...... 59, 108, 137, 177, 182 CHINA Jinan ...... 40, 121 NORTH KOREA Pyongyang ...... 182 UKRAINE Cherkasy ...... 19 CHINA Shanghai ...... 40, 222 NORWAY Bergen ...... 182 UKRAINE Crimea ...... 19, 142 CHINA Wuhan ...... 17, 41 POLAND Gdynia ...... 17, 162 UKRAINE Donetsk ...... 163 CZECH REPUBLIC Brno ...... 62 POLAND Lublin ...... 82, 123 UKRAINE Lviv ...... 159, 142 CZECH REPUBLIC ROMANIA Cluj-Napoca . 42, 142, 162 UKRAINE Mariupol ...... 103, 120 České Budějovice ...... 62, 122, 142 ROMANIA Mediaș ...... 142 UKRAINE Mikolayev ...... 83 CZECH REPUBLIC ROMANIA Timișoara ...... 42 UKRAINE Odessa ...... 123 Chomutov-Jirkov ...... 101, 161, 241 ROMANIA Piatra Neamt ...... 162 UKRAINE Sevastopol ...... 203 CZECH REPUBLIC ROMANIA Vaslui ...... 163 UKRAINE Zaporizhya ...... 43 Hradec Králové ...... 44, 82 Moskva ...... 102, 123, 163 UKRAINE Zhitomir ...... 103 CZECH REPUBLIC Jihlava ...... 62, 122 RUSSIA Podolsk ...... 42 USA Dayton ...... 163 CZECH REPUBLIC RUSSIA Vologda ...... 17 USA San Francisco Mariánské Lázně ...... 101 SLOVAKIA Banska Bystrica ...... 17 ...... 19, 64, 83, 123, 143, 182, 223 CZECH REPUBLIC Opava ...... 222 SLOVAKIA Bratislava ...... 82, 202 USA Seattle ...... 103, 232, 242 CZECH REPUBLIC Ostrava ...... 17, 82 SLOVAKIA Košice ...... 63, 74, 103 VENEZUELA Barquisimeto ...... 19 CZECH REPUBLIC SLOVAKIA Prešov ...... 18, 202, 242 VENEZUELA Mérida ...... 203 Pardubice .41, 62, 122, 142, 161, 241 CZECH REPUBLIC Plzeň ... .41, 82, 142 CZECH REPUBLIC Teplice ...... 64 CZECH REPUBLIC Ústí nad Labem .62 CZECH REPUBLIC Help Trolleybus Preservation when Zlín ...... 41, 102, 202, 222 ESTONIA Tallinn ...... 17, 41, 222 you buy your books! FRANCE Grenoble ...... 241 Glasgow Trolleybuses is available to buy from the BTS Sales FRANCE Limoges ...... 102, 222 stand or online from the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft FRANCE Lyon ...... 142, 162, 241 FRANCE St Etienne ...... 241 www.sandtoft.org/shop-books GERMANY Berlin ...... 202 Around Bournemouth by Trolleybus GERMANY Esslingen ...... 17, 162 On 23 November the Bournemouth Echo printed an extensive GERMANY Industry ...... 181 GERMANY Solingen . 20, 42, 102, 181 feature on the new book by Henry Conn, published by Adam Athens ...... 82 Gordon. Several of the book’s photos were used in its “Echoes” HUNGARY Budapest ...... 17, 42, 104 supplement, including one on the cover. HUNGARY Szeged ...... 222 The book may be obtained from BTS Sales or online from the IRAN Teheran ...... 162, 181 Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft. ITALY Bologna ...... 82, 162 ITALY Cagliari ...... 96, 102, 122, 181 JANUARY 2017 19 Captions on page 17