Longwood trolleybus turntable

Last updated

Longwood trolleybus turntable
Former trolleybus turntable, Longwood, near Huddersfield - geograph.org.uk - 645432.jpg
The turntable in 1985, shortly before its demolition.
England location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within England.
General information
TypeTurntable
Location Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates 53°39′3.87″N1°50′37.22″W / 53.6510750°N 1.8436722°W / 53.6510750; -1.8436722
Inaugurated1 September 1939 (1939-09-01)
Client Huddersfield Corporation Transport
The turntable seen from below Former trolleybus turntable (2) - geograph.org.uk - 645435.jpg
The turntable seen from below

The Longwood trolleybus turntable formed part of the Huddersfield trolleybus system, which served the market town of Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, England.

Contents

History

Opened on 1 September 1939, [1] the turntable was used to turn around all Huddersfield trolleybuses terminating at Dod-Lea, where there was insufficient space for the trolleybuses to reverse their direction under their own power.

Manually operated, the turntable remained in use only until 1940. By that time, wartime conditions had led to the recruitment of female conductors who were not strong enough to help the driver operate the turntable, and blackout regulations had made it difficult for crew to see what they were doing after dark. The turntable was therefore replaced by alternative arrangements, and was not put back into service after the end of the war. However, it remained in situ for many years, until finally being removed in the second half of the 1980s.

Significance

The Longwood turntable is said to be one of only four trolleybus turntables ever to have been constructed worldwide. Two other such turntables are the similarly abandoned Christchurch trolleybus turntable, in Bournemouth, England (in operation 1936–1969; now a Grade II listed building), and the Unterburg trolleybus turntable in Solingen, Germany (still in use for heritage trolleybus services). A fourth known trolleybus turntable was one used on the Guadalajara trolleybus system in Mexico in the 1980s, in a since-closed trolleybus-only tunnel in the city centre, on a temporary basis in 1982–1983 and again from 1985 until early 1988 (when the tunnel closed for the start of work to convert it for use by Guadalajara's light rail system). [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Greater Boston</span> Electric powered public transportation

The Boston-area trolleybus system formed part of the public transportation network serving Greater Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It opened on April 11, 1936, with a large network operating for the next quarter-century. Measured by fleet size, the Boston-area system was the second-largest trolleybus system in the United States at its peak, with only the Chicago system having more trolleybuses than Boston's 463. After 1963, the only remaining portion was a four-route cluster operating from the Harvard bus tunnel at Harvard station, running through Cambridge, Belmont, and Watertown. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority took over the routes in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Corporation Tramways</span> Birmingham tramway operator (1904-1953)

Birmingham Corporation Tramways operated a network of tramways in Birmingham from 1904 until 1953. It was the largest narrow-gauge tramway network in the UK, and was built to a gauge of 3 ft 6 in. It was the fourth largest tramway network in the UK behind London, Glasgow and Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Wellington</span>

Trolleybuses in Wellington were part of the Wellington public transport system from 1924 until 1932 and again from 1949 until 2017. It was the last trolleybus system operating commercially in Oceania and the last major system operating in a country where driving is on the left side of the road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Car turntable</span> Rotating platform for cars

A car turntable or driveway turntable is a rotating platform designed for use by a car; they can be motorized or manually rotated and are usually installed in a driveway or in a garage floor. They rotate a motor vehicle to facilitate its easier or safer egress. Sometimes a local zoning prohibition of vehicles backing onto busy roadways prompts the installation of car turntables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Glasgow</span> Public transport system in Glasgow, Scotland

The Glasgow trolleybus system operated in and immediately surrounding the city of Glasgow, Scotland, between 1949 and 1967, with the network reaching its largest extent in 1959. It was the only British system to open after World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Huddersfield</span>

The Huddersfield trolleybus system once served the market town of Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, England. Opened on 4 December 1933, it gradually replaced the Huddersfield tramway network, which closed on Saturday, 29 June 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Manchester</span>

The trolleybus system in Manchester, England, opened on 1 March 1938, and gradually replaced certain routes of the Manchester tramway network. Manchester was a belated convert to trolleybuses having already started a programme of tram to diesel bus conversion in the mid-1930s and this, overall, continued to be the preferred option for tram conversion that was completed in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Reading</span>

The Reading trolleybus system served the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire and was owned by Reading Corporation, who had operated an electric tramway since 1901. As there was a need for major refurbishment of the tramway in the 1930s, they decided to replace it with a trolleybus network. The first route was converted on 18 July 1936, and by mid 1939, trolleybuses were running over most of the tramway routes, with the last tram running on 20 May. By the standards of the various now-defunct trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom, the Reading system was a moderately sized one, with a total of four routes, and a maximum fleet of 63 trolleybuses, a size that lasted from 1 December 1950 to 27 March 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Teesside</span>

The Teesside trolleybus system once served the conurbation of Teesside, in the North East of England. Opened on 8 November 1919, it was unusual in being a completely new system that was not replacing any previously operating tramway network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Bournemouth</span> Bournemouth trolleybus system

The Bournemouth trolleybus system once served the town of Bournemouth, then in Hampshire, but now in Dorset, England. Opened on 13 May 1933, it gradually replaced the Bournemouth tramway network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Hastings</span>

The Hastings trolleybus system once served the town of Hastings, East Sussex, England. Opened on 1 April 1928, it gradually replaced the Hastings tramway network, with the first route to be converted that from the Fishmarket to Hollington, East Sussex and the last, the circular route. Tram replacement cost £1,383 per mile, but increased average speed from 7.5 to over 10 mph and cut costs from 13d to 10d per mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Doncaster</span>

The Doncaster trolleybus system once served the town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Opened on 22 August 1928, it gradually replaced the Doncaster Corporation Tramways. By the standards of the various now-defunct trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom, the Doncaster system was a moderately sized one, with a total of 6 routes, all radiating out from the town centre, and a maximum fleet of 47 trolleybuses. The Bentley route was the first to close, on 12 February 1956, and the Beckett Road route was the last to go, on 14 December 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christchurch trolleybus turntable</span> Turntable in , England

The Christchurch trolleybus turntable formed part of the Bournemouth trolleybus system, which served the town of Bournemouth and its environs, on the south coast of England. It is still in existence, and is now a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Philadelphia</span> Trolleybus system in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Philadelphia trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network serving Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. It opened on October 14, 1923, and is now the second-longest-lived trolleybus system in the world. One of only four such systems currently operating in the U.S., it presently comprises three lines and is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), with a fleet of 38 trolleybuses, or trackless trolleys as SEPTA calls them. The three surviving routes serve North and Northeast Philadelphia and connect with SEPTA's Market–Frankford rapid transit line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Solingen</span>

The Solingen trolleybus, also known locally as Stangentaxi, serves the city of Solingen, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Guadalajara</span>

The Guadalajara trolleybus system serves Guadalajara, the capital city of the state of Jalisco in Mexico.

Halifax Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England between 1898 and 1939. After considering lifts and inclined planes to assist trams in negotiating the steep hills to the south of the town, they obtained permission to build a conventional system in 1897, and the first three routes opened in 1898. By 1905 there were 37 miles (60 km) of track and 96 tramcars, supplied by two manufacturers. In 1921, an additional route was added to the system, and the Corporation embarked on a programme of building their own tramcars, some of which replaced existing vehicles, while some extended the fleet. During the 1930s, the trams were gradually replaced by motor buses, either run by the Corporation or by private companies, and the last tram ran on 14 February 1939.

As of 2012 there were around 300 cities or metropolitan areas where trolleybuses were operated, and more than 500 additional trolleybus systems have existed in the past. For complete lists of trolleybus systems by location, with dates of opening and closure, see List of trolleybus systems and the related lists indexed there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unterburg trolleybus turntable</span>

The Unterburg trolleybus turntable is a disused turntable for trolleybuses in the Solingen district Burg an der Wupper. The facility was regularly used by trolleybus line 683, operated by the Stadtwerke Solingen (SWS), until 15 November 2009, but is preserved in working condition.

Bradford Corporation Tramways were a tramway network in the city of Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England which operated trams from 1882 until 1950 and trolleybuses from 1911 until 1972. The track gauge of the tramways was 4 ft.

References

Notes

  1. Joyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). British Trolleybus Systems, pp. 69–72, 159. London: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN   0-7110-1647-X.
  2. Morgan, Steve (September–October 1990). "Mexico Review: Part 1". Trolleybus Magazine No. 173, p. 104. ISSN   0266-7452.

Further reading