Trolleybuses in Ramsbottom

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Ramsbottom trolleybus system
Ramsbottom trolleybus - ca. 1913.jpg
A Ramsbottom trolleybus, ca. 1913.
Operation
Locale Ramsbottom, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester), England
Open14 August 1913 (1913-08-14)
Close31 March 1931 (1931-03-31)
StatusClosed
Routes1
Operator(s)Ramsbottom Urban District Council
Infrastructure
Stock7 (maximum)

The Ramsbottom trolleybus system once served the town of Ramsbottom, then in Lancashire, but now in Greater Manchester, England.

Ramsbottom market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England

Ramsbottom is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 census was 17,872. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the River Irwell in the West Pennine Moors, 3.9 miles (6.3 km) northwest of Bury, and 12 miles (19 km) of Manchester.

Lancashire County of England

Lancashire is a ceremonial county in North West England. The administrative centre is Preston. The county has a population of 1,449,300 and an area of 1,189 square miles (3,080 km2). People from Lancashire are known as Lancastrians.

Greater Manchester County of England

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the cities of Manchester and Salford. Greater Manchester was created on 1 April 1974 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972; and designated a functional city region on 1 April 2011.

Contents

History

Opened on 14 August 1913, [1] the Ramsbottom system was unusual in being a completely new one that was not replacing any previously operating tramway network. It was closed relatively early, on 31 March 1931, [1] though it was largely replaced by motor buses on a faster timetable from 14 January 1929. [2]

Tram vehicle used for tramway traffic

A tram is a rail vehicle which runs on tramway tracks along public urban streets; some include segments of segregated right-of-way. The lines or networks operated by tramcars are called tramways. Historically the term electric street railways was also used in the United States. In the United States, the term tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tyred trackless trains, which are unrelated to other kinds of trams.

Services

By the standards of the various now defunct trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom, the Ramsbottom system was very small, with only one route, [1] from Holcombe Brook railway station to Edenfield, with a short branch from Market Place in Ramsbottom to Ramsbottom railway station, which closed on 5 October 1914. [2] Buses ran half-hourly. [3]

Trolleybus electric bus reliant on overhead wires

A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws power from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit. This differs from a tram or streetcar, which normally uses the track as the return path, needing only one wire and one pole. They are also distinct from other kinds of electric buses, which usually rely on batteries. Power is most commonly supplied as 600-volt direct current, but there are exceptions.

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

Holcombe Brook railway station was the terminus of the Bury to Holcombe Brook Line in England and served the village of Holcombe Brook in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury.

Fleet

The system had a maximum fleet of only seven trolleybuses. [1]

None of the former Ramsbottom trolleybuses is recorded as having survived. [4]

See also

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References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Short, Peter. "Former UK systems". British Trolleybus Society. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 Newman, A G (August 1979). Buses (293): 337.Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Meccano Magazine February 1972 - Ramsbottom Trolleybus pioneer by M Evans
  4. ↑ Zebedee, John (30 November 2010). "A List of Preserved Trolleybuses in the UK". British Trolleybus Society. Retrieved 2 April 2012.

Further reading


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