Nottingham Trolleybus Group

[sdsps 1]

The biggest mistake was aquiring a so called steam bus. In a moment of madness, this thing, a Skegness Toastrack Bedford with a bloody great steam roller boiler shoved in the middle of it, was delivered to Tollerton garage.

We got a local farmer to pretend to tow it to the site with a landrover, while Brian steered and I operated the gears and shoved in the coal.

It was taken off to Rempstone Traction Engine Rally by low loader, I had to crawl into the firebox to get it going, it was a nightmare, but attracted a lot of attention.

Parks is the one in the tank top with his back to us, I think it's Brian next to him, no doubt worrying about my gear settings and two other members are hanging on either side at the back, it looks as if they were about to attempt to reverse it without running over anyone.

Eventually it succombed in the main ring and we had to be towed out by a proper steam tractor.

I wonder what happened to this beast.

It ended up in Rush Green Motors scrap yard, this is what it currently looks like (Still there)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35455701@N03/7050326187/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35455701@N03/7050326257/in/photostream/

Do you have any other pictures or stories of the Aveling bus?

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Welcome to Nottstalgia, sdsps. I look forward to reading your posts and sharing your memories.

[Cliff Ton 10,451]

I'm fairly certain this link has been posted before somewhere on here, but it's been recently updated with photos of preserved Nottingham buses - if you scroll down to the very end.

And if you haven't seen it before, the whole thing is a real blast of nostalgia from the days of green buses.

http://www.old-bus-photos.co.uk/wp-content/themes/Old-Bus-Photos/galleries/nottingham_trolleybuses_the_last_years/nottingham_trolleybuses_the_last_years.php

[carni 10,094]

CliffTon,

I have just looked through the Link above on the Trolley Buses, and you are so right about a blast of nostalgia. My main memories are of the 39 Carlton SQ buses. For some reason I used that particular route often. There was a long walk from the Terminus to Gedling Village and on up to the Phoenix Estate, so I must have had to make that choice, perhaps after missing a bus that went closer to home. There is a shot of the upstairs deck on one of the pics, and as the person writes. You can almost smell the ciggies. I particularly liked the shot of the two 39s at the Carlton Terminus. It got me to thinking, that there was a good chance i sat on one of those buses, upstairs, puffing away on my Parkie. Thanks for the memories. I'm clicking the link again now for another look.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Whenever I see these bus photos I always look to see if my dad is on any of them but he never is. He was a driver before becoming an Inspector. He was known to everyone as 'Mighty Fine' and I remember him being on the 43 route. I can remember him forgetting to take his snap with him one day and I had to take it to the bus terminus at Trent Bridge. I was asking the drivers and conductors what time driver Booth would be returning and nobody knew who he was. I thought it was odd because he'd been a driver for a long time. I was about to go back home when I mentioned that he'd say "Mighty Fine". Once I'd said that, everybody knew who I meant and started laughing and joking . When my dad arrived and I told him what had happened he laughed his head off. He was probably on other routes but I only remember him being on the 43 route.

[colly0410 1,181]

I can remember the 43 Trolley Buses & the brown diesel ones that went up & down Arkwrite street, my mate & I used to put our hand out to stop it then run away, great fun. One day a driver turned up at the door & told Mam what I'd been up to, a good hiding followed with the driver watching. Instant justice back then.

[Smiffy49 590]

Absolutely full of nostalgia, this topic is great !

I would love to see any others taken on the 40 route or at the Wilford Road Terminus?

Smiffy

[colly0410 1,181]

From what I can remember the 40 & 47 were 4 wheelers & most of the others were 6 wheelers, I presume there must have been some tight corners on the 40/47 route.

I was fascinated to see the trolley buses when I was in St Petersburg especially when they sparked & flashed when going over points, it lit the night sky up, I thought it was lightning at first.

[Karlton 582]

I remember there was a 38 that came from town and terminated at Hooten road top of carlton hill. also some of the busses had wooden seats.

I remember carlton terminus the bus would lower a wooden choc on a chain when parked there. perhaps a back up for the very long hand brake

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Lovely to hear all your memories. Me and Firbeck spent a lot of time around Parliament St. Depot just after trollies finished. I think we both 'borrowed' a reversing lever. Happy days.

[firbeck 859]

SDSPS:- I was always under the impression that the steam bus was sold of for re-conversion in that the bus chassis and body were to be turned back into a Bedford Toastrack and the steam roller boiler was to be used for a roller restoration with other parts. I'm wondering now whether the poor thing, still sitting on it's chassis, was one of the vehicles left behind when the Plumtree premises was hastily evacuated, I know that the Humber ambulance was and ended up being scrapped. What intrigues me is that this sad wreck is in a scrapyard in Hertfordshire, how did it get down there I wonder. It also surprises me that given the scarcity and value of original steam engine parts, that it's still rotting away in there, perhaps they want too much money for it.

Bilbraborn, on the day of the Rempstone Rally, we shot over to Plumptree on the tandem to go along with the steam bus. When we got there it had already left but it was easy to follow their route as the ensemble had left a trail of oily water all the way there. On arrival we found the bus parked up with no-one able to get the fire going in the firebox so I crawled in through the firebox hole somehow and built a small pile of paper, twigs and wood from the hedge , stacked around with coal, then along came a chap who dipped a rag in the diesel tank of his truck and we soaked the fire with it, that worked a treat, trouble was, it took rather a long time to build up enough steam pressure so when it came time to enter the ring for the 'Grand Parade' a recipe for disaster was brewing, and of course it did, we ran out of steam only halfway round, it was somewhat embarrasing. By the way, I think the figure whose head you can see framed in the rear window in my Rempstone photo is you and yes, I still have my trolley starter handle, found it last night in the garage, only thing is, mine is from the painted up 'Last Nottingham Trolleybus', I swapped it around for another one when no-one was looking.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Nottingham Post Bygones issue 223 dated November 10th 2014 has a series of photos from 1964. Among them is NCT 4 wheeled trolleybus 466 in a field somewhere. Two men are seen looking at it. One of them could be Brian Dominic. There is a sign in the front windscreen bearing what looks like the words Nottingham Trolleybus Group. Could this be in the goods yard at Plumtree Station. It's so long since I've been there.

[firbeck 859]

Nottingham Post Bygones issue 223 dated November 10th 2014 has a series of photos from 1964. Among them is NCT 4 wheeled trolleybus 466 in a field somewhere. Two men are seen looking at it. One of them could be Brian Dominic. There is a sign in the front windscreen bearing what looks like the words Nottingham Trolleybus Group. Could this be in the goods yard at Plumtree Station. It's so long since I've been there.

Any chance you or anyone could put the picture up on here, I'd like to see that.

I haven't been to Plumtree Station for a while, I called in a few years ago on my way back to Braintree from Nottingham, it didn't appear to have changed much.

To recall you went up a gradient to the station off the road from Tollerton to Plumtree, the station buildings were intact along with the platform, the station house had become a private residence back in the 60's. To the left was a fenced off arable field, just past the station house was an area of gravel standing with the old cattle dock backing onto the platform. The trolleybuses were all lined up against this, later when the Derby tram arrived, it was put on the remaining track in the cattle dock. Immediately ahead of you was the typical MR goods shed, it had a double door facing the access road and all the bits and pieces were kept in there, overhead and electrical gear, bus seats, the Humber ambulance and the Leyland Barton bus. Problem is there was no door on the siding (east) side. That's where you and I came in Bilbraborn, single handed we built a wall of old railway sleepers and bits of timber on an unusually hot New Years Day 1966. We must have gone on the tandem and taken hammers, saws and nails with us, it was so warm we sat out in the sun and ate us snap, there were bumble bees flying about.

To the east of that was a BR owned single storey concrete building that we assumed contained trackside equipment, we tried but never managed to get in it.

East of that was the goods yard siding still in place and connected to the main line. It was used to store a rake of excursion stock, mainly ex LMS carriages. These weren't locked and if the weather was bad on one of our 'work sessions', we'd climb in and stretch out on the side corridor seats and eat our butties and remove a few signs, I recall they told you what the partitions were made of, 'African Sapele' , as if the Mablethorpe holiday makers cared!!!

[firbeck 859]

Just looked on Google Sattelite, the goods shed looks to be an 'events' building now, what, weddings!! There also seem to be a lot more trees about too, perhaps you should go and have a sniff about matey.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

There's a photo of the inside of that goods shed somewhere in my collection of railway books. The planks were still there when the pic was taken. I'll have a look through them and get back to you. I'll scan that trolleybus pic as well.

[Merthyr Imp 729]

Not really relating to the above recent posts, but I recently came across three photos that I must have taken (I've forgotten!) at one of the open days or events at Plumtree in the late 1960s - at least I'm assuming that's where it was due to the railway lines in the background.

 

It's a preserved Plaxton-bodied Foden in the livery of Ledgard's of Armley near Leeds.

 

 

[Trickymicky 57]

I've got a picture of my car at Plumtree Station in 1973, i'll try and find it and see what else it shows.

[howard n 2]

i spent many days at plumtree when i was a child i remember alot u have all mentioned .the derby tram id sit on it in the dark trying to feel the way it was .that poor ambulance some one vandalised it and sprayed rude words on the buses.there was a derby tower wagon and two london buses dont know what happend to the wagon but the london buses were scrapped some good times there mrs spencer always made me some lunch in her house

[StephenFord 866]

Merthyr Imp - re-#66 - can I suggest you submit that photo to the Old Bus Photos website. I think it would be well appreciated there. There are a lot of West Yorkshire enthusiasts on the site, including one regular correspondent who used to drive for Ledgard's.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

Welcome to Nottstalgia, howard n. I look forward to reading your posts and sharing your memories.

[Trevor S 2,003]

Welcome to Nottstalgia, howard n. I look forward to sharing your memories..

[colly0410 1,181]

Been thinking... When a trolleybus was in heavy traffic & crawling along at low speed the starting resistances would be in circuit most of the time, did they ever have problems with them overheating & burning out or even catching fire?

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Welcome Howard and have fun.

[Merthyr Imp 729]

Stephen - I see there's a picture of it here:

http://www.sct61.org.uk/lgonw2a

To be honest there seem to be so many transport photo websites I never know which to bother with.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Re #72. I would have thought there would have been a system to over-ride this. Given that they were built for town traffic. I suppose it's similar to diesel buses overheating after crawling along in low gear. (In fact some of those in Glasgow that I drove often did overheat). However, in one of my local history books called 'Nottingham Then', there is a photograph of a Trolleybus on fire on London Road.