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| Railmaster London 11th Apr 2019 | Sou Wester's Review From Amazon This is the second of Ken Blacker's definitive two part history of the giant London trolleybus system. The first volume took the story from the dramatic growth of the system in the 1930s and into the incredibly difficult operating conditions of the Second World War. Volume Two takes the story on from from the end of hostilities. Having taken trolleybuses on board in such a big way immediately before the war it is interesting how quickly that enthusiasm had waned by the time peace returned. Herr Hitler's intervention had interupted London's massive tram to trolleybus conversion programme, but when this resumed in the late 1940s it was motorbuses rather than trolleys that supplanted the surviving trams, the last of these iconic beasts running in 1952. This was an ominous sign for the trolleybuses and, only a year or so after the trams they were supposed to replace had vanished, London Transport announced that the trolleybuses themselves were to be replaced. This cast something of a cloud over the final decade of trolleybus operation, although a considerable time elapsed between their proposed demise being announced and the replacement programme actually being implemented. Thus, throughout the 1950s the trolleybuses remained a common sight right across the city and its is probably this period that is best remembered by people today. All this is brilliantly portrayed in Mr. Blacker's book and the text and pictures combine to give a fine recollection of both the trolleybuses and the general London street scene of the 1950s. No less interesting, though inevitably sad, is coverage of the massive switchover from trolleybuses to motorbuses carried out between 1959 and 1962. Ironically, the last trolleybus stronghold was in south-west London where the vehicles had first been introduced in 1931. This wasn't quite the end of the story, however. Nearly all of London's postwar trolleybuses (the Q1 class, sometimes described as the Rolls Royce version of the trolleybus) found new lives in Spain and their fascinating afterlife is also covered in this book, as is the story of the few London trolleybuses that survived into preservation. This is where this excellent history ends. However, it is interesting to reflect that trams have since returned to London and, in these more environmentally concious times, some would argue that trolleybuses might still find a role to play, so perhaps the final chapter of Mr. Blacker's fine and thoroughly recommended book has yet to be written! | |
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See Also
BookKen Blacker - Routemaster Volume Two 1970 - 2005 - Capital Transport - Hardcover - UK - 1854143034 (2007)Next by Author
BookKen Blacker - The London Trolleybus Volume 1 1931-1945 - Capital Transport - Hardcover - UK - 1854142607 (2002)Previous by Author
BookKen Glazier - London Transport Garages - Capital Transport - Hardcover - UK - 1854142992 (2006)Next by Publisher
BookKen Glazier - The Battles Of The General - Capital Transport - Hardcover - UK - 1854142690 (2003)Previous by Publisher
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Vinyl Albums : Live Music : 78 RPM : CD Albums : CD Singles : 12" Singles : 7" Singles : Tape Media : Classical Music : Music Memorabilia : Cinema : TV Series : DVD & Blu-ray : Magazines : Books : Video Games : Create Your Own World
Latest » Items : Comments : Price Guide : Reviews : Ratings : Images : Lists : Videos : Tags : Collected : Wanted : Top 50 : Random
45worlds for music, movies, books etc : 45cat for 7" singles : 45spaces for hundreds more worlds