Trolleybuses in Perth

The Perth trolleybus system in Western Australia, linked the capital Perth's central business district with its inner suburbs on the northern side of the Swan River. It was the first permanent trolleybus network to open in Australia, in 1933, and also the last to close, in 1969.

Perth trolleybus system
Preserved Midland Railway Workshops bodied Leyland TB5 no 38 at Whiteman Park in 2011
Operation
LocalePerth, Western Australia
Trolleybus era: 1933 (1933)–1969 (1969)
Status Closed
Owner(s) Government of Western Australia
Operator(s) Western Australian Government Railways
(1933-1949)
Western Australian Government Tramways & Ferries
(1949-1957)
Metropolitan Transport Trust
(1957-1969)
Electrification (?) V DC parallel overhead lines
Stock 90

History

The first trolleybus route commenced operating on 1 October 1933 between East Perth and West Leederville station via Wellington Street.[1] It was the first permanent trolleybus network in Australia,[2] Adelaide having commenced a trial service in May 1932. In 1938 it was extended along Cambridge Street to a balloon loop at Keane Street, Wembley while in the same year, a new route to Claremont via Mounts Bay Road and the Stirling Highway was established replacing a tram route. A branch from the Wembley route to the intersection of Grantham and Reserve Streets via Gregory Street was a new route not previously served by trams.[3][4][5]

In the late 1940s, it was proposed that trolleybuses replace tram routes to Victoria Park, Welshpool, South Perth and Como. However overhead wires were considered an unsightly blight on the new Causeway Bridge so motor buses were introduced instead.[4]

On 8 August 1951, trams were replaced on the Mount Hawthorn line from William Street in the city, The Claremont route was extended along the Stirling Highway to the Swanbourne Fire Station and Wembley routes along Louth Road and Dumfries Road to Floreat Park. In 1959, trolleybuses replaced trams on the routes to Mount Lawley, extending beyond tram territory to Dianella via Grand Promenade and to Bedford Park. In the same year, the Swanbourne route was replaced by motor buses in connection with road works associated with the interchange at the city end of Narrows Bridge.[3][4]

The Mount Hawthorn route closed on 17 March 1963, the Beaufort Street routes at the end of 1968 when Barrack Street was made one-way northbound, and the remaining routes to Floreat Park on 29 August 1969.[3][4][5]

Fleet

To commence operations three Leyland TTBs were landed at Fremantle on 10 June 1933.[6] One had been bodied by Park Royal, with the other two bodied locally by the Midland Railway Workshops. When the network was extended in the late 1930s, a further 12 Leyland TTBs (later extended to 19) were ordered, again with the first bodied by Park Royal and the balance by Midland Railway Workshops.[7][8] A further 18 Leyland TB5s originally destined for Canton, China were bodied by Midland Railways Workshops.[3]

In 1950/51, 50 Sunbeam F4s entered service; 10 bodied by Commonwealth Engineering in Sydney with the balance under sub-contract by Boltons in Perth.[9]

The Perth trolleybus fleet was as follows:[4][5]

ImageFleet nos.QuantityChassisBodyConfigurationIn service
101Leyland TTBPark RoyalThree axle, front and rear entrance1933–c 1960
2–302Leyland TTBMidland Railway WorkshopsThree axle, front and rear entrance1933–c 1960
401Leyland TTBPark RoyalThree axle, dual entrance1938–c 1960
5–2218Leyland TTBMidland Railway WorkshopsThree axle, front and rear entrance1938–c 1960
23–4018Leyland TB5Midland Railway WorkshopsTwo axle, dual entrance1942/45–1962/64
41–5010Sunbeam F4Commonwealth EngineeringTwo axle, centre entrance1950/53–1967/69
51–9040Sunbeam F4BoltonsTwo axle, centre entrance1950/53–1967/69

Some former Perth trolleybuses are now preserved by the Perth Electric Tramway Society at its heritage tramway in Whiteman Park.[5]

Notes
  1. Trolley Buses Sydney Morning Herald 30 September 1933 page 6
  2. Trolley Buses The Age 2 June 1936 page 14
  3. Exit Perth's Trolleybuses Trolley Wire issue 126 February 1970 pages 6-8
  4. Nicholas Pusenjak (1 June 2011). "Perth's trolleybuses 40 years gone; Rattler 429/2009" (PDF). Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  5. Perth Trolleybuses Perth Electric Tramway Society
  6. Perth's First Trolleybus The West Australian 12 June 1933 page 33
  7. 12 Trolley Buses for Perth Daily News 5 August 1936 page 9
  8. Trolley Buses The Argus 6 July 1938 page 24
  9. Dunn, John (2006). Comeng: A history of Commonwealth Engineering: Volume 1: 1921-1955. Dural: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 154/155. ISBN 1877058424.

References
  • Campbell, Bob (1999). Getting There by Tram in Western Australia. Mount Lawley: Perth Electric Tramway Society. ISBN 0646-38447-3.
  • Culpeffer-Cooke, Tony; Gunzburg, Adrian; Pleydell, Ian (2010). Tracks by the Swan: The Electric Tram and Trolleybus Era of Perth, Western Australia. Mount Lawley: Perth Electric Tramway Society. ISBN 978-0-9807577-0-5.
  • Francis, Ric (August 1999). "The Trolleybus System of Perth, Western Australia (1933-1969): Australia's First Trolleybus System" (PDF). Trolley Wire (278): 16–21.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Francis, Ric (November 1999). "The Trolleybuses of Perth" (PDF). Trolley Wire (279): 22–24.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Francis, Ric (2008). Destination West Leederville: A history & pictorial review of the Perth trolley bus system. Mount Lawley: Perth Electric Tramway Society. ISBN 978-0-9805116-3-5.
  • Jones, David (2000). Australian Trolley Buses: the trolley buses that once served Australian cities. Tawa, NZ: City Tramway Publications. ISBN 0-473-07118-5.
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