The Trolley Bus Turntable at Christchurch
I moved to Boscombe near Christchurch in 1954 when my father's job with Williams Deacons Bank took him to their newly opened Bournemouth Branch. I was amazed! I was just eight years old and all I had ever really known in the way of public transport were the London Transport red or green buses, plus some red trams and trolleybuses. Yet here in Christchurch were bright yellow buses and trolleybuses which plied the route into Bournemouth. Better still for a fascinated young boy, was the amazing trolley bus turntable in Christchurch. The driver took the trolleybus onto the turntable in a little cul-de-sac in the middle of Christchurch and then the conductor would get off and disconnect the pantograph on the roof and they would push the trolleybus round to face the way it had come ready for the return journey. Any watching youngsters were invited to help push so I had great fun with this!
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RE: RE: The Trolley Bus Turntable at Christchurch
I think the turn table was at the back of dolphine pub just oppist bridge street
Comment from Marten Humphries on Wednesday, 26th August 2009.
RE: RE: The Trolley Bus Turntable at Christchurch
I think the turntable was at the back of the Dolphin pub, just opposite Bridge Street.
Comment from Marten Humphries on Wednesday, 26th August 2009.
RE: RE: The Trolley Bus Turntable at Christchurch
Research on the web identifies the trollybuses as routes 20 and 21. I was only 8, 9 and 10 years old when I would help turn the trolleybus on its turntable so my interest was much more in the turntable than the pub nearby. I found the following quote:
"The Christchurch trolleybus turntable was situated in a public house yard at the eastern terminus of the route where the trolleybus was driven onto the turntable and the two trolley arms lowered. The Driver and Conductor manually turned the trolleybus on the turntable and reconnected the trolley arms onto the two overhead conductors and the vehicle was then driven off the turntable to the queue barrier." This is on the website http://www.swehs.co.uk/swehs-trams/tram13.html where you can also find short film clips of the turntable.
Comment from John Howard Norfolk on Thursday, 27th August 2009.