| Home | About Us | News / Events | Restoration | Gallery | Shopping | Links |
No. 243
.jpg) |
243's story really beings
in 1947 when Cardiff Corporation purchased seven ex 1930 English
Electric single deckers from Pontypridd UDC, the reason for the
purchase was the bridge under the Great Western Main line at Bute
Street, the height of which precluded the use of anything but single
deckers on the No 16 route from Mill Lane (Monument) to Pierhead
just over 1 mile in length. Owing to their ponderous nature &
the distinctive whine from their motors the English electric machines
were soon nickanmed "Doodlebugs" - a name which stuck
to their successors, of which 243 was one.
The Pontypridd buses were replaced in 1949 by 5 BUT 9641Ts with East Lancs Single Deck bodies, this early batch had twin entranced as per the Double deckers built at the same time. 243 entered service in May 1955, her chassis was the last one of a batch built for the new routes to Ely (see 262 for nore details) but unlike the previous 5 single deckers was built with a single rear entrance only. As a single Decker designed for the No 16 route (Later to be renumbered the 14) 243 spent her entire working life on this short (less than a mile) route taking the residents of Tiger Bay to work on the docks as well as into town. In fact she only has a useful working life of 9 years as she was withdrawn on the abandonment of route No 14 in January 1964. |
No. 262
 |
262 was one of a batch of trolleybuses
that entered service in November 1949 & is unique in being the
only Welsh built Trolleybus left in the world! A slight exaggeration
perhaps but 262 has a BUT 9641T chassis with a body built by Bruce
Coachworks of Cardiff on East Lancs frames. She is also one of four
Bruce built buses left - the others being an ex-Eastbourne AEC Regent
III in the care of the City of Portsmouth Preserved Passenger Depot
(CPPD), a Bedwas & Machen AEC Regal and a Daimler (CVD6) new
to Swansea Motor Services (SWAN).
As a double decker, 262 unlike 243, was not confined to one route & was used regularly all over the system when she ran the last trip on the route 8 between Victoria Park and the Royal Oak. After withdrawal at the end of April 1968 she was purchased for preservation by the Cardiff Trolleybus Society. |
No.203
 |
(AEC 664T with Northern Counties H70R bodywork
built in 1942) No. 203 remained in service until withdrawal in December 1962 whereupon she was placed in the care of BTS Member Mr David Gledhill as custodian. Later in the 1960s 203 transferred into private ownership and remained so until the early 1990s when she was brought back into the care of the BTS once more. Painted in Cardiff’s WARTIME grey livery No. 203 operated at both the Black Country Museum and Sandtoft. In May 2010 restoration was complete with re-entry into service as shown to the left. |
No.215
 |
(BUT 9641T with East Lancashire Coachbuilders
H38/29D bodywork built 1948) converted at a later date to rear entrance
only.
One of a batch of BUT/East Lancs Trolleybuses that entered service in 1948. 215 stayed in service right until the end of the system in January 1970. She was then presented to the National Museums & Galleries of Wales and was on display in the Industrial & Maritime Museum in Cardiff Bay until its closure in 2000. 215 is now in store at the NGMW Storage facility at Nantgarw awaiting a new display location.
|