Nowadays, with concerns about air quality in our town centres, many new cars, vans and buses are hybrid or fully electric. However, over a century ago zero-emission public transport dominated our towns and cities in the form of electric trams and trolleybuses. Yet, in the post-war era these fell out of favour and were replaced by diesel buses. Now trams have made a comeback in some cities, although trolleybuses no longer operate in Britain.
Many examples of trams and trolleybuses have survived into preservation. There are even a handful of specialist museum sites where wiring has been installed so that these vehicles can once again operate, while many examples can be found on static display in other museum collections.
Malcolm Batten presents a fascinating selection of the vehicles preserved and locations where trams and trolleybuses can be found at work or on display.
