Trolleybus Weekend

This weekend saw the East Anglia Transport Museum hold their Trolleybus Weekend featuring all available vehicles from the fleet. As usual, On the Sunday I took advantage of the Park and Ride service from the Co-op store on Ashburnham Way and was rewarded with a trip on First's heritage liveried ALX 400 30888 (W743DWX)

Understandably the event concentrated on the trolleybuses at the museum where rides were available on the vehicles themselves

Accordingly a ride was secured on Maidstone Corporation Trolleybus 52 (LCD52) and, again, I did a double take when passing Ashton-under-Lyne trolley 87 (YTE826) painted in similar colours to the old Great Yarmouth Corporation livery!

Next up was the Dennis Lancet UF YYB118 in the colours of Somerset independent Hutching and Cornelius - a very enjoyable ride with a number of circuits around the site

Also on display was Sheffield Transport No 513, a Roberts car dating from 1950. It was moved from Blackpool to the EATM in early 2011 on long term loan from Beamish but due to operational difficulties the tram is unable to run the full length of the track 

The visiting buses included a Midland Red coach on the Saturday, a London Transport Green Line RF on both days plus a former Eastern National Bristol Lodekka FLF6G on the Sunday.

Unfortunately I missed the first mentioned vehicle, but thankfully Tim Major provides a photo of the Midland Red BMMO C5 4780 780GHA in the Museum car park. I can just about remember these C5's arriving at Beach Coach Station in the early 1960s from the West Midlands

The Green Line RF was Metro Cammel bodied AEC Regal MLL818 new to London Transport in September 1952 being based at Dorking garage. RF218 was withdrawn from service at Addlestone in August 1977, being acquired for preservation two months later

The third visitor was NTW942C an ex-Eastern National Bristol FLF Lodekka with an Eastern Coach Works body dating from 1965.

My thanks to Tim for the photo and for the private viewing of former Lowestoft decker 918NRT currently undergoing restoration

Roy