Search results for ""Author Peter Waller""

Although there had been experiments with the use of a new form of transport - the 'trackless tram' (better known as the trolleybus) - during the first decade of the 20th century, it was in June 1911 that Bradford and Leeds became the country's pioneering operators of trolleybuses. Whilst, in Leeds, the trolleybus was destined to have a fairly peripheral role (and finally disappeared in 1928), in Bradford, perhaps as a consequence of the hills surrounding the city centre which represented ideal territory for the trolleybus, the 'trackless' was destined to have a long and illustrious career stretching for more than 60 years until - on 26 March 1972 - the final first-generation trolleybus system finally succumbed to the all-conquering motorbus. This is the first of two volumes to cover the history of all of the trolleybus operators of the British Isles and focuses on those systems in the North of England and Scotland as well as the only network in Northern Ireland - Belfast. The book includes comprehensive fleet and route histories allied to some 250 illustrations, both colour and mono, including a map of each network featured.

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This is one of four volumes covering the history of British Trolleybus systems. This book looks at the networks in Yorkshire. Bradford and Leeds were the pioneering systems in the country and, more than six decades later, it was Bradford that was to the final bastion of this once important form of transport. The author is an authority on tram and trolleybus systems, with a series of books already published on the history of British and Irish tram networks. This volume covers the history and background surrounding the networks looking at the reasons why they were opened and why they eventually closed down.

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It is almost 100 years since the first tram was preserved in Britain, in the century since then a great variety of trams have been saved from tramway systems small and large. Some trams were purchased directly out of service and others were acquired after many years alternative usage, some being summer houses or homes, while others were used on farms or allotments where they served as sheds and out buildings, before being lovingly restored over many years. The story of tram preservation is not wholly positive, in the early days many trams suffered from being stored in the open at unsafe sites, where the historic vehicles were often subjected to acts of vandalism and suffered badly from the weather. This changed to a large extent in 1959, with the acquisition of the site of the future National Tramway Museum at Crich in Derbyshire,, where a comprehensive collection of trams from all over Britain and also foreign tram networks has been assembled, to secure a collection of tramcars for future generations. There is also today fine collections of trams in other museums in Britain and Ireland, which cover much of the rich history of this once common form of public transport. This book looks at almost 200 of these trams when they were in service, through historic photographs, prior to their withdrawal and eventual preservation.

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By the late 1920s the existing trams operated by both the Metropolitan Electric Tramways and the London United Tramways were increasingly aged. Although the long-term future of the tramways was open to doubt, the two operators co-operated in the development of one of the most important types of tram ever built in Britain - the Feltham'. Conceived following detailed research and the construction of a number of prototype cars - facets covered in the book - the production Felthams' all entered service by the early 1930s. However, the LPTB's plans for converting tram routes to trolleybus operation soon saw these modern cars transferred from north of the River Thames to south of the river. Here the production cars mostly survived until the final conversion programme; this was not the end of the story, however, as the majority were sold for further service to Leeds, where the last survivors were to see the final closure of the West Riding system in November 1959. The book explores the story of the Felthams' in London, Leeds and Sunderland where the unique centre-entrance car - MET No 331 - was to operate following withdrawal in the metropolis.

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It was to the south-west of Leeds that one of the key lines in the development of Britain’s railway network – the Middleton Railway – established the principle of seeking parliamentary sanction for the construction of a new form of transport. Five decades later in the early nineteenth century it was again the Middleton Railway that was at the forefront of the use of steam – rather than animal – power to move coal from colliery to market. From the early 1830s through until the early years of the twentieth century the local railway network continued to expand; indeed, if it had not been for the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 the area would have played host to one of the last first-generation main lines to be constructed with the Midland Railway planning – and partially constructing – a new main line north from Royston. In the event the line was never completed, consigning Bradford to be served by no more than glorified branch lines. Providing a largely illustrated account to the history of the railway development of the area, the book includes a fascinating selection of illustrations that focus on the evolution of the network in the almost eighty years since the end of the Second World War.

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Now preserved for almost sixty years, the former Midland Railway branch from Keighley to Oxenhope to the west of Bradford may not be one of the country’s longest – indeed it only stretches for just under five miles – but it is one of the country’s most popular preserved lines. With a history stretching back to the mid-nineteenth century, the Keighley & Worth Valley provided an essential link for the communities that it served for almost a century. The harsh economic realities of the 1950s made its future uncertain and its fate was, theoretically, sealed before the infamous Beeching Report of March 1963. However, there were a number of local enthusiasts who, having previously witnessed the demise of the ex-Great Northern Railway Queensbury Triangle routes in the mid-1950s, were determined that the Oxenhope line would not suffer a similar fate. With the line preserved, services were triumphantly restored in 1968 and the line has been providing pleasures for tourists and enthusiasts ever since.

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England has a long and involved relationship with the sea. It has provided a final line of defence against invasion, the route over which the country’s global trade has travelled, the source of a bountiful harvest of fish and seafood that has sustained the population, the essential links in the empire that saw Britain emerge as the world’s first ‘Great Power’, and, more recently, it has fostered the leisure industry. For many, the sea was to provide their final view of their homeland as emigration took them to far-flung corners of the world, while for others, perhaps fleeing religious or political persecution, the sea offered them a route to safety. For almost a century the photographers from the Aerofilms company recorded Britain from the air. Alongside the photographs taken of the great castles and abbeys of the country, the views also recorded industrial and commercial activity – including the docks and ports that were an essential part in maintaining Britain’s place in the world. In this book, Peter Waller has delved through the collection of Aerofilms photographs held by Historic England to explore the country’s maritime heritage. Selecting 150 images, the author looks at how the docks and ports have evolved since the years immediately after World War I, how traditional patterns of trade have changed, how the Royal Navy has shrunk and how the leisure industry has come to dominate.

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Probably the single most numerous of tramcar constructed for operation on Britain's first generation electric tramways, the London County Council's 'E/1' class had an operational history that stretched for almost 50 years. The first were produced towards the end of the first decade of the 20th century and the last were withdrawn with the conclusion of 'Operation Tramaway' - the final conversion of the once great London tramway system - in July 1952. Over the years, more than 1,000 were built for operation by the LCC with similar cars being constructed for a number of the council operated systems in the capital prior to the creation of the LPTB in July 1933\. The last batch - effectively rebuilds of single-deck cars that had once operated through the Kingsway Subway prior to its modernisation - not completed until the early 1930s. During the 1920s the LCC cars had undergone a Pullmanisation programme and, during the following decade, a number underwent the LPTB's Rehabilitation scheme. Moreover, with the removal of the restriction on the use of enclosed lower-deck vestibules, many others were converted to fully-enclosed during that decade. Although withdrawals commenced in the 1930s, as the tram system north of the river was converted to trolleybus operation, and others were lost as a result of enemy action during the war, a sizeable number survived to the system's final days. This book examines the history of this important class from development through to preservation.

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The final volume in the Regional Tramways' series focuses on the history of tram operation in the London area. Starting the story with the pioneering horse tramways operated by George Francis Train in the 1860s, the book narrates how the various horse, steam, cable and electric tramways evolved in the period leading up to the creation of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933\. The primary focus of the book is the period immediately after World War 2 when, following the retention of the tramways for longer than anticipated, the process of conversion - codenamed Operation Tramaway' - saw almost 1,000 trams eliminated from the streets of London in less than two years. Also covered in the book are the two second-generation tramways - the Docklands Light Railway and Croydon Tramlink - which now serve parts of the Greater London area. The book concludes with an overview of those London trams that survive into preservation.

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Although there had been experiments with the use of a new form of transport - the trackless tram' (better known as the trolleybus) - during the first decade of the 20th century, it was in June 1911 that Bradford and Leeds became the country's pioneering operators of trolleybuses. There had been earlier experimental users - in places like Hove and London - and as the tide turned against the tram in many towns and cities, the trolleybus became a popular alternative with the trolleybus comping to dominate the provision of local public transport in places like Derby and Ipswich. This volume - one of four that examines the history of all trolleybus operators in the British Isles - focuses on the systems that operated in Wales, the Midlands and East Anglia.

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For almost a century, from its inception in the years immediately after World War I, the Aerofilms company recorded the changing face of England from the air. At the start of the era, the railway was still the predominant form of transport, with a network of main, secondary and branch lines that stretched to virtually every corner of the realm. As the 20th century progressed, however, this dominance declined as the private motorcar and the lorry increasingly became the preferred mode of transport. The early railway builders — such as the London & Birmingham — had invested much in creating impressive stations for this new and revolutionary form of transport and, during the 19th century, many of the country’s leading architects undertook commissions on behalf of the burgeoning railway industry. After World War II, however, many of these buildings were were swept away. The Aerofilms collection provides a unique vantage point to explore the country’s railway heritage. It is only from the air that it is possible to appreciate fully how much the railway came to dominate the landscape; even in relatively small country towns, the railway station with its platforms and goods yard was significant. Add to this the construction of tunnels and viaducts, and the railway can be said to have shaped much of the landscape of modern England. Drawing upon some 150 images from the collection, Peter Waller explores various aspects of England’s unique railway heritage: from the major stations in cities like Birmingham to the humble goods yard and signal box.

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In the early 1930s the tramcar in Blackpool was at a crossroads; the system needed investment in both new track and new trams whilst there was a serious threat that the 'town' routes - as elsewhere in Britain as operators faced the same challenges - might have been converted to bus operation. The appointment of Walter Luff as the new general manager was, however, to prove a turning point. Working closely with English Electric, based in nearby Preston, Luff developed a series of streamlined trams - both single-deck and double-deck - that were to revolutionise the town's tramway. By the end of 1930s, the corporation had acquired more than 100 new trams - the majority built by English Electric but with 20 coming from Brush - that ensured the survival not only of the key route along the Promenade to Fleetwood but also of the bulk of the 'town' routes. Over the next 70 years these trams were to form the cornerstone of the Blackpool system. Almost from the start, when a number were modified to cater for the changed requirements during the Second World War, many of the trams were rebuilt - into the power cars that worked with the trailers, for example, or the one-man operated cars of the early 1970s - that extended their lives and saw them outlast more modern designs. It was only with the modernisation of the Blackpool system in the first decade of the 20th century that, finally, they became largely obsolete but still, as part of the heritage fleet, they remain very much part of the contemporary Blackpool scene. This book examines the history of Blackpool's streamlined trams of the 1930s from development through to preservation.

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Although there had been experiments with the use of a new form of transport - the trackless tram' (better known as the trolleybus) - during the first decade of the 20th century, it was in June 1911 that Bradford and Leeds became the country's pioneering operators of trolleybuses. Some of the earliest operators were in Lancashire, northern England and Scotland; indeed Scotland can lay claim to having both the first system in Britain to close - Dundee in 1914 - and the last to open - Glasgow in 1949. This volume - one of four that examines the history of all trolleybus operators in the British Isles - focuses on Lancashire, Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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