Status Closed | Routes 22 | |
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Open 13 May 1933 (1933-05-13) Close 20 April 1969 (1969-04-20) Operator(s) Bournemouth Corporation Transport | ||
The Bournemouth trolleybus system once served the town of Bournemouth, then in Hampshire, but now in Dorset, England. Opened on 13 May 1933 (1933-05-13), it gradually replaced the Bournemouth tramway network.
By the standards of the various now-defunct trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom, the Bournemouth system was a medium-sized one, with a total of 22 routes, and a maximum fleet of 104 trolleybuses. It was also the second largest trolleybus system in southern England, after the London system. It was closed on 20 April 1969 (1969-04-20).
The most notable feature of the Bournemouth system was probably the Christchurch trolleybus turntable, which is said to be one of only four such turntables ever to have been constructed worldwide. It is now a Grade II listed building. The turntable was manually operated and was in use from 19 June 1936 until the closure of the system.
Seven of the former Bournemouth system trolleybuses are now preserved, in their distinctive primrose and maroon livery. Six of them are in the United Kingdom, at the Bournemouth Heritage Transport collection in Parkstone, the East Anglia Transport Museum, and The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft. One is in the National Transport Museum of Ireland.