Trolleybuses in Belfast - Wikipedia Trolleybuses in Belfast See also : Belfast Corporation Tramways Belfast trolleybus system Harkness bodied Sunbeam F4A 246 on Shore Road in May 1968 Operation Locale Belfast, Northern Ireland Open 28 March 1938 ( 1938 - 03 - 28 ) Close 12 May 1968 ( 1968 - 05 - 12 ) Status Closed Routes 17 Operator ( s ) Belfast Corporation Tramways Infrastructure Electrification ( ? ) V DC parallel overhead lines Depot ( s ) Stock 245 ( maximum ) Statistics Route length 37.5 miles ( 60.4 km ) The Belfast trolleybus system served the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was the only trolleybus system built in Ireland. Opened on 28 March 1938 ( 1938 - 03 - 28 ), it gradually replaced the city 's tramway network. The Belfast system was the second largest trolleybus system in the United Kingdom, after the London system. It had a total of 17 routes, and a maximum fleet of 245 trolleybuses. It closed on 12 May 1968 ( 1968 - 05 - 12 ). Contents 1 History 2 Fleet 2.1 In preservation 3 Depots 4 See also 5 References 5.1 Notes 5.2 Further reading 6 External links History In 1936, Belfast Corporation 's tramway committee recommended that an experimental trolleybus service be inaugurated after inspecting the Birmingham, Bournemouth, London, Nottingham, Portsmouth and Wolverhampton systems. Seven pairs of chassis from AEC, Crossley, Daimler, Guy, Karrier, Leyland and Sunbeam were acquired. These were fitted with six types of electric motor with coachwork by five different builders, and were supplied on the proviso that should the trial be a success, Belfast Corporation would purchase them and should it fail, they would be returned. On 28 March 1938, operations commenced out of Falls Park depot along Falls Road. This was chosen as being a virtually stand alone route. Judged a success, Belfast Corporation decided to replace the entire tramway network. An order was placed with AEC for 114 trolleybuses, however war time constraints resulted in only 88 being delivered. On 13 February 1941 operations commenced in East Belfast when the Cregagh route commenced from the new Haymarket depot. The network gradually expanded with the last of the tram network closing in 1954. Further sections were added until 1959 to a total of 37.5 miles. In order to speed up the conversion, eleven second - hand trolleybuses were purchased from Wolverhampton in 1952. In 1958 a prototype Sunbeam was acquired with a view to replacing the earlier vehicles, however shortly after the first section of the network closed with the final section closing on 12 May 1968. Fleet Fleet numbers Quantity Chassis Body In service Notes 1 - 2 AEC 664T Harkness 1938 - 1958 Crossley TDD6 Crossley 1938 - 1958 Crossley TDD6 Harkness 1938 - 1958 5 - 6 Daimler CTM6 Harkness 1938 - 1958 7 Guy BTX Park Royal 1938 - 1958 8 Guy BTX Harkness 1938 - 1958 9 - 10 Karrier E6A Harkness 1938 - 1958 11 - 12 Leyland TTB4 Leyland 1938 - 1958 13 - 14 Sunbeam MS2 Cowieson 1938 - 1958 15 - 102 88 AEC 664T Harkness 1940 - 1963 103 - 128 26 Guy BTX Harkness 1948 - 1963 129 - 130 Sunbeam W4 Park Royal 1941 - 1958 131 - 142 12 Sunbeam W4 Harkness 1946 - 1960 143 - 186 44 Guy BTX Harkness 1948 - 1965 187 - 234 48 BUT 9641T Harkness 1950 - 1968 235 - 240 6 Sunbeam MF2 Park Royal 1952 - 1956 ex Wolverhampton 241 - 245 5 Sunbeam MF2 Charles H Roe 1952 - 1956 ex Wolverhampton 246 Sunbeam F4A Harkness 1958 - 1968 Trolleybuses were initially painted in a blue and white livery. After World War II this was changed to red and white with silver wheels. In preservation Five former Belfast trolleybuses have been preserved : AEC 664T 98 and Guy BTX 112 at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Cultra Guy BTX 168 at the Keighley Bus Museum Guy BTX 183 at the National Transport Museum of Ireland, Dublin Sunbeam F4A 246 at the East Anglia Transport Museum, Carlton Colville Depots Trolleybuses operated from three depots : Falls Park Haymarket Short Strand See also Buses portal Northern Ireland portal History of Belfast Transport in Belfast List of trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom References Notes Jump up ^ Trolleybuses for Belfast Commercial Motor 23 October 1936 page 60 Jump up ^ Operating Aspects of Passenger Transport Commercial Motor 18 December 1936 page 48 ^ Jump up to : Harvey, David ( 2010 ). Belfast Trolleybuses. Stroud : Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84868 - 466 - 9. Jump up ^ Meeting Belfast 's Special Conditions in Trolleybus Manufacture Commercial Motor 24 December 1937 page 8 ^ Jump up to : Joyce, J. ; King, J.S. ; and Newman, A.G. ( 1986 ). British Trolleybus Systems, pp. 22 -- 26, 159. London : Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0 - 7110 - 1647 - X ^ Jump up to : Short, Peter. `` Former UK systems ''. British Trolleybus Society. Retrieved 18 March 2011. ^ Jump up to : Russell, Michael ( 2014 ). The Colours of Yesteryear 's Trolleybuses. Crowthorne : Capital Transport Publishing. pp. 252 -- 256. ISBN 9781854143860. Jump up ^ Belfast to buy 114 trolleybuses Commercial Motor 2 June 1939 page 50 Jump up ^ Half - way Stage i Belfast Scheme Commercial Motor 29 November 1963 page 38 Jump up ^ Zebedee, John ( 30 November 2010 ). `` A List of Preserved Trolleybuses in the UK ''. British Trolleybus Society. Retrieved 18 March 2011. Jump up ^ Belfast 168 National Trolleybus Association Jump up ^ East Anglia Transport Museum Fleetlist East Anglia Transport Museum Further reading Belfast Corporation Transport. London : PSV Circle / Omnibus Society. 1968. OCLC 505168814. Maybin, Mike ( 1996 ). A nostalgic look at Belfast trolleybuses, 1938 - 1968. Wadenhoe, East Northamptonshire, UK : Silver Link. ISBN 978 - 1 - 85794 - 068 - 8. Maybin, Mike ( 2006 ). Ireland in the age of the trolleybus : Belfast : 1938 - 1968. Kettering, Northamptonshire, UK : Silver Link. ISBN 978 - 1 - 85794 - 256 - 9. Montgomery, WH ( 2001 ). Belfast Corporation Buses 1926 - 1973. Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK : Colourpoint Press. ISBN 978 - 1 - 898392 - 64 - 4. Newman, Richard ( 2007 ). Irish Buses in the Mid 1960s. Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK : Colourpoint Press. ISBN 978 - 1 - 904242 - 88 - 8. External links Media related to Trolleybuses in Belfast at Wikimedia Commons National Trolleybus Archive British Trolleybus Society, based in Reading Historic trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom England Ashton - under - Lyne Birmingham Bournemouth Bradford Brighton Chesterfield Cleethorpes Darlington Derby Doncaster Grimsby Halifax Hartlepool Hastings Huddersfield Ipswich Keighley Kingston upon Hull Leeds London Maidstone Manchester Mexborough and Swinton Newcastle upon Tyne Nottingham Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Oldham Portsmouth Ramsbottom Reading Rotherham St Helens Southend - on - Sea South Lancashire South Shields Stockport Teesside Walsall Wigan Wolverhampton York Wales Aberdare Cardiff Llanelli Pontypridd Rhondda Scotland Dundee Glasgow Northern Ireland Belfast Museums Black Country Living Museum East Anglia Transport Museum London Transport Museum North West Museum of Road Transport The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trolleybuses_in_Belfast&oldid=847529061 '' Categories : History of Belfast Transport in Belfast Defunct trolleybus systems by city Trolleybus transport in the United Kingdom 1938 establishments in Northern Ireland 1968 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from August 2017 Use Irish English from August 2017 All Wikipedia articles written in Irish English Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 26 June 2018, at 00 : 46 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did trolley buses stop running in belfast
Answer: 12 May 1968