Book published by Trolleybooks in 2020, 122 pages. Large Hardback - c.21cm by 30cm (N76561)
Brand New Book
This book provides a fascinating history of vehicle '1812', a Q1 class trolleybus that was built in 1948, and it is illustrated throughout with lots of photographs and maps.
Between February 1948 and January 1949 London Transport took delivery of 77 Q1 class trolleybuses (fleet numbers 1765-1841), and this included 1812. All the vehicles were allocated to Fulwell depot in South London and 1812 entered service in September 1948. Six years later London Transport took the decision to begin plans to abandon the capital's trolleybus system, and in 1960 agreed to sell a considerable number of vehicles to trolleybus operators in Spain. Withdrawal of the Q1s began almost immeadiately, and a few months later 1812 was towed to St. Katherine Docks and shipped to Spain where she become part of the Santander Astillero fleet. Following the demise of the Santander system in 1977 the British Trolleybus Society bought 1812 and she was returned to England, and restoration work eventually began in 1999 (including conversion back from right-hand running!)
This book thus tells the surprisingly wide-ranging story of London's Q1 trolleybus 1812, now 72 years old, presenting the capital's last trolleybuses with details of their history in south west London and export to Spain for further use. After nearly thirty years of hard service, 1812 returned to the UK and after another thirty years, was finally restored. Life in preservation and full details of sister vehicles in London and Spain add to an extensive backstory..