The Karrier and Sunbeam Trolleybuses of Ipswich
The Karrier and Sunbeam Trolleybuses of Ipswich - A Brief History of the Vehicles Delivered 1944-1950, by Mike Abbott
Booklet published by the Ipswich Transport Museum, 48 pages. A5 size booklet (N5962X1)
Booklet published by the Ipswich Transport Museum, 48 pages. A5 size booklet (N5962X1)
This booklet is illustrated throughout with several small black and white photographs, and provides a fascinating brief history of Ipswich Trolleybuses in the 1940's.
From the introduction: This booklet tells the story of the wartime and post-war Karrier and Sunbeam trolleybuses delivered to Ipswich and briefly covers the fate of the remaining earlier members of the fleet up to the introduction of the replacing motorbuses. It is presented as a tribute to those silent servants - the Ipswich trolleybuses.
Let us consider the situation during the early 1940s. Since 1938 Ipswich had purchased only one new trolleybus, the Massey bodied Ransomes No.86, which arrived in June 1940. The system was in good shape and the overhead wiring would be extensively renewed during the early part of the war. The fleet at that time consisted of sixty-three vehicles. Twenty-two were single-deck saloons numbered between 6 and 44, built by Ransomes and Garrett with either Ransomes or Strachan & Brown bodies and delivered 1926-30. The other forty-one were Ransomes double-deckers with either Ransomes (Nos.46-67) or Massey (Nos.68-86) bodies, and delivered 1933-40. However most of the surviving 1926 built Ransomes (nine) and Garrett (five) saloons were in a poor state. Some had actually been withdrawn for scrapping but, to ease the wartime vehicle shortage, were being rebuilt using materials to hand. New vehicles were urgently required therefore.
We will follow the story of the trolleybuses to the end of the system in 1963, mention those sold for further service to Walsall and describe the survivors.
The condition of the booklet is generally very good. The covers are clean and bright, the staple spine is intact and all pages are clean, intact, unblemished and tightly bound. There is a small price sticker on the rear side cover.
| Condition | New |