London Trolleybuses in Spain

In May 1962, the last of London's trolleybuses ceased operations on this extensive system. A few were preserved, and run today on short sections of specially erected overhead in places like Sandtoft, near Doncaster; and at the East Anglian Transport Museum at Carlton Colville, near Lowestoft, in Suffolk, as seen here during a special "London Weekend" in 2022.

But, unlike vintage motorbuses, which come out from time to time on special "running days", it is impossible to see trolleybuses on London's streets because of the lack of overhead wires - unless they are towed, which of course, is not ideal.

However, after their withdrawal in London, two batches of the most modern vehicles - the "Q1's", built in 1948 and 1952, were sold to several cities in Spain for further service. In 1978 they were still working in La Coruña and Pontevedra, in the Galician region in the north-west of the country, and I made two pilgrimages to see them.

The Spaniards had relocated the entrance doors to the opposite side; the moquette seats had been replaced by wooden slats; the bamboo poles used for re-wiring had gone in favour of the more usual Continental system, and in La Coruña 8 had been cut down to single deck; and all sported new liveries, but otherwise they remained much as they had been when they left Fulwell, their last London depot.