Hastings Tramways

With the change from trams to trolley-buses, certain changes had to be made to the system. Two negative wires had to be fitted to the overhead, and turning circles had to be created. With a tram, if you wanted to go the other way, you just got in the other end, but unfortunately that does not apply to a trolley-bus. These circles were installed at Ore, St. Helens, Silverhill, Bopeep, The Fishmarket, The Bull Inn, Bexhill Metropole, Cooden, and at a later date, Hollington and the Park Cross Rd.

Additional wiring was also provided through Western Rd. and Wilton Rd. Bexhill, the Bull Inn, to bypass the original tram-track mentioned earlier, from the Park Gates to the Langham, and from the Memorial to the top of High Street via the Fishmarket. Trolley-buses could pass each other at Courthouse St. and Salters Lane with about two inches to spare! Considerable pride was felt regarding the depot at Silverhill. It had an all-round capability and could thoroughly maintain the fleet without any outside assistance. There were electricians, fitters, coach-builders, and painters. There was even a foundry where all the fittings for the overhead were cast. There was also a continuous programme of pole painting.

The so-called wire on the overhead was about half an inch in diameter with two grooves to accommodate the securing clamps.I don't know what the trolley heads were like on the trams and early trolleys, butlatterly they were carbon shoes clamped into bronze housings. These were examined andreplaced almost daily.

The heads were a very substantial size, and it was arranged that, in the case of a dewirement, they would slide off the end of the pole before they did any damage to the overhead, and a safety cord prevented them from falling into the street. The electric supply in the early days was from the Tramway's own generating station near Parker Rd. but in 1936 they changed over to the Municipal supply.

I see that you are all fidgeting with your gauntlets, and I did promise that I would teach you how to drive a trolley-bus so here goes! Hoist yourself into the cab and make yourself comfortable. The handbrake is to your right hand side. There are two pedals, the right hand one which is about the size of a wellington boot is the controller. The left pedal is the brake. You have only to touch this one and the power to the motor goes off. Normal pressure gives electrical braking, but ifyou use heavy pressure you come on to the air-brake and in an emergency it can almost pull the chassis off - believe me.

Forward and to your left hand is a pillar with an on/off lever This is the coasting brake which is an MOT requirement for gradients of a certain steepness with junctions at the bottom. Locally this was used at the bottom of Harold Rd. and between the Langham and the Park Gates. To your left side is the forward, neutral, and reverse lever, and further to your left is a big metal case a bit like a fish-fryer. This houses the relays but we don't have to worry about that. Finally, just a couple of inches from your left ear, is the main contact-breaker. When that trips out you will think it is the end of theworld!

Those are the controls, but there is just one more thing. You will want to know if your trolley poles have come off. If you are in an AEC there is a neon lamp which goes out, and if you are in a Sunbeam you will hear a buzzer. You will then have to fill in a dewirement form and go to see the boss Mr. Pettican who will shout at you and tell you that you were going too fast!

Right, I think we are ready to move off. Hold on the hand-brake and give the controller one notch. When you feel the motor respond, slowly release the hand-brake and creep away. Build up your speed on the controller and we are off. We now come to a road junction. If we want to go right, we take our foot off the controller and coast over the points, but if we want to turn left, we give the controller a couple of notches and hold the bus back with the hand-brake. This causes us to take a lot of current through a solenoid which is on the overhead switch and it snaps over.

Remember that when you are going along a road with bends, always drive under or outside the wiring. If you drive inside it gives the same effect as whirling a weight round your head on a piece of string, and the trolleys may come off. One more thing, always drive smoothly. You have a colleague behind you with a ticket machine and a bag of money. He will not take kindly to being thrown to the floor!

There was only one major difference between the AEC and the Sunbeam. On the Sunbeam, when you eased back on the controller, you free-wheeled, but the AECs were fitted with regeneration and when you eased back, the motor became a generator and current was fed back into the system. This did, however, make the ride less smooth.

I was told by some of the old hands that in the days of the single and double-deck Guys, if you wanted to learn to drive, you had to find a driver who was willing to let you have a go. Your tuition then took place in your own time with passengers on board! When I learned to drive in the 1950s I did have proper lessons in an empty bus, but I didn't get paid for it.

Incidentally, a trolley-bus was not classed as a Public Service Vehicle and we drove on an ordinary driving licence. In about 1953, Sunbeam had an order from a third world country where the drivers were a little on the heavy-footed side, so they designed a controller where you put your foot right down to the floor when moving off and a black box operated the notches automatically. One of these boxes was fitted to bus 40 for test purposes and, so far as I know it was never removed.

In the concluding article, anecdotes, personalities, and Albert's reign of terror.

The late Stan Simpson G4ITM