Durban trolleybus
The trolleybus Durban was the trolleybus system in the city Durban . It existed from 1935 to 1964 and was the first major trolleybus system in South Africa . It partially replaced the Durban tram, which was shut down in 1949 , or supplemented the urban bus service introduced in 1925 . The responsible transport company was the Durban Corporation Transport .
history
In the 1930s, the Durban Corporation Transport decided not to modernize the outdated tram, but instead to use modern and flexible trolleybuses. The first route along the Marine Parade (today OR Tambo Parade) was opened on February 24, 1935 and served by Line 1. The population called the trolleybuses Silent Death for "silent death" because they were much quieter than the trams and were therefore often not noticed by pedestrians.
On March 5, 1941, a serious accident occurred when a trolleybus overturned at the intersection of West Street (Dr Pixley KaSeme Street) and Farewell Street, injuring 37 passengers. This was the first time in history that a trolleybus overturned, which is why the experts and the manufacturer were very astonished by the incident because they had not believed it possible that something like this could happen.
Further accidents with several injured passengers were triggered because a parrot living at the Waverley Hotel imitated the conductor's whistling signals to the driver and the cars started moving before the passenger switch was completed.
The last official trip on the trolleybus network was on March 11, 1968 with car 59, which is now on display in the James Hall Museum of Transport in Johannesburg .
Route network
All lines began in the city center, some lines were operated as ring lines, with the line number changing at the end stations. The table below lists the old street names that were used at the time of the trolleybus operation.
| Lines no. | Surname | course | Location of the terminus | Name of the terminus | comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Beach Route | West Street Marine Parade | in front of the Natal Command | North Beach | |
| 2 | South Beach Route | West Street Marine Parade | Junction of Marine Parade with Bell Street | South beach | |
| 3 | Point Route via Point Road | West Street-Point Road Corner-Point Road | End of Point Road | Point | |
| 4th | Point route via Stanger St / Winder St | West Street – Stanger St – Winder St – Point Road | End of Point Road | Point | |
| 5 | Point Route via South Beach | West Street – Marine Parade – Bell St – Point Road | End of Point Road | Point | |
| 6th | Glenwood Route | West Street – Berea Road – Cleaver Road – Bulwer Road – Bath Road – McDonald Road | Junction of McDonald Road and Chelmsford Road | Glenwood | |
| 7th | Umbilo route | West Street – Berea Road – Mpumalanga T / Ship – Queen Mary Avenue – Bartle Road – Prospect Road – Gower Street | Intersection of Gower Street and Bartle Road | Umbilo | |
| 8th | Queen Mary Ave route | West Street – Umbilo Road | Junction of Umbilo Road with Queen Mary Avenue | Queen Mary Avenue | |
| 13 | Mayville route | West Street – Berea Road – Jan Smuts Hwy | Junction of Jan Smuts Hwy with Cato Manor Road | Mayville | |
| 14th | Tollgate route | West Street – Berea Road | Tollgate Bridge | Tollgate | |
| 15th | Berea Road Route | West Street – Berea Road | near tennis courts | Queen Mary Avenue | |
| 18th | Sutton Park route | West Street – Cartwright Flats – Stamford Hill – Sutton Park – Morningside | between Currie Road and Musgrave Road | Earl Haig | Ring line together with line 21 |
| 19th | Umgeni route | Umgeni Road | Umgeni station | Umgeni | |
| 20th | Puntan's Hill Route | West Street - Cartwright Flats - Stamford Hill - Sutton Park - Morningside - Earl Haig - Puntans Hill | Puntan's Hill | Puntan's Hill | |
| 21st | North Ridge Road Route | West Street – Berea Road – Musgrave Road – Silverton Road – North Ridge Road | near tennis courts | Earl Haig | Ring line together with line 18 |
| 41 | Musgrave route | West Street - Berea Road - Musgrave Road | Mitchell Park | Mitchell Park | Ring line together with line 43 |
| 43 | West Street – Cartwright Flats – Stamford Hill Road – Florida Road | Mitchell Park | Mitchell Park | Ring line together with line 41 |
Source:
vehicles
A total of 116 cars ran on the Durban trolleybus, which were supplied with 500 volts direct current from the trolleybus .
The first delivery was 22 two- story two - axle vehicles of two different types, each with 59 seats. They were initially painted French gray with two cream-colored ribbons above and below the windows on the lower floor. The vehicles were equipped with vacuum brakes and had no electric brakes. Windshield wipers and sliding doors were also operated with vacuum. The structure was an aluminum-clad wooden structure.
The second delivery comprised eight two-story three-axle vehicles with 70 seats, which ran on lines with inclines of up to 17 percent. They were equipped with Westinghouse air brakes and a drag brake. If the contact line voltage failed, a network-independent rollback protection was activated.
During the Second World War, British industry was temporarily no longer able to supply its colonies, but on the other hand, there were no vehicles in the domestic factories. Of the 42 TTB5 cars ordered from Leyland , only 17, according to other sources 18, made it to Durban, the remainder remained in service in London as types SA1 and SA2 for the entire period of operation .
The last two types had bodies made in South Africa.
As a special feature, all wagons at the rear were equipped with brackets for the indivisible fishing rods over five meters long, which are popular with the population . Most vehicles also had an additional sliding door behind the driver's seat.
| Years of construction | Type | Manufacturer chassis | Manufacturer body | Manufacturer electrical system | number | Numbers | Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | MF2 | Sunbeam | Park Royal Coachworks | British Thomson-Houston | 11 | 1-11 | 1950 |
| 1934 | TBD1 | Leyland | Park Royal Coachworks | GEC | 11 | 12-22 | 1950 |
| 1935 | MS2 | Sunbeam | Metro Cammell Weymann | British Thomson-Houston | 8th | 23-30 | 1967 |
| 1939 | 664T | AEC | English Electric | English Electric | 13 | 31-43 | 1955 |
| 1940 | MF2 | Sunbeam | Metro Cammell Weymann | British Thomson-Houston | 4th | 44-47 | 1967 |
| 1940-1941 | TTB5 | Leyland | Metro Cammell Weymann | GEC | 18th | 48-65 | 1968 |
| 1948 | MF2 | Sunbeam | Metro Cammell Weymann | British Thomson-Houston | 27 | 66-92 | 1968 |
| 1948 | MF2 | Sunbeam | Bus bodies | British Thomson-Houston | 20th | 93-112 | 1968 |
| 1948 | MF2 | Sunbeam | British Mining Services | British Thomson-Houston | 5 | 113-117 | 1968 |
literature
- Martin Pabst: Tram & Trolley in Africa (= traffic in Africa , volume 46). Röhr, Krefeld 1989, ISBN 3-88490-152-4 (German and English).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c The First Trolleybus Fleet for South Africa . In: Commercial Motor . 1934, p. 815 ( Commercial Motor Archives ).
- ↑ a b c d Kevan Mardon: Public Transport in Durban - a brief history. In: Facts about Durban. Retrieved November 15, 2015 .
- ^ Newsletter June 2014. The South African National Society, accessed November 18, 2015 .
- ^ Old and New Street Names in The EThekwini Municipal Area. Retrieved July 4, 2017 (American English).
- ↑ Allan Jackson: Trolley buses. August 1, 2015, accessed July 3, 2017 .
- ^ Durban extends its Fleet of Trolleybuses . In: Commercial Motor . 1939, p. 728 ( Commercial Motor Archives ).
- ↑ a b c Dave Spencer: Durban Buses And Trolleys South Africa. Retrieved November 15, 2015 .
- ↑ TBSA - London Transport SA1 / 2 class trolleybus. Little Bus Company, accessed November 15, 2015 .