Subject: Re: More pics Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 09:20:59 +0100 From: "Geoff Bannister" To: "David Bradley" > Hi, > > Thanks for the pictures which will be added just as soon as I get a few minutes. > The picture of 6340 is especially welcomed and assume that it is to be found at > the Science Museum Store in Wroughton these days. Do you know any different? > > I haven't any information on its whereabouts. In fact, I had completely forgotten I had this shot until I dived into my photo boxes in the loft last night because I thought that I had some shots of preserved London TBs at Clapham; I think I have but haven't located it/them yet. As I said, I was part of a group (run by Peter Atkinson who then lived in Norbury) of members of the LRTL (as it then was) which had been instrumental in helping to rescue MET Feltham 330 and it was in Clapham undergoing restoration. I helped on a fairly regular basis from '59-61 and, at the time, the Clapham exhibits were all lined up in rows; I took quite a lot of photos at the time - many of them buses - and it was quite interesting to renew my acquaintance last night after your page on preservd trolleys triggered my memory. I do have an ancient Ipswich picture which I will exhume. Referring to your second email re the 612. The September 1937 conversion was unusual in that it included three tram routes which were truncated and not fully replaced, the idea being that the full route would be changed at a late date. Tram routes 12/26/28 in their shortened version all lasted until the first stage of "Operation Tramaway" in 1950 and trolley routes 626/628 lasted until the July 1960 stage. Various factors influenced the removal of the 612. One was that, in its trolley form, it was very much a local route and, except for a couple of miles, was duplicated by the 630 and the argument was that, by converting it, the link lost in 1937 would be restored. Also, Wandsworth depot only had a small allocation of TBs for the route and it seemed more sensible to remove them when the depot was extensively rebuilt for use by buses. By the by, I wonder whether you were aware that, while the 612 existed, there was a stretch of trolley wiring which never saw regular working in the area. It was from the corner of Grant Road just north of the big Clapham Junction railway underbridge, where the 626/628/655 went round to their terminus, along Falcon Road to join the 612 wires at Princes Head. It was obviously put in originally with an eye to the conversion of the 34 but finished upas a way of getting vehicles to Wandworth depot when required. Best wishes Geoff