David Bradley Online - Picture Gallery of Reading's Trolleybuses

Reading Picture Gallery
Service introduced on 18 July 1936
Ceased on 3 November 1968

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Picture 170 Armour Hill terminus of route 18 in the early summer of 1961. Trolleybus #143	Pictures 171 and 905 Trolleybus #174 is seen on Factory Bridge [Kings Road] en route for Wokingham Road on route 17 in 1961. Saved from the scrap yard, it can be found forty years later at the Black Country Museum Picture 905 is from the Irvine Bell collection		Picture 172 On Ridleys Bridge, [also on Kings Road] en route for Wokingham Road on route 17 Trolleybus #171
More Information Pictures 800 and 801 Trolleybus #192 is seen using the Whitley Wood overhead reverser. The only other reverser that could be found on the system was situated at the junction of School Road and Westwood Road in Tilehurst, between May 1939 and April 1966. Trolleybuses turning there would show the destination of Westwood Road/Tilehurst and turned right from School Road into Westwood Road and reversed back out again into School Road. With traffic becoming heavy in the area the reverser was removed in April 1966 as it was deemed too dangerous for trolleybuses to reverse back out on to the main road.
Picture TMR1 153 at Whitley Wood		Picture TMR3 111, 139 and 148 in Mill Lane
Pictures prefixed TB are from: Picture TB180 The picture of trolleybus 180 was taken at Cemetery Junction on the 31 December 1967 while on hire to the NTA. It is seen having arrived from the Liverpool Road terminus and is about to run round the corner on batteries to Wokingham Road and then re-connect with the overhead [there was no direct wired link]. This was common practice on tours of the Reading system. [Later that day the same NTA tour used BUT trolleybus #150 to close the Northumberland Avenue to Stations route].
Picture TB176 Broad Street, the main shopping thoroughfare in Reading.	Picture TB176A Broad Street, the main shopping thoroughfare in Reading.	Picture TB182 Broad Street, the main shopping thoroughfare in Reading.
Picture 173 This picture was taken by Geoffrey Tribe and is reproduce with permission.

Pictures of a passenger carrying model of trolleybus #182 built by Maypine Trolleybus Company

The Preserved Scene for Reading Trolleybuses

Owner	Generally found at:	No.	Registration	Picture
British Trolleybus Society		113	ARD 676
Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft		144	DRD 130
Mike Russell, Reading		174	ERD 145	© www.tramway.com
Harvey, Reading		181	ERD 152
Unknown	Reading 186 is actually preserved as Teesside T291. It was Teeside's last trolleybus.	186	VRD186
Bilbe, Reading		193	VRD 193
A big trolleybus event in May 2006 was the weekend of Reading Trolleybuses at Sandtoft. [181 leads 144, 193, 113 and 174] Here, five remaining Reading trolleybuses were assembled from around the country, and all of them operated! 193 was only on demonstration runs, however, as a failed trolleybase the day before the event meant that the last bits of restoration had to be abandoned whilst this was fixed. Others had been through an intensive restoration programme to make them fit and operable for the event. In addition there were six visiting preserved Reading motor buses present. The event was fantastic and was absolutely great for anyone who remembers the trolleybuses of Reading. Only a picture of the line up appears here, but more can be found on the BTS website at www.britishtrolley.org.uk, and selecting the Reading weekend link. From this there is a further link to a page of photographs from the event.

Information compiled from the British Trolleybus Database site
, "DAVEHALL1" <wiltshireman@aol.com> and "John H Zebedee" <johnzebedee@btinternet.com>

Acknowledgements to "David Bryant" <biker@bryant58.freeserve.co.uk>,
"Stephen Taylor" <stephen@merton33.freeserve.co.uk> and "davehall1" <wiltshireman@aol.com>
for caption information on this page.