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The Leeds trolleybus system served the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
city of
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
between 1911 and 1928. In May 2016, plans to construct a new system, the ''New Generation Transport'' (NGT) project, were refused approval from the UK
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The ...
, following a negative report from the planning inquiry. The original system was one of the first two
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
systems in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, along with
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
.Joyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems''. London:
Ian Allan Publishing Ian Allan Publishing was an English publisher, established in 1942, which specialised in transport books. It was founded by Ian Allan. In 1942 Ian Allan, then working in the public relations department for the Southern Railway at Waterloo st ...
. .
Both systems commenced operation on 20 June 1911, but public service in Bradford did not start until four days later. The Leeds system had three routes, and closed on 26 July 1928.


Twentieth century routes

The original Leeds route, operated by Leeds Tramways, was from City Square to Moor Top via Lower Wortley and Farnley. The route was launched at Thirsk Row, off Wellington Street on 20 June 1911. The first of two buses to set off on the first official run was driven by the Lord Mayor,
William Middlebrook Sir William Middlebrook, 1st Baronet (22 February 1851 – 30 June 1936) was an English solicitor and Liberal Party politician. Family and education William Middlebrook was born at Birstall in the West Riding of Yorkshire the son of John Midd ...
, and the second by his deputy, Frederick James Kitson. Both buses went on a round trip to Farnley, four miles from Leeds, returning 45 minutes later. When the original route commenced operation, it had four trolleybuses. They were manufactured by the Railless Electric Traction Company, and powered by
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...
motors. They had solid rubber tyres and carried 28 passengers, who paid their fares when boarding. Known officially as "trackless cars" to distinguish them from trams, they ran on rural routes, to which trams were not suited. In 1915 two further routes were opened, unconnected to the first route and operated from an existing tram depot at
Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is a town in metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-western suburb of Leeds. It sits in th ...
, constructed from stone, which still exists. These were feeder routes to the tram system. The three routes were: *Leeds–Lower Wortley–Farnley–Moor Top, opened 20 June 1911; *Guiseley–
Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 20 ...
, opened 9 September 1915; *Guiseley–
Burley-in-Wharfedale Burley in Wharfedale is a village and (as just Burley) a civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated in the Wharfedale valley. The village is situated on the A65 road, approximately north-west from Leed ...
, opened 22 October 1915. The system was not hugely successful. There was controversy between Leeds Corporation and the various councils over several issues relating to its operation. As time passed, internal combustion engined buses became more competitive. They soon replaced the trolleybuses, which closed on 26 July 1928.


Proposed NGT system

Following the failure of plans for a
Leeds Supertram The Leeds Supertram was a proposed light rail/tram system in Leeds and West Yorkshire in England. It would have been a three-line, system with 50 stations. It received provisional government approval in 2001, and was specifically for corridor ...
network, which was rejected by the Department of Transport as being too costly in November 2005, the public transport provider Metro proposed the construction of an electric bus network, at an estimated cost of £300 million. The trolleybus system would be similar to that operating in the French city of Lyon, and gained support from the Regional Transport Board in June 2007.


Proposed vehicles

The NGT trolleybus vehicles would likely have been single-articulated single-deck vehicles with multiple doors (typically three or four sets). They would have been fully DDA-compliant with low floors to allow through movement by wheelchair users and those with pushchairs and prams.


Proposed routes

Three initial routes were planned, to north, south and east Leeds: * North route - from a new park & ride site at Bodington (up to 800 spaces) to Leeds city centre; * South route - from a new park & ride site at Stourton (up to 2,200 spaces) to Leeds city centre; and * East route - from Leeds city centre to
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. This route was later withdrawn from the proposals.


Proposed demolition

Several buildings were set to be demolished to accommodate the scheme, all of these lie on the Northern leg of the route. The buildings are as follows: *A parade of eight shops at
Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to its major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was designed by Decimus Burton. Six streets converge at the ...
*A former stable block and lodge building at the former
Leeds Girls High School Leeds Girls' High School (LGHS) was an independent, selective, fee-paying school for girls aged 3–18 founded in 1876 in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It merged with Leeds Grammar School in 2005 to form The Grammar School at ...
*A terrace block within
Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...
Business Park, between Headingley Lane and Victoria Road *A residential brick built villa on Wood Lane, Headingley *The former First Church of Christ Scientist building on Alma Road, Headingley which is currently used as offices *Changing rooms and a groundsmans' cottage at the
University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
site in
Weetwood Weetwood is an area between Headingley and Meanwood in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is bounded on the north by the A6120 (Outer Ring Road), on the west by the A660 (Otley Road), on the east by Meanwood Beck and to the sout ...


Progress of the NGT proposal

A 'Major Scheme Business Case' was submitted to the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The ...
in October 2009 In March 2010, the Government announced that the proposal had been awarded 'Programme Entry Approval'. Funding was approved for the North Route to Bodington and an extension to Holt Park, the South Route to Stourton and a section of the city centre loop linking these two lines. The government did not approve funding for the East Route or a full city centre loop. The DfT approved the Holt Park - Stourton route on 5 July 2012. The planned scheme was subject to a public Inquiry in 2014. Following a negative report from the public Inquiry, the proposed scheme was cancelled in May 2016.


See also

* List of trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom *
Transport in Leeds Transport within Leeds consists of extensive road, bus and rail networks. The city has good rail and road links to the rest of the country. Leeds railway station is one of the busiest in Britain, and Leeds is connected to the national road netwo ...


References


Notes


Further reading

*


External links


Images of the twentieth century system



New Generation Transport

Leeds Tbus
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2013 Transport in Leeds
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...
Trolleybus transport in the United Kingdom Proposed public transport in the United Kingdom