British Trolleybus Systems

Although there had been experiments with the use of a new form of transport - the 'trackless tram' (better known as the trolleybus) - during the first decade of the 20th century, it was in June 1911 that Bradford and Leeds became the country's pioneering operators of trolleybuses. Some of the earliest operators were in Lancashire, northern England and Scotland; indeed Scotland can lay claim to having both the first system in Britain to close - Dundee in 1914 - and the last to open - Glasgow in 1949. This volume - one of four that examines the history of all trolleybus operators in the British Isles - focuses on Lancashire, Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Brought up in Bradford, Peter grew up as the city's trolleybus network gradually declined. In 1986, Peter commenced in a career in publishing, working for a number of years as Ian Allan Ltds Publisher (Books), where he oversaw the commissioning and publication of a wide range of books. The first book that he wrote was British and Irish Tramway Systems since 1945 in 1992. Since then he has written a number of books on transport subjects. Moving to Shropshire in 2007, Peter is now a full-time author and editor. He is also a director and secretary of the Online Transport Archive, a director of Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride, a trustee of the West Shropshire Talking Newspaper, a committee member of the National Railway Heritage Awards and a past president of the Rotary Club of Shrewsbury.