Christchurch trolleybus turntable

Christchurch trolleybus turntable
The turntable on 5 April 1969, shortly before its closure.
Location within England
General information
Type	Turntable
Location	Christchurch, Hampshire (now Dorset)
Country	England
Coordinates	50°44′00″N 1°46′30″W / 50.7333333°N 1.775°W / 50.7333333; -1.775Coordinates: 50°44′00″N 1°46′30″W / 50.7333333°N 1.775°W / 50.7333333; -1.775
Inaugurated	19 June 1936 (1936-06-19)
Design and construction
Client	Bournemouth Corporation Transport

The Christchurch trolleybus turntable formed part of the Bournemouth trolleybus system, which served the town of Bournemouth and its environs, on the south coast of England.

History

Opened on 19 June 1936 (1936-06-19),^[1] the turntable was used to turn around all Bournemouth trolleybuses terminating at Church Street, Christchurch, a borough and town adjoining Bournemouth in the east.

Manually operated, the turntable remained in use until the closure of the Bournemouth trolleybus system on 20 April 1969 (1969-04-20).^[1] It is still in existence, and is now a Grade II listed building.^[2]

Significance

The Christchurch turntable is said to be one of only four trolleybus turntables ever to have been constructed worldwide. Two other such turntables are the similarly abandoned Longwood trolleybus turntable, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England (in operation 1939–1940; demolished late 1980s), and the Unterburg trolleybus turntable in Solingen, Germany (still in use for heritage trolleybus services). A fourth known trolleybus turntable was one used on the Guadalajara trolleybus system in Mexico in the 1980s, in a since-closed trolleybus-only tunnel in the city centre, on a temporary basis in 1982–1983 and again from 1985 until early 1988 (when the tunnel closed for the start of work to convert it for use by Guadalajara's light rail system).^[3]

See also

	Buses portal
	Architecture portal
	Dorset portal

• History of Bournemouth
• Transport in Bournemouth
• Listed buildings in Christchurch, Dorset

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Joyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). British Trolleybus Systems, pp. 28–32, 159. London: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-1647-X.
2. ^ "Grade II and II* listed buildings in Christchurch". Dorset For You. http://www.dorsetforyou.com/media.jsp?mediaid=138876&filetype=pdf. Retrieved 3 March 2011. 
3. ^ Morgan, Steve (September–October 1990). "Mexico Review: Part 1". Trolleybus Magazine No. 173, p. 104. ISSN 0266-7452.

Further reading

• Bowler, David R H (2001). Bournemouth Trolleybuses. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. ISBN 9780904235197. 
• Chalk, D L (1969). Bournemouth Trolleybuses. Bournemouth, Hampshire, UK: Bournemouth Corporation. 
• Pearce, Malcolm N (1998). Bournemouth Trolleybuses. Midhurst, West Sussex, UK: Middleton Press. ISBN 9781901706109. 

External links

Media related to Trolleybuses in Bournemouth at Wikimedia Commons

• Bournemouth Corporation Trolley Buses: A Brief History
• Bournemouth trolleybus picture gallery - including images and description of the turntable.