Wolverhampton Sunbeam Trolleybus FJW 616

1940s WOLVERHAMPTON CORPORATION TROLLEY BUS


Trolleybuses were powered by electricity, from overhead wires. Wolverhampton Corporation was one of the most enthusiastic operators of trolleybuses from the 1920s onward.

Wolverhampton-based Sunbeam was one of Britain's most important trolleybus builders with a strong export market too. Guy Motors, also Wolverhampton based, took over Sunbeam after World War II. The local corporation, needing to replace its worn out pre-war fleet, bought 99 of these trolleybuses between 1948 and 1950, with Guy and Sunbeam chassis. The Park Royal bodies were built to the newly permitted width of 8 feet.

Preservation

Wolverhampton chose to scrap its trolleybus system in the 1960s and this vehicle, no. 616, was retired in November 1963. It was presented to the Railway Preservation Society, Hednesford, and stored at Alton in Hampshire for many years. To safeguard the future of 616, the Society passed it to the Museum's predecessor in 1975.

This museum did not exist then so it was moved to secure, undercover accommodation in north-west England until arriving at Wythall in July 2004. The body was tidied in 2006 and repainted in 2007.