'Trolley buses could speed up Brighton hills with ease'

They served Brighton well from 1939.

It's said that the trolley buses were slow. I can assure you that they weren't! They could go up the Brighton hills, such as Elm Grove, with ease, whereas the motor buses tended to struggle.

It must be remembered that years ago buses and trolley buses would stop at most bus stops, even if no one was waiting to get on or off the bus, unless the conductor rang the driver through.

They were two fleets of trolley buses which looked similar. The Brighton Corporation had 52 trolleys and Brighton and Hove District had 11.

BH&D trolleys were based at the Whitehawk garage. The trolleys did not operate in Hove.

The route which I thought was strange was the number 48. This ran along the straight from Preston Barracks to the Aquarium (Old Steine). The route took them past the Corporation's garage.

A motor bus could have run this route, as they did when the trolleys finished.

Ian Steedman

Worthing