FOR around 35 years, the main way of getting around Bournemouth by public transport involved no diesel fumes at all.

This was the era of the trolleybus, which started in the early 1930s when Bournemouth Corporation decided the electrically powered buses might make a better way of getting around town than trams.

It lasted until the end of the 1960s, when buses of the conventional kind finally replaced the last trolleybuses.

A new book, Around Bournemouth by Trolleybus, by Harry Conn, contains a wealth of pictures from the heyday of the trolleybus.

Over more than 200 pages, we see those once-familiar vehicles serving Bournemouth and Christchurch. And apart from the trolleybuses themselves, a lot of the enjoyment lies in seeing the scenery, and noting how the landmarks have changed – or sometimes remained the same – over the decades.

It was in 1930 that the Bournemouth Corporation Act gave the council the power to operate trolleybuses over all the roads in Bournemouth and other parts of Hampshire that were then served by trams. In early 1933, the authority decided to equip a trial route between the Square and Westoburne with the overhead wires required for trolleybus operation. Several different trolleybus vehicles would be tried on this stretch.

Four trolleybuses were hired for the experiment and the service – with journeys costing a penny – proved a big success.

In October 1933, the council decided trolleybuses would be used permanently on the route and existing tram services would be converted to trolleybus use.

The experimental route was extended eastwards to Boscombe and in 1934 two new services were introduced – from the Square to Boscombe and from Westbourne to Boscombe.

The fleet of trolleybuses grew rapidly. It stood at 22 vehicles in October 1934 and had reached 106 by the end of 1936 – 103 of them Sunbeam MS2s.

In April 1936, trams disappeared from Bournemouth altogether when the route between the Square and Christchurch was converted to trolleybus use.

With trolleybuses increasing in popularity, the fleet reached a peak of 127 vehicles in 1948.

The town was getting rapidly busier in those post-war years. As Mr Conn notes, the town centre at one time had 16 cinemas and theatres, not to mention its venues for eating and dancing.

As the transport network became busier, the Square modified, making it no longer square. The original junction layout and central passenger waiting room were done away with, in favour of a roundabout with its own lawns and flower beds.

The climb from the Square to the north was a challenge for architects of the transport system.

Mr Conn notes: “To get almost anywhere from the Square means a climb from near sea level of 120 to 130 feet; heading northwards along the Wimborne Road this height is reached in little over 300 yards with a maximum gradient of 1:9. Westwards, the climb is easier, taking half a mile to the summit and eastwards to reach 125 feet takes three quarters of a mile from the Lansdowne.”

A map of the trolleybus routes from 1963 reminds the reader how large the network was at its peak.

From the Square, trolleybuses ran as far west as Seamoor Road in Westbourne, and as far north as Wallisdown and Castle Lane, while to the east they served Boscombe, Southbourne, Iford and Christchurch – where the vehicles were spun around on a turntable off the high street before heading back to Bournemouth.

The book is organised according to service numbers, showing buses at various points across those routes.

There is also a section devoted to the bus depots – at Pokesdown, Moordown, Southcote Road and Mallard Road.

They might have been a part of everyday life in Bournemouth and Christchurch, but the days of the trolleybuses were numbered.

Eventually, Bournemouth Corporation general manager Ronald Cox advised against keeping trolleybuses and between 1963-66, a number of routes were withdrawn, including the 25 Boscombe to Westbourne service and all those using Richmond Hill.

The Bournemouth Square to Christchurch routes were the last to go. Trolleybuses ran on these for the last time on April 19, 1969. The following day, a trolleybus procession marked the end of an era in Bournemouth life.

* Around Bournemouth by Trolleybus, by Harry Conn, can be bought in hardback for £47 from bookshops, or £50 including postage from Adam Gordon, Kintradwell Farmhouse, Brora, Sutherland KW9 6LU, 01408 622600.