TWO of the last trolleybuses built for the streets of Bournemouth have been saved for a museum – 250 miles away.

The Sunbeam MF2B trolleybuses will be preserved at the Trolleybus Museum in Sandtoft, Doncaster.

It reached an agreement with the British Trolleybus Society and the Bournemouth Passenger Transport Association to secure their future.

Bournemouth trolleybus number 297 is already part of the working fleet at Sandtoft and has been bought by the museum from Bournemouth Passenger Transport Association (BPTA) for a nominal sum.

The other trolleybus, number 301, dates from 1962 and was the very last new trolleybus to enter service anywhere in the UK. It has been bought from the association by the British Trolleybus Society.

It is currently on display at the West of England Transport collection at Winkleigh, Devon, but will join the rest of the society’s fleet at Sandtoft.

Francis Whitehead, financial and development director at the Trolleybus Museum, said: “I am delighted that the museum has worked in partnership with the British Trolleybus Society, one of our contributing societies, to secure the future of these two trolleybuses.”

British Trolleybus Society (BTS) chairman Dave Chick said: “Number 301 is an important addition to the BTS collection. It has been made possible by the generosity of a group of our members who are funding a permanent depot space for it.”

BPTA trustee Keith Baynton said: “I am very happy to see both these superb trolleybuses continuing in preservation with a secure long-term future among friends and fellow admirers and as an important part of the world’s largest collection of historic trolleybuses.

“This is a good outcome for both vehicles.”

Trolleybuses were introduced in Bournemouth in 1933 and eventually replaced trams as its main public transport. They disappeared from the town in 1969.

Bournemouth Corporation already had 30 MF2B type trolleybuses when it ordered another 10 at the start of the 1960s. One of the 10 never reached the town as it was written off following a fire in the trimming shop at Addlestone, Surrey.

The remaining nine, numbered 295-303, entered service between July and November 1962, with number 301 becoming the last new trolleybus to enter service anywhere in the UK.

Both 297 and 301 were acquired by Bournemouth Passenger Transport Association and 297 is already at Sandtoft for several years.

The two will now be part of the largest collection of historic trolleybuses in the world.