Subject: Portsmouth C. T. 12 (RV 4658)
Chassis: AEC 663T
Body: English Electric H32/28R
Location: Preston, Dick, Kerr Works
Date: 1934

Portsmouth 12 is on tilt test at the English Electric works in Preston prior to delivery. Behind is a Leyland chassis which I think may be a Tiger rather than a Titan. 12 had English Electric control gear and motor.

This trolleybus was part of the very mixed initial fleet bought by Portsmouth and was relatively quickly out of favour. Having entered service on 14-Aug-1934 it was de-licensed as early as 17-Nov-1937. Returned to service in July 1939, by which time it had been renumbered 212, it is only recorded as operating on three days in a three-month period.

It was withdrawn and placed in open storage in 1940, along with many others which, like 212, didn’t have traction batteries. After several approaches to buy or hire some of them, eventually 212-5 were towed to Pontypridd in 1942, 212 arriving on 8-Aug-1942.

It provided much-needed capacity on the trolleybus service and allowed the trolleybuses loaned from Hull to be returned to their home city where they were now needed.

212 ran in Pontypridd until it was towed back to Portsmouth in April 1946. Despite not being officially withdrawn until April 1953 it never ran in service again in Portsmouth and when sold had to be cut up on site as it wasn’t deemed safe to move. It had probably operated longer and covered more mileage in Pontypridd than it did in Portsmouth.

Photograph from the GEC archive