Created 25-Feb-22
Modified 8-Mar-24
Bradford's first commercially-produced trolleybuses were a trio of ADC 607s, ADC being a short-lived joint marketing organisation combining AEC and Daimler products - these had actually been ordered from AEC. 529-531 (KU 9014-9106) had Bull 55 HP motors and B37C bodies by Strachan and Brown. New in 1926 they ran until the end of 1937 (529) or 1938. 529 ran as gritting wagon O.43 until 1944.
Shortly afterwards a demonstration ADC 607 built to the same specification (except for only having a 50 HP motor) was purchased. This was 540 (KW 200) which arrived just before the end of 1926.
Three more ADCs were ordered. These were intended to be of the shorter 603 model but as the specification changed during manufacture they ended up delivered as ADC 605s, the only examples of the model built. They differed from the other ADCs as they were shorter but also had a front entrance, forward of the front axle, making them suitable for one-man operation, something Bradford had already tried on a couple of routes. 541-543 (KW 201-203) had registrations consecutive with 540 despite entering service some nine months later.
540-543 were replaced by new AEC 661T trolleybuses in 1938 (as was 530), the new vehicles demonstrating how rapidly trolleybus design had evolved in eleven years.
© David Beilby
