Created 12-Mar-22
Modified 8-Mar-24
Although registered as a single large block of vehicles, 703-739 (DKY 703-739) are split up into three separate galleries, in part to keep the gallery size manageable as these vehicles were such an important and long-lasting part of the Bradford fleet.
Only these first twelve (703-714) were delivered in wartime, entering service from May to August 1945. They came late enough to receive full fleet livery but this batch, uniquely, had wooden seats, a standard feature of utility vehicles. Based on Karrier W chassis (the only trolleybus chassis available during the war) they had Roe UH30/26R bodies with Metropolitan-Vickers equipment and traction voltage lighting.
They were new with trolley wheels but these were replaced by carbon skids at the earliest possible opportunity, skids having already been adopted as standard although at this stage not quite universal.
The wooden seats on 703-714 were replaced with upholstered ones in 1951 and the seating capacity of the Roe bodies was increased to 59 in the mid-fifties. During 1959 and 1960 they were fitted with front-entrance East Lancs bodies which were 27'-6" long and 8"-0" wide, the front-entrance arrangement now being adopted as standard by Bradford. The first to be rebodied was 714 which was H37/28F but a way had been found to fit an extra seat so all the remainder were H37/29F.
The particular batch of twelve played a very prominent role in the Bradford fleet to the extent that on the last evening of normal service operation, two of the four vehicles in service were of this batch (with another from the 1946 batch originally bodied by Roe). Five of the batch survived until the final weekend of which four took part in the final tours.
© David Beilby
