As we enter the 4th Industrial Revolution and the gradual replacement of the internal combustion engine by electric vehicles, I received, via a fellow Northerner on Twitter, this nostalgic photo of the electric buses, 'trolleybuses', which operated between my home town of Ashton-u-Lyne and Manchester. Powered by overhead electric cables rather than batteries they were quiet and pollution free but were replaced in December 1966 by the more efficient diesel engines, which seems a little ironic now.
I remember them well, as Barbara's dad was a bus-conductor, and collected tickets on one of the local bus routes. One of his regular passengers was a shabbily dressed old man, his raincoat tied with string, who he befriended and occasionally turned a blind eye to collecting his fare. The old man confided that he was a bit of an artist, and offered him one of his paintings, which he politely declined, as he did not wish to take anything in return for his kindness. Later it was discovered that the old man was one of Manchester’s most famous sons, the artist L.S. Lowry, who died in 1976. His paintings of scenes of life in the industrial districts of northern England during the early 20th century now sell for fortunes, a large collection of his 'Matchstick Men' now on permanent public display in a purpose built Manchester art gallery appropriately named, The Lowry.
Ah well!
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Hi Barry,
ReplyDeleteJohannesburg also ran a fleet of these trolley buses in the 1960s, same story, were replaced by diesels in the late 70s.
My question into this discussion is: whereas we can see that electricity is a cleaner power source at its point of use, we have to also think about how that power is generated. Unless we move more to nuclear power plus solar/wind sources, it's a zero sum game because we would otherwise be burning more coal to produce the extra electricity.
Thanks Norman. I think your question may have been answered in the posting of 21st July
DeleteAmazing story. I,too, remember the trllolley buses when I was a student in Liverpool. Further, my calendar for 2019 is a Lowry painting for each month!
DeleteGood to hear from you Meg. Are you still involved with UCT? Hope you can call in at Flotation '19 for lunch, or one of the sundowners
DeleteThe future mode of transport is in confusion--electric/hybrid/---hope some one puts down all plus and negative points for a person like me to understand. May be the best will come out as a winner.
ReplyDeleteSir,
DeleteI remember Trams of Kalkutta. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mTGVTTM59s
Thanks,
Sekhar
They were called trams in India. May see this link: http://memumbai.com/trams/
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Sekhar
Hi, I remain somewhat skeptical about electrical cars running on batteries. Combusting the fuel (gas or diesel) directly in the vehicle is very efficient and these fuels have very high energy densities. It is not only the energy source that is a concern but also the environmental issues regarding battery production and recycling. Wind turbines and solar are relatively new technologies and it usually takes us many years to realize the environmental effects of the various energy supply technologies. These energy sources tend to be expensive. Some wind turbines have already passed their "expiry date". How are these to be decommissioned and recycled? They will certainly use a lot of land area. And all of this to avoid climate change!
ReplyDeleteChris Pickles
Hi Chris, there are some interesting points here. Personally I would love to see the end of the internal combustion engine on our roads, as it is a massive contributor to deaths from air pollution. But as you say, there are always two sides to a story, and electric cars are not completely pollution free. They are much heavier than normal cars, and the increased wear on roads and tyres contributes to particulate pollution, but not sure how serious this is.
DeleteWind turbines are interesting. Around 4.5 tonnes of copper are required to build a single turbine, as well as over 300 tonnes of steel, 2 tonnes REE, 3 tonnes of aluminium and 1200 tonnes of concrete (and the cement industry is a major CO2 emitter). Where are all these raw materials coming from (see Is Zero Carbon by 2050 attainable?)?
A couple of days ago I asked on Twitter if anyone had published a complete life cycle energy assessment of a wind turbine, mine to final construction? What is the NET energy output over its life? I felt that this might make a good student project.
Well, I remember trolley buses in the 50 and 60s in Nottingham as well. But, actually, Barry, they are even older than that. About 40% of the first motorized vehicles in NYC around the turn of the 20th century were electric, and often used by women, powered by lead-acid batteries. They had a range of around 90 km, so not very practical by today's standards. As noted above, they were also heavy, and once the more "efficient", lighter, mass-produced and much cheaper Model T Ford came on the scene, they disappeared completely.
ReplyDeleteBryn Harris