Heath Road, Twickenham

Click on picture [325] for an enlarged version

From: "Nick Stanbury" <nickstanbury@freenet.co.uk>

The picture clearly shows the very wide pavement to the right of the trolleybus. Although when that side of Heath Road was rebuilt in the 1930s, ample room was made available for road widening, the trolleybus infrastructure meant that this could not be carried out until after the services ceased in 1962.

I started work in Heath Road in 1966 and well remember the work in progress - and the delays caused by at least one of the contractors going bust in the process. When the road was dug up, the tramlines were all revealed and needed to be removed, as were thousands of tarred wooden blocks [which made excellent winter fuel]. As can just be seen, the council utilised the LT poles to carry street lighting and those on the opposite side of Heath Road remained for this purpose for many years after the overhead wires disappeared.