Buses and trains and trolley busesThere are three railway stations in Maidstone, and there were two bus stations in Palace Avenue. now long since gone, one the Granada end and the other on the far end nearest to Bishops Palace. Maidstone and District / East KentWhile kids these days rant on about football, in those days we seemed more interested in the two companies running bus services. One was "Maidstone and District" the other was "East Kent". "Maidstone and District" were in green and cream colour and to my mind were more Spartan inside, "East Kent" was deep red and cream and these were my personal choice being plusher. You know the sort of thing that kids say, my buses are better than your buses, yes they are, no they’re not, I hear you say.
Trolley BusesTrolley buses were different again, they were dangerously quiet when you crossed the road without looking (yes, yes I know we shouldn't have). Many people were knocked down by these old beasties. They had a fair turn of speed and the acceleration was pretty good too.
I have seen the trolley buses at the top of the town by the Queens monument stranded. They would try to cut the corner and lose the connection with the overhead wires. The trolleys buses carried a long bamboo pole with a hook which they used to reconnect the bus back to the overhead wires.
Even trolley buses needed to be tested for tipping.
Photo courtesy of John Meakin collection Trains and Dreams
Trains in the main were for special occasions, if we were going to London perhaps. Not that this happened on a regular basis, I think some of the children at our school who lived further away used them everyday. Not the characterless things of today, these were real trains smoke and all. We ran from one side of the bridges to the other to avoid being engulfed in the steam and smoke they gave off. For us boys they were living creatures like wild animals, dangerous but beautiful, definitely a man thing. Like many of my contemporaries I decided very early that this would be the job for me. Alas the steam engine driver job has fallen by the wayside as did my second choice as a flag pole painter.
Shirley Maidstone I remember it well: I don't know where to start!!! Finding this site has awakened so many memories!! I used the buses all the time, as neither my parents nor I had a car. I went to the Girls Grammar School on the London Road motorbuses, we were so much better behaved in those days, as there was always a prefect around to report misbehaviour, or else an irate pasenger would write to the headmistress. The worst thing we did was giggle and eat sweets( forbidden in uniform anyway)
Martin Baldock Maidstone I remember it well: Before moving to Penenden Heath at the age of about 6yrs my family lived in a cottage on the Tonbridge Road at the junction with North Pole Road and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the crews swap the power pickup arms over because it sometimes flashed a bit!! While a pupil at the Boys Tech I would race them into Maidstone after school - always getting a telling off from the conductor - I also rode on the very last trolley bus journey - I had been to a Youth Club dance at the Howerd De Walden and offered to escort a young lady home as any young gentleman would. We walked down to the bus stops at the river and along came the trolley bus bedecked with decorations etc. I think the Mayor was on board too. Having safely delivered the young lady home safely I then had to trudge all the way back to Penenden Heath....
Les Gudgion New Zealand Maidstone I remember it well: Greetings from New Zealand, In the early 1950's I was a conductor for the Maidstone Corporation,I worked mainly on the diesel buses and did an occasional shift on the trolley buses, being a conductor was a great job, one got to meet a lot of friendly people, we were rarely bother by drunks or hooligans in those days. Lyons Tea Shop at the top of the town was where crews would gather for a cup of tea or a coffee dash and a bite to eat when we had our break or while waited to relieve other crews for their break, when you entered the tea shop there were three long tables on the right hand side and the Corporation bus crews would sit there enjoying their break and would share stories about their passengers and life in general. I visited Maidstone several times in the 1990's and saw the many changes that had occured in the proceeding 50 years. My late Wife Janet Wilkins was a conductress on the trolley buses, we met and married in 1957 and emigrated to New Zealand in March 1958. I also did nearly 2 years with the M & D from 1956 to 1958, it was about 1958 when drunks and hooligans made working on the late shifts very unpleasant especially on the last buses of the evening, Les.
Peter Harvey Maidstone I remember it well: As a child I lived on Loose Road, a couple of trolley stops from the Loose terminus. My bedroom was in the front of the house, and I can well remember how excited I used to get when I was woken up on cold frosty mornings by the loud crackles and bright blue sparks created by the frost on the wires. At that time I travelled every day to school on the trolleybuses and can remember many incidents, mostly involving the poles coming off the wires and creating havock to the traffic. On one occasion a queue of trolleybuses had build up in the town centre, and they all ended up going up Stone Hill together, but clearly the load was too much and they all came to a grinding halt, which blocked all the raffic behind. I got to know many of the conductors and can remember two Italian brothers who used to stand on the platform at the back singing opera arias. Does anyone else remember them? Happy days! |
