Before we jump into the history of 236, we should set the scene a little on the background leading up to the purchase of the extensive fleet of Atlanteans by Portsmouth Corporation.
During the 1950's the decision had been made to close the trolley bus system in Portsmouth and replace the services in Portsmouth. The reasons were many-fold:
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Nationalisation of the electricity industry in 1948 had meant that local councils could no longer control the cost of electricity |
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The infrastructure was due for substantial overhaul |
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The trolley buses themselves were due for major refurbishment |
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Post-war rebuilding had seen the developement of large housing estates at Paulsgrove, on the City's northwestern border and Leigh Park, some 15 miles to the north east. Servicing these areas would require motor buses which would duplicate many of the trolley routes within the city boundaries |
Portsmouth had long been a Leyland customer, operating TD8 models before the Second World War and subsequently a large fleet of PD1 and PD2 models. A significant proportion of these buses had been bodied by Weymann. And so, an order was placed for batches of PDR1/1 "Atlantean" chassis with bodies supplied by Weymann (latter Metro-Cammel-Weymann). 236 is one of the second batch to be delivered.
Atlantean 236's history is as follows:
(this section is still under construction)
| ??? 1964 | Delivered to Portsmouth Corporation and registered BBK 236B. Allocated to North End Depot which was to remain its operational base until withdrawn from service |
| ???? 197? | Converted to one-man operation. |
| ???? 197? | Withdrawn from service and sold to ????? |
| ????? | Aquired by ???? Portsmouth Atlantean Group formed to ensure continued preservation |
| ?????? | ???????? |
