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A Century of Transport

1980 , Ipswich (Suffolk)

Cat no. 601

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The public transport system in Ipswich 1880-1980.

The film is introduced by shots of motor buses c. 1980. There is a shot of one of the modern diesel buses decorated in the livery of the Ipswich Tramway Company and then shots of the motor buses on their everyday routes. Passengers getting on and off buses as well as interior scenes of the buses. These show conductors at work and the ticket machines of the one-man bus. Throughout these and later shots other forms of transport of the time are filmed. The first sequence shows through stills the first horse-drawn trams of the Ipswich Tramway Company. There are two shots of horse-drawn trams at work in London. The former tramway shed in Quadling Street, Ipswich is filmed as it appeared in 1980 with the rails still in place. Electric trams came to Ipswich in 1903. There is a photograph of Cornhill showing the Town Hall and the Boer War Memorial, taken as the new, heavy gauge rails were laid for the electric trams. There is no film of electric trams working in Ipswich but the film shows colour film taken of the electric trams in Leytonstone during the 1930s. There are further shots of London trams during the 1950s, showing the driver and the tram entering the Kingsway Tunnel.The first trolley buses were introduced to Ipswich in 1923. From 1924, these were made in Ipswich at Ransomes, Sims and Jeffries. Some of the Ipswich routes are described. Archive film shows the Cornhill, shot in 1929. Filmed from a high camera position looking towards Tavern Street, the film shows the trolley buses arrive and depart. The next sequence shows the trolley buses under construction at Ransomes, Sims and Jeffries during 1935. The first diesel motor bus was employed in Ipswich in 1950. It ran to the Whitehouse Estate and there are street scenes of Ipswich filmed at this time showing the diesel buses. This is followed by a shot of the bus station in 1980. The last trolley bus ran in Ipswich during 1963. This was filmed by David Chappell, an amateur film maker using an 8mm camera. The film he shot is included. The final sequence shows a motor rally at Christchurch Park in 1980.

Featured Buildings

The Town Hall, Ipswich

Keywords

Buses; horse-drawn transport; trams; transport

Intertitles

Final test run. End of an Era.

Background Information

c. 1997 a multiplex cinema was built on the site of the former tramway shed at Quadling Street

Manifestations

A Century of Transport

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