Today (10th April) is the 50th anniversary of the arrival of London Transport 1858 at Carlton Colville and to mark the occasion we have an extended special “Picture in Time” showing the tram arriving in East Anglia having spent 12 years at Chessington Zoo following purchase from London Transport by Peter Davis for £62.
Having spent 12 years on display at Chessington Zoo, notice was given for the tram to leave and a new home had to be found. In 1964 the opportunities to find an alternative location was limited. Three alternatives were identified, Crich, Hayling Island or Carlton Colville. Ultimately the latter was chosen and arrangements put in place to move the car to a section of tram track adjacent to Lowestoft Car no.14 on a part of the garden of Hedley House in the then small village of Carlton Colville in Suffolk.
The move took place over a number of days in April 1964, this followed preparations to load the tram using two mobile cranes lifting the complete tram onto a trailer and resulted in a rather tall load for its long journey to East Anglia. As a result of the height a member of the haulage company crew had to be stationed on the roof to lift the telephone and electric wires over the roof, this came about as shortly after leaving the zoo a telephone line was broken by the tram.
On the first night of the journey the tram travelled as far as a layby at the Greenford Roundabout on 6th April 1964. The tram then continued on its journey round the North Circular and onto the A12 to have a meandering journey up through Essex and into Suffolk. Due to a low bridge at Saxmundham the tram had to divert onto a series of B class roads before rejoining the A12 and continuing to Carlton Colville at the end of a three day journey.
Only when the tram was approaching the Hedley House where any problems encountered and these related to overhanging tree branches which resulted in broken windows in the upper deck. Then having been manoeuvred into the driveway and through to the area which was to be its new the tram was unloaded by a large mobile crane onto a waiting section of tram track.
Main text provided by Tim Major with assistance from Peter and Wendy Davis.
1858 is gently lifted onto a trailer at Chessington as its three day road journey starts.
1858 inches into the drive of Hedley House with the grounds of Hedley Lodge to the right.
1858 is seen here on Chapel Road a short distance away from its new home. The man on the roof was there to make sure of clearances with low hanging wires, in fact it could be said he walked all the way from Chessington to Carlton Colville!The new depot at Carlton Colville two years later in 1966 with London Trolleybus 1521 already in situ and 1858 can be seen through the hedge awaiting movement into the new museum premises. (All photos courtesy of Tim Major/EATM Archive)