OUR main image today shows the High Street in Glasgow looking unusually quiet, even for the times – the picture was taken in 1949.
There was a good reason for the relative tranquility – traffic was being diverted from the area for the introduction of Glasgow's new trolleybus services, introduced at a time when horse traffic was still a common sight.
The affable equines pictured here are trace horses, which were often to be seen waiting in groups of two, three, or sometimes four, as in our image, at strategic sites around the city, usually at the foot of steep roads, to act as extra muscle when a cart or load needed to be taken to the top of the hill.
The trolleybus service, incidentally, operated between 1949 and 1967, reaching its zenith in 1959. The trolleybuses were owned and operated by Glasgow Corporation's Transport Department (along with the city's buses, trams and the Subway). The trolleybuses (as well as the much larger tram fleet) used electricity generated at the Pinkston power station. Following the closure of the tram system in 1962, the maintenance of the electrical supply system solely for the trolleybuses was deemed too expensive.
The closure of the electric trams has been much lamented. There were probably a few tears shed, too, when the city's horse-drawn trams, such as this one pictured above around 1900 in Dalhousie Street, were withdrawn in 1902. Around 3,000 horses had been brought to Glasgow from all over Britain, France, Canada and the United States to haul the corporation's fleet of 385 trams.
Not only was this system environmentally friendly – certainly compared to today's diesel buses – they had economic advantages, too. The city would self off the hundreds of tons of manure produced to cover some costs.
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