Notes on Early Collection Systems

By Patrick Kupper

The first trolleybus with Stoll trolley was in Dresden 1903. The line Johannisthal-Niederschöneweide was started in 1904 at Berlin with an AEG trolley with only two wheels. Both lines did not use hub motors and were articulated lorries being used as buses.

Porsche constructed different vehicles (System Lohner-Porsche) with hub-motors for Lohner and he winned different races with them. They also developped lorries with hub-motor. Later Ludwig Stoll came to Vienna and became associate of Lohner. As the Lohner patents were bought by Emil Jellinek's "Societé Mercédes Electrique" the trolleybuses were called "Mercedes-Stoll" (in UK marketed by Cedes Electric traction as
Cedes-Stoll). Stoll and Porsche changed 1906 to Daimler and 1907 the first trolleybus with hub-motor started in Gmünd (Austria). After 1908 the "Societé Mercédes Electrique" was dissolved and the system was called Electro-Daimler-Stoll.

I think, the hub motor was quite problematic at this time, especially because of the poor roads. Perhaps in Britain there was no problems but in Fribourg they changed the motors between 1917 and 1920 because of problems of insulation (regular operation started 1912). The new motors were not in the wheels and the transmission was accomplished by a chain.

The entire systems are difficult to explain.

The Keighley System

by Ashley Bruce

Very interesting Patrick, there are a few books here that have got it wrong! And I was wrong to say virtually no maintenance. There were problems in Britain, for instance in Keighley, where a total of 10 various 'cars' operated on 3 routes between 1913 and 1924. The original 25hp motors were not powerful enough for the potholed roads that were
damaged by the petrol buses the trolleys were replacing. Some trolleys were later fitted with 28hp versions, the highest possible. Cedes Electric Traction Co. was compulsorily wound up by the end of 1916. By 1917 only one trackless' was running because the rigid mounting of the hub motors on solid tyred wheels led to considerable shock and armature overheating, caused by trying to drive through the muddy ruts. Electrical companies didn't like repairing these unique machines, one rebuilt three burt refused any more, and several sent to GEC went missing. By 1918 one route didn't have any buses and the only armature rewinder had been sent to jail as a conscientious objector to the war! More men were drafted with the coming of peace to the ongoing rewinding task, and there were four vehicles in service, off and on until 1921. The double decker then crashed but was back in service after 5 days. One single decker was converted to front wheel drive, with very heavy single pivoted 'cart-like' steering but it only lasted four months. The rest struggled on to run side by side with a new 'Schiemann' installation. There was even a Cedes/Schieman cross over overhead fitting for a few years. The end came in May 1924, after a long struggle by a dedicated transport department!

The Earliest Trolley

by Ashley Bruce

Cedes-Stoll and Lloyd Kohler systems for that matter, didn't have poles at all, just flexible cables that were usually unplugged from the trolleys when 2 vehicles met and exchanged - there were usually only one set of wires. see more at www.trolleybus.co.uk/history1.htm BTW the useage of word 'trolley' comes from similar current collection systems in the very earliest tram electrification days. 'Trolley' was first used as a term by Dr. Joesph R Finney in his US patent applications of 1882. It was popularised by John C. Henry in the early 1880's when he was trying to claim invention of nothing less than of the tram itself! Earlier inventors had used a trolley running on a 'mini-track' within a conduit in the roadway, between the rails. This was later transferred to 2 overhead wires, when reliability within a conduit became self evidently a non-starter. Trolley later came to applied various parts of tram then trolleybus equipment and was in common useage on both sides of the Atlantic long before Cedes Stoll were first run in 1902.

This page last updated 2 AU 2000