Historic Dublin Pictures & Videos Thread

A few photos of early Dublin United Tramway buses, the forerunners of CIE...


1925 Thornycroft, most probably THE original DUTC bus bodied by Hall Lewis in London.
Later buses were bodied at Spa Road, Inchicore, to a copy of this design. These
timber framed bodies did not last long, suffering from a combination of rot and rough
road surfaces. Many were rebodied again by 1929/1930, although the small number of
Thornycroft buses were returned to the UK. Note the DUAL doors, buses from 1925
were a mixture of rear entrance and dual door, with 30 or 32 seats, on Thornycroft,
AEC or Dennis chassis imported from the UK. This bus entered service on the first DUTC
bus route 43, from Eden Quay to Killester, in 1925. The DUTC up to then had operated
the extensive city tramway network, the last trams running in the city in 1949.


1925 AEC, YI 7972, bodied at Spa Road, Inchicore. Note the painted destination
boards along the side of the vehicle, for the number 50 route to Crumlin, the brushes
hanging from the wheel hubs, a legal requirement of the time, and the fully uniformed
driver and conductor.


1926 Dennis E type, YI 7973, bodied at Spa Road, Inchicore. Note the number and
destination box on the roof, the painted destination boards along the side of the vehicle,
the brushes on the wheels, and the conductor in full uniform standing on the rear platform.


A line up of 1926 AEC buses, bound for, among others, route 42 to Coolock, route 43 to
Killester, and route 45 to Blackrock.

* * * * *

Alas, it is very, very rare to come across photographs of Dublin buses of the 1920s -1930s period, although photos abound of buses after the war. As well as the Dublin United Tramway buses in their dignified livery of dark blue and ivory, there were a host of independently owned buses, popularly known as the 'Pirates.'

I suppose it is too much to hope that, among the wonderful collections of historical photographs appearing here, that someone might have photographs of PRE-war buses in Dublin, or indeed elsewhere in Ireland? The 1920s-1930s period is the period in question, as there are countless photos available of the Leyland double deckers that became popular and well known after 1937.

nessyguin wrote: »

Aye , Bambi . I am told that it was a stipulation in the will that nothing be changed . I was told this in a pub so apply pinches of salt at will However , I can believe it to be true as it's unlikely that a ringboard would be hanging by public demand (unfortunately) .

Did everyone who posts on this thread live in Ballymun at some time , btw ? OK , I know the answer to that but there are a lot of ex-'munners here ! We moved into Sillogue in '68 , when the houses there were still being built . Left in '89 and back here 4 years now .

my auntie moved into coultry in 1980 beside the esb station and she is still there now. if you have any old pics of ballymun before it was built up in the 60's it would be great to see them.