These days, with concerns about air quality in our town centres, many new cars, vans and buses are hybrid or fully electric. But over a century ago zero-emissions public transport dominated our towns and cities in the form of electric trams and trolleybuses. However, in the post-war era these fell out of popularity and were replaced by diesel buses. Now trams have made a comeback in some British cities, although trolleybuses no longer operate in this country. However, many examples of trams and trolleybuses have survived into preservation. There are a handful of specialist museum sites where wiring has been installed so that these can once again operate, and they can also be found on static display in other museum collections.

This book features a wide range of locations in Great Britain where trams and trolleybuses can be found at work or on display.

Born in 1952, Malcolm Batten has lived in East London all his life, and has always had an interest in the local transport scene and the history of Newham. After a boyhood of trainspotting, he started taking photographs in 1969. Since then he has recorded the local buses and railways, in an area which has seen enormous change.