Glasgow Corporation used to operate a program whereby local children could travel any distance on a tram service for a penny, 1d, during part of the Summer when the schools were out.
This concession started around 1925 and was valid between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm on weekdays in July, although during some years before the war the program was extended into August. Children between the ages of five and the school leaving age could take advantage of it and the benefit transferred over to the trolleybuses once they replaced the trams.
Thus, armed with a drink and some banana sandwiches, I set off to explore distant parts of Glasgow via trolleybus, the trams having already been withdrawn. Part of the fun was to plan the route for the day and this could be flexible. I would usually ride upstairs to maximize the view and although smoking was permitted on the top deck, the fumes were not too intense during the off-peak hours when the concession applied.
One of my favorite combinations was to board the 104 trolleybus service at the Muirend terminus and ride it all the way to Mount Florida or Govanhill where I would transfer to the 108 service bound for Paisley Road Toll. Ideally, I would have preferred to go all the way to Linthouse and Shieldhall on the 108 but that was only for shipyard workers during peak periods, when the concession did not apply.
On arriving at Paisley Road, I would board the eastbound 106 trolleybus service and ride it all the way to Riddrie and beyond to Millerston at the boundary with North Lanarkshire. Then I would return on the 106 the full distance back to the southern terminus at Bellahouston. The 106 was the longest trolleybus service in Glasgow with a running time of 51 minutes.
The route was especially interesting because it traversed Glasgow diagonally between the south-west and the north-east and included part of Govan, Paisley Road, the Gorbals including Gorbals Cross, Hutchesontown, Ballater Street, King’s Bridge across the Clyde, Glasgow Green, London Road, Bridgeton including Bridgeton Cross, Bellgrove, Duke Street, Dennistoun, and Cumbernauld Road.
At Bellahouston, there was no connecting trolleybus service to board so I would take the 106 back as far as Gorbals Cross and then transfer to the 105 trolleybus service heading south to Muirend and Clarkston.
Hats off to Glasgow Corporation for providing this Summertime service to children travelling alone or with their family. It was a real treat.
A Standard tram is seen here at its Bridgeton Cross terminus with a trolleybus on service 106 in the background.
