Trolleybuses in Portugal

Trolleybuses were first introduced in Portugal by SMC in Coimbra in February 1947 and used Saurer, Sunbeam and BUT single-deckers that were all in service by 1954. Further deliveries from the UK were ten BUTs and six Sunbeams. The fleet was largely rebodied, but in 1984 another twenty Efacec-Caetano 37-seater trolleybuses began to be delivered. The second Portuguese trolleybus operator was SMB in Braga, which opened in May 1964, and the final trolleybus system to open in Portugal was the largest one in the country. This was opened by STCP with twenty single-deckers in 1959, augmented by a further six BUTs four years later. With a wealth of previously unpublished photographs, David Harvey tells the story of Portugal's trolleybuses.