The Wolverhampton trolleybus system served the city of Wolverhampton, then in Staffordshire, England (and now in West Midlands, England), for much of the twentieth century. Opened on , the system was one of the most extensive trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom, with a total of 14 routes, and a maximum fleet of 173 trolleybuses. For a brief period in the 1930s, it even had the distinction of being the world's largest trolleybus system. It was closed on . History Prior to 1923, Wolverhampton had run a tramway system and a number of motorbuses. Included in the motorbus fleet were a small number of petrol-electric vehicles, manufactured by Tilling-Stevens of Maidstone. The General Manager of the municipal transport section was Charles Owen Silvers, and he was sufficiently impressed by the performance of the vehicles that he pressed for a system where the petrol engines were replaced by overhead wires. The short, single-track tramway route from Princes Square to Rookery Bridge in Wednesfield was in need of reconstruction, and in April 1923 the town council approved the conversion of the route to their first trolleybus line. Although the Corporation had no powers to run trolleybuses, the Ministry of Transport allowed the scheme to be implemented, providing a clause to permit such operation was included in their next Parliamentary Bill. Rookery Bridge was widened and the route was extended from the original to , terminating at Pinfold Bridge. Tramcars over the route were withdrawn, to be replaced by motor buses while the conversion work took place. The route was hampered by a low railway bridge, and so six single-deck vehicles were obtained from Tilling-Stevens, which were fitted with Dodson centre-entrance bodies. A formal opening ceremony for the service was held on 29 October 1923. The Corporation next turned their attention to the single-track tramway route from Waterloo Road to Bushbury, which was to be extended by about along Stafford Road. The extension would serve a developing area, but since part of the tramway and all of the extension were outside of the Corporation's area of responsibility, agreement had to be reached with Staffordshire County Council. Trams on the route were withdrawn in August 1924, with motor buses being used while the conversion took place. of new trolleybus route were opened on 9 March 1925, and again, single-deck vehicles from Tilling-Stevens were used. The tramway had used double-deck trams, but there was an