The Tasmanian Transport Museum is a museum located in

Glenorchy, Tasmania Glenorchy is a suburb of Hobart, in the state of Tasmania, Australia. Glenorchy is bound by the River Derwent to the east, Mount Wellington to the west, Hobart City to the south and to the north. The city officially begins at Creek Road New ...

, preserving and exhibiting a collection relating to Tasmanian transport history including items such as locomotives, carriages,

ephemera Ephemera are transitory creations which are not meant to be retained or preserved. Its etymological origins extends to Ancient Greece, with the common definition of the word being: "the minor transient documents of everyday life". Ambiguous in ...

and

railroadiana Railroadiana or railwayana refers to artifacts of currently or formerly operating Rail transport, railways around the world. Railroadiana can include items such as: * Brakeman, Brakeman's or Railroad lantern, marker lanterns * Date nails, ra ...

History

In 1960, the

Metropolitan Transport Trust Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system serving the city and suburban areas of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation. Train op ...

donated a Hobart tramcar to be preserved, and as a result the Tasmanian Transport Museum Society was founded in 1962, with the aim of preserving representative items of transport interest that were disappearing from everyday life. The first decade of the Society's existence saw the preservation of many items that had been donated or purchased, and it was not until 1972 that a site adjacent to the railway station in Glenorchy was leased from the

Glenorchy City Council Glenorchy City Council (or City of Glenorchy) is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. The Glenorchy local government area has a population of 47,636, covering the sub ...

. After the laying of track, the first items were moved there in 1976. After this time, the museum prospered in building on the site, with an electric traction shed built in 1976, as well as the Steam Technology building in 1983, a carriage shed in 1984 and a roundhouse in 1986. The most recent additions to the museum include a Fire Services shed completed in 2004, and a Road Transport shed completed in 2013. In 1979, after the cessation of passenger train services in Tasmania, the Museum purchased and moved the former

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

railway station building to the site in sections, and this was completed in 1980. The Museum also acquired a

railway turntable In rail terminology, a railway turntable or wheelhouse is a device for turning railway rolling stock, usually locomotives, so that they can be moved back in the direction from which they came. Naturally, it is especially used in areas where e ...

from

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

and a signal cabin from the

Botanical Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

railway halt A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

. The Society has steadily acquired an extensive array of exhibits, relics, models and photographs, that portray many facets of the history of Tasmanian transport. Society members also have carried out much of the development work on exhibits and the site, with the State Government being the major financial contributor for capital works, however; membership is small and the Society relys mainly on volunteers, due to the financial and time constraints on the museum.

Exhibits

''All items from this list were attained from ''

Railway locomotives

Railmotors

Engineering heritage award

The museum collection received an Engineering Heritage Marker from

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

Notes