Wirral Transport Museum
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Wirral Transport Museum is a museum situated approximately from the
Mersey Ferry The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12t ...
service at Woodside,
Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. A vintage
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
service links the museum and the ferry at certain times. Admission into the museum is free with a broad selection of vintage and classic vehicles, including trams, buses, cars, motorcycles, mopeds, bikes, and a fire engine. It also includes views of ongoing projects in the museum's workshops, a 26 feet long
model railway Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...
layout, a reconstructed 1930s garage scene and various other transport-related static exhibits.


History

The museum was established in 1995 as the tram shed for the
Wirral Tramway Wirral Tramway is a heritage tramway opened in 1995 by the Wirral Borough Council and Hamilton Quarter partnership and was operated by Blackpool Transport Services until 2005 when the council took over the licence to run the tramway. The ...
. In 2009, as part of its Strategic Asset Review, owners Wirral Borough Council planned to dispose of the museum, transferring it to a Community Development Trust. It recommended that "... the specialist role of the Transport Museum be protected as far as possible." By 2014, the council was in discussions to hand over management of the museum to a volunteer organisation. The museum volunteers and its staff look forward to developing the museum further. In 2011, the museum welcomed comedian
Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English comedian, singer and occasional actor. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer", and was primarily known for his live stand-up performances. A lifel ...
, who took a ride on one of the trams for a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary.


Trams

The tramway collection was set up in collaboration with volunteers from Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society. The Wirral Tramway commenced service in April 1995 with the
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
-built, 1948-style units. Operated under contract by Blackpool Tramways for Wirral Borough Council, who took overall control in 2005. Hong Kong tramcar 69, which bears the name of '' George Francis Train &
Phileas Fogg Phileas Fogg () is the protagonist in the 1872 Jules Verne novel ''Around the World in Eighty Days''. Inspirations for the character were the American entrepreneur George Francis Train and American writer and adventurer William Perry Fogg. ...
'', received a new 'Prenton style' livery in 2005. Hong Kong tramcar 70, named '' Thomas Brassey'' after the well known 19th century railroad builder, has been painted in a fictional 'Birkenhead Blue' livery (which was only ever carried by the town's bus fleet after 1934). Liverpool 245, a ''Baby Grand'' owned by
National Museums Liverpool National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The museum is a non ...
but kept at Birkenhead since 2006, was restored to operational use by the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society. This was funded with the help of a £50,000 lottery heritage fund grant in 2010, with completion of the restoration in 2014. Other operational trams of the fleet include Birkenhead 20, Wallasey 78, Liverpool 762 and Lisbon 730. Meanwhile, horse-drawn tram Liverpool 43 is on display within the museum.


Buses

The Technical Custodian held a National / Standard (2) Operator Licence. On his retirement in January 2014 the entitlement for the museum to use vehicles on a hire and reward basis ceased.


Birkenhead Corporation

*BG 8557, a 1943 Guy Arab (324) rebodied in 1953 (242). Now restored with help from Paul Anderson / Home front funding, 1BG Project *BG 9225, a 1946 Leyland Titan PD1/1a (No. 105). Restored with support of Ovaltine and match funding, 1BG Project. *RCM 493, a 1964
Leyland Leopard The Leyland Leopard was a mid-engined single-decker bus and single-decker coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1959 and 1982. History The Leyland Leopard was introduced in 1959. It was developed from the Leyland Tiger Cub, one of ...
L1 (No. 93). Restored by Wirral Museum / Hamilton Quarter funding. *GCM 152E, a 1967 Leyland Titan PD2/37 (No. 152). Restored with Hamilton Quarter funding, Wirral Museums / 201 & 1BG Project.


Wallasey Corporation

*AHF 850, a 1951 Leyland Titan PD2/1 (No. 54). Preserver Cedric Greenwood (1973). Funding purchased New Wallasey, 1BG Project. *CHF 565, a 1954 Leyland Titan PD2/10 (No. 106). Preserver Mayers. Restoration funding from New Wallasey, Wirral Museums 201 project.


Crosville Motor Services

*319 PFM, a 1960
Bristol Lodekka The Bristol Lodekka was a half-cab low-height step-free double-decker bus built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles in England. It was the first production bus design to have no step up from the passenger entrance throughout the lower deck; alth ...
/ ECW FS6G Preserved by 1BG / N Moore / Wirral Museums (2007) *DVG 487, a 1981
Bristol VR The Bristol VR was a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis which was manufactured by Bristol Commercial Vehicles as a competitor to the Leyland Atlantean and Daimler Fleetline. Development The Bristol VR was originally designed for s ...
/ ECW Crosville is also resident at the museum (2010) *B200 DTU, a 1985 Leyland Olympian/ECW


Other waiting projects

*Crosville MS18 1949
Bedford Beagle The Beagle was an estate car conversion of the Bedford HA 8 cwt van, which itself was based on the Vauxhall Viva HA. It was launched at the 1964 London Motor Show. The conversions were undertaken by Martin Walter Ltd in Folkestone, Kent, m ...
. Converted Mobile Office a 1BG Project funding needed. *HKF 820, a 1949 AEC Regent III, Liverpool A344. Preservers Bill Barlow / David Forrest. Transferred to Wirral Transport Museum in 2006.


Former vehicles displayed

*101 CLT, a London AEC Routemaster (RM 1101). Purchased in 1994 via A1A Travel and restored with Hamilton Quarter funding. Withdrawn in April 2009, and is now to be found operating back on London streets wit
theghostbustours.com
RM1101 has reverted to its KFF 367 registration. *THM 692M, a London Transport Daimler Fleetline (DMS 1692), MCW bodywork. Purchased by Wirral Local Education Authority in 1998, it was previously used as a mobile classroom. Withdrawn in April 2009. Now to be found operating as a mobile church/youth club at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. *OFM 957K, a Daimler Fleetline, Chester City 75 Open Top ex 54. Sold to the North West Museum of Road Transport in January 2009. *F362 WSC, a Leyland Olympian, Alexander 81 seat bodywork. Operational since March 2009, the vehicle was re-registered as 101 CLT on 25 April 2009. Number previously donated back to RM 1101. This vehicle replaced the Millennium bus (DMS 1692). In April 2012 It was re-registered F362 WSC and the bus placed into preservation with a Yorkshire group. Routemaster Registration 101 CLT (from RM1101 now KFF 367), was exchanged for Ribble PD3 1841 registration TCK 841 and in line with museum policy its classic bus fleet continue to display their original registrations.


Static and other exhibits

Numerous static or semi-static exhibits are on display at the museum. These include an example model of one of the cranes at the former Bidston Dock, model buses, model trams and a model of the former Mersey ferry ''SS Thurstaston''. A long
OO gauge OO gauge or OO scale (also, 00 gauge and 00 scale) is the most popular standard-gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm-scale standards (4 mm to 1 foot, ...
model railway Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...
layout, a reconstructed 1930s garage scene and a shop scene are also present. Several vintage cars, including an Austin 1800 dating to 1970, an Austin 7, a Morris Minor Traveller, a Triumph Dolomite 1300 and a 1946 Wolseley 14-series police car are on display. Also on display are various vintage motorcycles, including a
BSA Bantam The BSA Bantam is a two-stroke unit construction motorcycle that was produced by the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) from 1948 (as a 125 cc) until 1971 (as a 175 cc). Exact production figures are unknown, but it was over 250,000 a ...
, a Douglas, a 1956 BSA C10L, a 1938
Norton 16H The Norton 16H is a designation given to British motorcycles made between 1911 through to 1954 with various modifications and refers to a single cylinder Norton 490cc side valve engine with a bore and stroke of 79 x 100 mm. The H denotes the ...
and a 1964 Honda CB92. Meanwhile, mopeds on display include a Yamaha QT50 and a 1967 Honda P50.


See also

*
Wirral Tramway Wirral Tramway is a heritage tramway opened in 1995 by the Wirral Borough Council and Hamilton Quarter partnership and was operated by Blackpool Transport Services until 2005 when the council took over the licence to run the tramway. The ...
* Birkenhead Transport * Birkenhead Dock Branch


References


External links


Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society
- operates the museum {{authority control Buildings and structures in Birkenhead Bus museums in England Museums in Merseyside Tram transport in England Tramways with double-decker trams Transport museums in England Transport in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral