The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft is a transport museum which specialises in the preservation of trolleybuses. It is located by the village of Sandtoft, near Belton on the Isle of Axholme in the English county of Lincolnshire.
Contents
- 1Description
- 2History
- 2.1Conception
- 2.2Realisation
- 2.3Development
- 3The Collection
- 4Gallery
- 5See also
- 6Bibliography
- 6.1References
- 7External links
Description[edit]
The museum occupies part of the former RAF Sandtoft, an operational bomber airfield during the Second World War. RAF Sandtoft was disposed of by the RAF in 1958 and the site was acquired for the museum in November 1969. Since that time, volunteers have transformed a barren site into a museum with the addition of workshop, vehicle depot and exhibition building. The first event held was the Sandtoft Gathering in 1971, an event which is still held annually.
The museum is recognised as having the largest collection of preserved trolleybuses in Europe, if not the world, with over 60 examples. Whilst the exhibits are predominantly from the UK, a collection of international examples is growing at the museum. Apart from trolleybuses and transport, the museum also features a collection of 1950s/60s memorabilia.[1] Over the years, many items related to the trolleybus era have been donated. A 1950s/1960s street scene features shop windows, complete with displays, whilst the prefab utility bungalow, previously used as the museum’s souvenir shop, has now been fitted out as a home to show even more of these period artefacts.
In 2011, the museum was the largest trolleybus museum in Britain, housing some 50 vehicles, including some imported from abroad, and about half of this number could be used to give rides to the public over an oval two-way circuit.[2] By 2019, the number of vehicles had increased to over 60. The museum is open on selected days only, as detailed on its website.[3]
History[edit]
Conception[edit]
The history of the museum really began in 1961, when a group of 14 people decided they would try to preserve one of Reading’s pre-war AEC trolleybuses, which was soon to be withdrawn. They formed the Reading Transport Society in April, and when they acquired Reading №113 in September, it was the first trolleybus to be privately preserved in Britain, and started the preservation movement. What was expected to be a purely local affair escalated, as members signed up from around Britain, and by 1964 they were custodians of three more trolleybuses from other British systems. The storage facilities they had for the vehicles were inadequate, and they started to look around for somewhere which could provide covered accommodation for the collection, and also the chance to operate them.[4]
After a failure to find a suitable site in the south, Mike Dare, one of the founder members, reported that he might have found a suitable site at Belton. It was an old chapel, and he thought that it could hold three vehicles initially, but with some alterations, could hold eight. There was an attached classroom, suitable for holding small exhibits, and the possibility of purchasing an adjoining field at a later date. He intended to buy the chapel himself,[5] and once he had done so, structural alterations were made to allow trolleybuses to enter the building. It became known as Westgate Trolleybus Museum, and the first vehicle, Derby №172, was moved there on 27 July 1967.[6] The second vehicle to arrive was Manchester №1344, which was owned by the Northern Trolleybus Society. It was towed from Oldham by an elderly coach over the night of 28–29 July 1967, and two of the crew noticed that part of Sandtoft airfield was for sale.[7] The third vehicle to enter the museum was Glasgow No.TB78, which was towed from Ibrox to Westgate on 24–25 October 1967 by the same elderly coach.[8]
