Where
“Sandtoft is on the Isle of Axholme in North Lincolnshire,” says Chas Allen, the commercial director of the Trolleybus Museum, which is housed in part of a disused second world war bomber station. A quarter-mile section of runway functions as a running circuit for the buses.
What
“We have the world’s largest collection of preserved trolleybuses at just under 50, and have most of the ones preserved in the UK,” Allen says. He explains the essential difference between trolleybuses and trams: the former have rubber tyres and are driven electrically, picking up current from overhead cables; trams are railbound.
Opened
1969. The museum is open on alternate weekends from Easter to December.
Collection
“Trolleybuses, mostly British ones, but some from the continent and Canada; motorbuses; cars; lawnmowers; a replica 1950s pre-fab; and a 1906 railwayman’s house, which is being developed as a small exhibits hall,” says Allen.
The museum also has lots of related ephemera – books, photographs and service manuals. This year marks the centenary of the first trolleybus run – in Bradford – and the museum is organising a celebration this month.
Help at hand
The museum is entirely run by 60 volunteers from backgrounds such as engineering, teaching and healthcare. Allen is a data manager in his other life.
Highlights
Allen selects a 1937 trolleybus from South Shields and a 1953 motorbus from Doncaster, made to an old design. “They are both full of character and make different noises to most of our exhibits,” he says.
Visitors
5,417 in 2010.
Budget
£140,000, all of it raised by the museum. Adult admission is £6. “Every visitor gets unlimited rides on the buses,” Allen says.
Sticky moment
“A fire in the power room the day before our biggest event of 2010 was the worst,” Allen says. “We managed to put the fire out and repair things, but we all had kittens.”
Survival tip
To continue evolving. “We want to widen our appeal,” Allen says.
Future plans
“Creating an audio archive figures high on its agenda. The last trolleybus ran in 1972, and the people associated with them are getting thin on the ground,” Allen says.
www.sandtoft.org
“Sandtoft is on the Isle of Axholme in North Lincolnshire,” says Chas Allen, the commercial director of the Trolleybus Museum, which is housed in part of a disused second world war bomber station. A quarter-mile section of runway functions as a running circuit for the buses.
What
“We have the world’s largest collection of preserved trolleybuses at just under 50, and have most of the ones preserved in the UK,” Allen says. He explains the essential difference between trolleybuses and trams: the former have rubber tyres and are driven electrically, picking up current from overhead cables; trams are railbound.
Opened
1969. The museum is open on alternate weekends from Easter to December.
Collection
“Trolleybuses, mostly British ones, but some from the continent and Canada; motorbuses; cars; lawnmowers; a replica 1950s pre-fab; and a 1906 railwayman’s house, which is being developed as a small exhibits hall,” says Allen.
The museum also has lots of related ephemera – books, photographs and service manuals. This year marks the centenary of the first trolleybus run – in Bradford – and the museum is organising a celebration this month.
Help at hand
The museum is entirely run by 60 volunteers from backgrounds such as engineering, teaching and healthcare. Allen is a data manager in his other life.
Highlights
Allen selects a 1937 trolleybus from South Shields and a 1953 motorbus from Doncaster, made to an old design. “They are both full of character and make different noises to most of our exhibits,” he says.
Visitors
5,417 in 2010.
Budget
£140,000, all of it raised by the museum. Adult admission is £6. “Every visitor gets unlimited rides on the buses,” Allen says.
Sticky moment
“A fire in the power room the day before our biggest event of 2010 was the worst,” Allen says. “We managed to put the fire out and repair things, but we all had kittens.”
Survival tip
To continue evolving. “We want to widen our appeal,” Allen says.
Future plans
“Creating an audio archive figures high on its agenda. The last trolleybus ran in 1972, and the people associated with them are getting thin on the ground,” Allen says.
www.sandtoft.org