Grampian Transport Museum
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Grampian Transport Museum is a
transport museum A transport museum is a museum that holds collections of transport items, which are often limited to land transport (road and rail)—including old cars, motorcycles, trucks, trains, trams/streetcars, buses, trolleybuses and Coach (vehicle), coach ...
and charitable-based trust located in Alford,
Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. Its exhibits chart the history of transport in the north east of Scotland through dramatic displays, working and climb-aboard vehicle exhibits and video presentations.


History

The museum was formed after a group of local transport enthusiasts and collectors in the early 1970s sought to develop a local transport museum. In 1978, the group held a public meeting at which, after an offer was made to lease the former goods yard to the north of the former Alford railway station, the Grampian Transport Museum Association was formed. A pilot museum was established in a local factory in 1981, and after the first annual Alford Cavalcade vintage vehicle rally held during July, a combination of local councils offered grants and subsidies to establish a permanent exhibition base. Construction work on the current building was completed in September 1982, and the museum opened in April 1983. An extension was completed in 1998, landscaping and a track added in the early 2000s, and a second building, the Collections Centre, to house larger exhibits in the 2010s. In 2016, the museum completed a new reception extension to improve the frontage of the museum and provide a warm welcome to its visitors.


Exhibition

Major exhibits include the world's oldest
Sentinel Sentinel may refer to: Places Mountains * Mount Sentinel, a mountain next to the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana * Sentinel Buttress, a volcanic crag on James Ross Island, Antarctica * Sentinel Dome, a naturally occurring granit ...
Steam Waggon from 1914, a giant Mack
Snowplow A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to ref ...
and a working model of Robert Davidson's motor for electric traction. Exhibits include historic and classic automobiles, motorcycles, a double-decker bus, bicycles, steam vehicles, an electric tram, toy model vehicles, and transport memorabilia. One of Aberdeen's hydrogen buses was gifted to the museum in 2020. In March 2025 the museum launched the 'And On That Bombshell' exhibition which displays many of the vehicles created and featured on the
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...
television show.


Events

In addition to its exhibitions Grampian Transport Museum provides a raft of events and shows throughout each season. This allows the public to display privately owned vehicles at shows and provides educational and interactive experiences such as rides in historic vehicles.


See also

*
Alford Valley Railway The Alford Valley Railway is a narrow gauge railway in the Howe of Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located at what used to be the terminus of the passenger and goods Alford Valley Railway which connected with the Great North of Scotl ...
- located on an adjacent site


References


External links


Official Website
Museums in Aberdeenshire Transport museums in Scotland Automobile museums in Scotland Grampian {{UK-museum-stub