Ipswich Transport Museum
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The Ipswich Transport Museum is a museum in
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
,
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, England, devoted principally to the history of transport and engineering objects made or used in its local area. The museum collection was started by the Ipswich Transport Preservation Group in 1965. In 1988 it obtained use of its present premises, the old Priory Heath trolleybus depot in Cobham Road, and has been opened to the public since 1995. Its collection of more than 100 large objects includes buses
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
s, trolley- and motor-
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es from Ipswich Corporation Transport, the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company and other local operators;
commercial vehicle A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. Depending on laws and designations, a commercial vehicle can be any broad type of motor vehicle used commercially or for business purposes. Classi ...
s;
fire apparatus A firefighting apparatus (North American English) or firefighting appliance (UK English) describes any vehicle that has been customized for use during firefighting operations. These vehicles are highly customized depending on their needs and the d ...
; mobile cranes;
bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...
s;
bier A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to its final disposition.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., In ...
s;
horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a piece of equipment pulled by one or more horses. These vehicles typically have two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by auto ...
s; prams; and
wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...
s. There is a good representation of the Ipswich manufacturers Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies and
Ransomes & Rapier Ransomes & Rapier was a major United Kingdom, British manufacturer of railway equipment and later cranes, from 1869 to 1987. Originally an offshoot of the major engineering company Ransomes, Sims & Jeffries, Ransome's it was based at Waterside Wo ...
and of
electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...
s. Local rail and waterway transport and
aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...
are represented mainly by photographic collections and smaller exhibits. The Museum also houses an archive and library together with costume and ticket collections. The Museum is a registered
charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...
, and is normally open to visitors on Sundays (11am to 4pm) from April to November; and on weekday afternoons during school holidays (1pm to 4pm). It also organises occasional events including the annual Ipswich to Felixstowe Run for vintage vehicles on the first Sunday in May, from Christchurch Park,
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
to the
Promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...
in
Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...
.


Collection

The collection started 50 years ago with just one bus (an Eastern Counties Dennis Ace), and has grown into a most comprehensive selection of objects. Exhibits include trams, trolleybuses, motorbuses, lorries, fire engines, horse-drawn vehicles, bicycles, prams, ambulances, a police car, and even a funeral hearse. The collection is supported by a variety of small exhibits, display material and ephemera. The museum also houses the Ipswich Engineering Collection, which includes many items from well known companies including Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies, Ransomes and Rapier, Cranes, Reavell and Cocksedge. The display includes cranes, fork lift trucks, lawnmowers and agricultural equipment. Restoration of a Co-op horse drawn bread van was completed around 2018, and other ongoing projects at that time included a Dennis Ace bus from 1939 and a Scammell Scarab mechanical horse dating from 1965. The restoration team then turned their attention to a Co-op battery-electric coal truck manufactured by Morrison-Electricar, on which some work had been carried out from 2006. They managed to secure a grant of £7,000 from the Association of Industrial Archaeology in 2018, which would enable them to restore it to working order by refurbishing the motor and control equipment, and purchasing new batteries. Restoration of a Cambridge horse tram previously with Bath Tramways and then Bradford and Shelf Tramways, was completed in 2019. The car was built in 1880 for the -gauge Bath Tramways. That system was taken over by the Patent Cable Tramways Corporation in 1884, and was sold again to become part of the standard gauge Bath Electric Tramways in 1902. Car No.6 was sold back to Starbucks, and then to the Bradford and Shelf Tramway around 1886, where it was hauled by steam tram locomotives, until that system closed in 1903 to be replaced by electric trams. At some point the vehicle moved to the Cambridge Street Tramways, probably in 1894, when a Starbuck vehicle became their No.7, and when that system closed in 1914, all eight of the trams were sold at an auction. It became a shed, and was rediscovered in 1988, when the lower deck was being used as a cobbler's workshop in Ely. Faced with the possibility that it might be demolished, it was obtained by the museum, and a seven-year restoration began in 2012. Rubbing down of the bodywork revealed its former life in Bradford, while removal of the opening toplight windows revealed handwriting confirming that it had originally been built for Bath. Restoration was assisted by a grant of £49,000 from the
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
. The tram was built with a single deck, with an upper deck added at Bradford in the 1880s, but as few details survived, recreating the upper deck was particularly challenging. The vehicle has been restored in the paintwork of Cambridge Street Tramways No. 7.


Early vehicles

* Starbuck horse tram - Cambridge Street Tramways - built in 1880. *
Brush A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped during u ...
tramcar -
Ipswich Corporation Tramways Ipswich Corporation Tramways was an electric tramway system that served the town of Ipswich in Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the ...
No. 33 with open top double deck body - built in 1904. * Ransomes 3 ton 4.5 cwt electric dustcart - DX 1664 - that was originally hired by Birmingham city council in 1915 for testing purposes. It was returned to Ramsones in December 1919 where it was used as a work vehicle into the 1960s before being loaned to the museum. * Railless trolleybus -
Ipswich Corporation Ipswich Corporation was the local authority which ran the town of Ipswich in Suffolk, England. It was founded in 1200 and abolished in 1974, being replaced by Ipswich Borough Council. The corporation's formal name until 1835 was the "bailiffs, bu ...
No. 2 with
English Electric The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, made munitions, armaments and aeroplanes. It initially specialised in industrial el ...
equipment and 30-seat Short single deck body - DX 3988 - built in 1923. It was withdrawn in 1934 and moved to Flatford, where it was used as a caravan. The museum obtained it in 1977 and it was cosmetically restored by 1981. Around 2007 it was fitted with an Estler trolleybase, where the two trolleypoles are mounted one above the other on a central pivot. * Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies type D trolleybus - Ipswich Corporation No. 9 with English Electric/RS&J equipment and 31-seat single deck body - DX 5610 - built in 1926. It originally has a front entrance and rear exit with 30 seats, but was rebuilt in the 1930s with rear access only. Withdrawn in October 1949, it then served as part of a house at
Theberton Theberton is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is located north-east of Saxmundham, and miles north of Leiston, its post town. In 2011 the parish had a population of 279. Hi ...
until it was acquired in July 1972. In 2007 it was exhibited in "as found" condition. * Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies type D trolleybus - Ipswich Corporation No. 16 - part of the same batch as No. 9 - DX 5617 - built in 1926. It was upgraded with pneumatic tyres in the 1930s, and withdrawn from service in June 1950. Only the chassis survives. *
Richard Garrett & Sons Richard Garrett & Sons was a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, steam engines and trolleybuses. Their factory was Leiston Works, in Leiston, Suffolk, England. The company was founded by Richard Garrett (1755–1839), Richard Garrett in ...
type O trolleybus - Ipswich Corporation No. 26 with Strachans & Brown 31-seat single deck body - DX 5629 - built in 1926. It was used as a summerhouse at Pin Mill following withdrawal in 1945, and was obtained for preservation by the Long Shop Museum at
Leiston Leiston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...
, but was loaded to the museum in 1995 and subsequently donated in 2004. *
Tilling-Stevens Tilling-Stevens was a British manufacturer of buses and other commercial vehicles, based in Maidstone, Kent. Originally established in 1897, it became a specialist in petrol-electric vehicles. It continued as an independent manufacturer until ...
B9B bus - Eastern Counties Roadcar Company No 78 - DX 6591 - built in 1927.


1930s vehicles

* Chevrolet LQ coach - VF 8157 - built in 1930. * Bedford WLB bus - WV 1209 - built in 1932. * Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies trolleybus - Ipswich Corporation No. 46 with English Electric equipment and H24/24R double deck body - PV 817 - built in 1933. It was shown at the Commercial Vehicle Show in 1933, and was one of the first batch of four double deck vehicles obtained by the corporation. After withdrawal from service in August 1951, it was used as a caravan at
Needham Market Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...
before being acquired for preservation in 1971. All of the electrical equipment needed to restore the vehicle had been amassed by 2007, but there were no immediate plans to start restoration. * Dennis Ace bus - Eastern Counties - CAH 923 - built in 1938. * Leyland Cub Fire Engine - PV 4974 - built in 1938. * Bristol L5G bus - Eastern Counties - CVF 874 - built in 1939. * Dennis New World Fire Engine - EBJ 732 - built in 1939.


1940s vehicles

* Ransomes MG Crawler tractor - built in 1947. * AEC Monarch tower wagon - Ipswich Corporation - PV 8580 - built in 1948. * Karrier W trolleybus - Ipswich Corporation No. 105 with
Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...
equipment and
Park Royal Vehicles Park Royal Vehicles was one of Britain's leading coachbuilders and Bus manufacturing, bus manufacturers, based at Park Royal, Abbey Road, in west London. With origins dating back to 1889, the company also had a Leeds-based subsidiary, Charles H ...
H30/26R double deck body - PV 8270 - built in 1948. After withdrawal, it was used as a mobile Civil Defence showroom and then as a canteen, until it was obtained by the museum in 1971. An 11-year restoration project started in 2003, and the vehicle was returned to operational status in 2014, at a cost of some £25,000. *
Smith Electric Vehicles Smith Electric Vehicles (also known as Smith's) was a manufacturer of electric trucks. The company, founded in 1920 in the north of England, moved its headquarters to Kansas City, Missouri in 2011. Smith suspended all operations in 2017. Smith ...
/ Northern Coach Builders electric milk float - Ipswich Co-op E56D - PV 8337 - built in 1948. This was one of a batch of electric vehicles obtained in 1948 to replace the last horse-drawn delivery services operated by the Co-op. It was presented to the museum in 1975, following withdrawal. * Bedford OB - PV 9371 - built in 1949. * Bristol K6B bus - Eastern Counties - KNG 374 - built in 1949. * Bristol L4G bus - Eastern Counties - KAH 407 - built in 1949. *
Land Rover Land Rover is a brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR builds Land Rovers in Brazil ...
fire engine - build in 1949.


1950s vehicles

* AEC Regent III bus - Ipswich Corporation Transport No 1 - ADX 1 - built in 1950. * Bristol LS bus - Eastern Counties - MAH 744 - built in 1950. * Commer Avenger Fire Appliance - KRT 920 - built in 1950. *
Sunbeam A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a lightbeam, beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of light scatter ...
F4 trolleybus - Ipswich Corporation No. 126 with Metrovick equipment and Park Royal H30/25R double deck body - ADX 196 - built in 1950. It was sold to the Walsall system in 1962 for further use, and was obtained by the museum in 1970 when that system closed. It was stored at the Sandtoft Trolleybus Museum for a time, where it ran occasionally, but subsequently moved to the Ipswich site. * Atkinson 8-wheel lorry - built in 1950. * Morrison-Electrical coal lorry - Ipswich Co-op E92C - APV 94 - built in 1951. This was one of a pair of vehicles bought for coal delivery, which worked out of the coal yard on Derby Road, to the east of the town. It was withdrawn in 1983, when the Co-op ceased to deliver coal, and remained in the open until November 1989, when the museum acquired it. Some restoration was carried out in 2006. * AEC Regal IV bus - Ipswich Corporation Transport No 9 - BPV 9 - built in 1953. * AEC Regent III bus - Ipswich Corporation Transport No 16 - CDX 516 - built in 1954. * Ford E83W pickup - build in 1954. * Mercury Truck and Tractor Co timber tractor unit - CDX 894 - built in 1954. This was bought new by William Browns of Ipswich, and used for hauling timber in the dock area. It was obtained by the museum in 1974, and the bodywork had been completely rebuilt using authentic materials by 2007. * Dennis F12 P/E fire engine - built in 1954.


1960s vehicles

* Bristol HA6G articulated lorry - built in 1962. * Bedford J emergency vehicle - built in 1962. * AEC Regent V bus - Ipswich Corporation Transport No 63 - ADX 63B - built in 1964. * Bristol MW bus - Eastern Counties - APW 829B - built in 1964. * Bristol LFS bus - Eastern Counties - GNG 125C - built in 1965. * Scammell Scarab 3-wheel tractor unit - built in 1965. * Smith electric vegetable cart - Ipswich Co-op - FDX 346D - built in 1965. This was used for door-to-door deliveries of green groceries. Ipswich Co-op once had over 40 vehicles engaged in this activity, and this was one of the final three before the service was withdrawn in the summer of 2001. All three vehicles were donated to the museum, the other two carrying registration numbers of EPV 228D and FDX 621D. * AEC Regent V bus - Ipswich Corporation Transport No 68 - DPV 68D - built in 1966. * Brush Pony electric van - UPV 982 - built in 1967. This was built for St Helens Hospital, Ipswich, in 1967, but was not registered for use on roads until 1970. It was used as a laundry van, and subsequently worked at Heath Road Hospital. It was presented to the museum in October 1990.


Later vehicles

*
Commer Commer was a British manufacturer of commercial and military vehicles from 1905 until 1979. Commer vehicles included car-derived vans, light vans, medium to heavy commercial trucks, and buses. The company also designed and built some of its own ...
Maxiload TS3 lorry - built in 1970. * AEC Swift bus - Ipswich Corporation Transport No 82 - JRT 82K - built in 1971. * Karrier Bantam lorry - built in 1974. * Scania Super 110 lorry - built in 1974. *
Leyland Atlantean The Leyland Atlantean is a predominantly double-decker bus chassis manufactured by Leyland Motors between 1958 and 1986. Only 17 Atlantean chassis were bodied as single deck from new. It pioneered the design of rear-engined, front entrance ...
AN68 bus - Ipswich Corporation Transport No 6 - MRT 6P - built in 1976. *
Leyland National The Leyland National is an integrally constructed British step-floor single-decker bus manufactured in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industries – the National Bus Com ...
bus - Eastern Counties - XNG 770S - built in 1978. *
Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a panel van, cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford ...
Ambulance - B287 XFL - built in 1984. * Leyland Sherpa K2-250 electric van - Ipswich Buses - B974 PDX - built in 1985. This was part of an experimental batch of Freight Rover Sherpa vans converted to use battery electric power. The battery voltage was 230V, and it was designed to run at speeds compatible with normal traffic. Ipswich Buses ran it for four years as a general runabout, until the electronic controller failed in 1989. The museum bought it in February 1990, and have since replaced the controller. * Land Rover fire tender - Ipswich Borough Council - Q913 EGV - built in the 1980s. This was once a standard 4-wheel drive Land Rover, but a third axle and a Rover V8 engine were fitted, as were a water tank and pump, to allow it to act as a fire tender at Ipswich Airport. The airport closed in 1987, and the vehicle was donated to the museum, complete with most of its fire-fighting equipment. Only the ladder is missing. * Optare Spectra bodied DAF DB250 bus - built 2000 for Ipswich Buses - X153 LBJ, donated by
Lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...
Low-floor Spectra for Ipswich museum ''
Buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
'' issue 783 June 2020 page 68
* Vauxhall Omega police car - X428 LGV - built in 2000. * Renault Master ambulance - built in 2000.


See also

* Trolleybuses in Ipswich


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Ipswich Transport Museum
{{authority control Automobile museums in England Museums in Suffolk Transport in Suffolk Buildings and structures in Ipswich Bus museums in England