London Bus Museum facts for kids
Cobham Hall building at Brooklands
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 1 August 2011 |
|---|---|
| Location | Brooklands |
| Type | Transport museum |
| Key holdings | London Buses |
| Owner | London Bus Preservation Trust |
The London Bus Museum is a cool place in Weybridge, England, where you can see lots of old and interesting buses! It's part of the Brooklands Museum site. You can visit it every day.
This museum is run by the London Bus Preservation Trust. They have a collection of over 40 London buses, coaches, and other special vehicles. About 35 of these are usually on display. These buses show how London buses have changed over 100 years. You can see everything from horse-drawn buses from the Victorian-era to modern designs.
The collection includes famous buses like the AEC Routemasters from the 1960s. The museum arranges its buses in a timeline. This helps you see how buses developed over time. Many of the buses have been carefully fixed up by volunteers. Some unique buses you might see are early versions of the AEC Routemaster. They also have the only surviving "utility" bus that ran in London during World War II.
The Museum's Story
The idea for the London Bus Museum started in 1966. A group of people who owned old London buses decided to work together. They formed the London Bus Preservation Group (LBPG). Some of them had tried to save old buses as early as 1952.
Their first big success was buying a 1929 AEC Regal bus in 1956. This bus is known as the first privately saved bus in the UK. In 1972, the LBPG got an old aircraft factory near Cobham, Surrey. They turned it into the Cobham Bus Museum.
Finding a New Home
Over the years, the museum became a registered charity. It was also officially recognized as a museum. But by the early 2000s, the old building was getting old. It was also hard to get permission to open it to the public every day. This put the museum's future at risk.
Luckily, the museum's team found a solution. They made a deal with the nearby Brooklands Museum Trust. They got a large piece of land at the old Brooklands racing track. A new building was planned for this spot. This meant the museum would have a safe, permanent home.
The new, specially built museum opened its doors on August 1, 2011. That's when it officially became known as the London Bus Museum. Now, it can welcome visitors every day!
Buses You Can See
.jpg)
Here are some of the cool vehicles you might find at the museum:
- A horse-drawn bus called a Knifeboard Horse-Bus, built in 1875.
- Two other horse-drawn buses from 1890.
- An AEC NS-type bus from 1923.
- A Leyland LB5 "Chocolate Express" from 1924.
- A Dennis 4-ton bus from 1925.
- An AEC Regal I bus from 1929.
- An AEC Regent I bus from 1930.
- An AEC Regal I coach from 1931.
- An AEC Renown bus from 1931.
- An AEC Regent I Breakdown Tender from 1933.
- An AEC Regent I bus from 1934.
- An AEC Q-type coach from 1935.
- An AEC Regal I coach from 1936.
- Two AEC Regent I buses from 1937.
- An AEC Regal I coach from 1938.
- An AEC Regent III prototype bus from 1939.
- A Guy Arab II bus from 1945.
- An AEC Regent III bus from 1948.
- A Bedford O Canteen Unit from 1948.
- An AEC Regal IV prototype bus from 1949.
- A Leyland 7RT bus from 1949.
- Two AEC Regal IV sightseeing coaches from 1951.
- Two AEC Regal IV coaches from 1952.
- Two AEC Regent III buses from 1952.
- An AEC Regent III low-height bus from 1952.
- An AEC Regal IV – BEA Coach from 1953.
- A Guy Special country bus from 1953.
- An AEC Routemaster prototype bus from 1957.
- A Ford 300E Van from 1959.
- An AEC Routemaster bus from 1959.
- An AEC Routemaster coach from 1962.
- An AEC Routemaster bus from 1968.
- A Bedford CAL Ambulance from 1968.
- An AEC Swift bus from 1971.
- An AEC Reliance coach from 1972.
- An MCW Metrobus from 1978.
- A Leyland Titan bus from 1979.
- A Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B7TL from 2002.
- A Scania OmniCity from 2006.
More to Explore
