Museum of Army Transport facts for kids
The Museum of Army Transport was a special museum in Beverley, England. It showed many different vehicles used by the British Army.
The museum had a large collection of military vehicles. This included tough armoured vehicles and support vehicles. Many of these items were part of the National Army Museum's collection. The museum also displayed railway engines and train cars. A very special item was the only remaining Blackburn Beverley aircraft, named XB259. This was the first Beverley plane ever made.
Museum History
The Museum of Army Transport had to close its doors on August 22, 2003. This happened because the museum faced a huge bill of £140,000 to fix its roof. It ran into financial trouble and could not stay open.
Where Did the Collection Go?
After the museum closed, its amazing collection was split up. Most of the vehicles went to the National Army Museum's storage in 2005.
The special Beverley aircraft is now at the Fort Paull Museum. Lord Kitchener's railway coach moved to the Royal Engineers Museum. Some items were owned by private collectors and were returned to them.
The National Army Museum also took care of the military steam trains from the collection. One of these trains, WD198 "Royal Engineer," was later sent to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. Another small train from 1893, called "Gazelle," is now on loan to the Kent and East Sussex Railway.
Today, the National Army Museum keeps most of the old Museum of Army Transport vehicles in Stevenage. However, some are on loan to The Tank Museum in Bovington Camp. A few vehicles are even on display in the National Army Museum's own galleries.
