Oxford Bus Museum facts for kids
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City of Oxford Motor Services AEC buses (left) and Morris coach (right) from the museum
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| Established | November 1967 |
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| Location | Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire, England |
| Type | Transport museum |
| Key holdings | 24 former City of Oxford Motor Services buses, many of them built by AEC |
| Collections | buses, coaches, horse trams, Nuffield Organization motor vehicles |
| Collection size | 57 vehicles |
| Owner | The Oxford Bus Museum Trust |
| Public transit access | • Hanborough railway station (including Sundays and Bank Holidays) • Stagecoach in Oxfordshire bus route S7 (Operating 7 days a week to Oxford and Witney) |
| Nearest car park | Free parking for 15 cars on site, plus nearby Hanborough railway station car park. |
The Oxford Bus Museum is a cool place in Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire, England. It's about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Witney and 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Oxford. This museum is all about old buses, coaches, and even horse trams!
You'll find about 40 historic buses and coaches here. There are also parts of four old horse trams. Plus, there's a perfect copy of a City of Oxford Tramways Company tram.
Right next door is the Morris Motors Museum. This part shows off 12 Morris Motors cars and vans. Both museums also have lots of smaller historical items to explore. The Oxford Bus Museum Trust, a registered charity, owns and runs the museum.
Contents
When Can You Visit the Museum?
The museum is open most of the year. You can visit on Sundays, Wednesdays, and bank holiday Mondays. It's usually closed around Christmas and Boxing Day. In July and August, they are also open on Saturdays.
During spring and summer, the museum has special events. You can even get free rides on some of the old buses! These rides happen on certain Sundays and bank holiday Mondays. Always check their website for the latest details.
Discover Buses, Coaches, and Horse Trams
The Oxford Bus Museum helps us learn about the history of transport in Oxfordshire. This includes trams, buses, and coaches. They have 40 buses and coaches in their collection. You can also see parts of four horse trams. A full-size copy of a City of Oxford horse tram, made by museum volunteers, is also on display.
The vehicles range from a 1913 Commer WP3 bus to a 1999 Dennis Trident. Many of the buses and coaches still work! On special days, volunteers drive them for free rides.
About 24 of the museum's vehicles used to belong to City of Oxford Motor Services (COMS). This company bought many AEC buses from the 1930s to the 1970s. The museum shows this with 17 AEC vehicles. These include different types like Regals, Regents, Reliances, and a Renown.
The museum also has buses from other local companies. These include Chiltern Queens and Thames Transit. You can see three early Daimler Y buses from 1915 to 1917. There's even a special coach built in 1961 for the Morris Motors factory brass band. It has a unique design that could carry all their musical instruments!
You can also see some bare chassis (the frame of a vehicle). There's a Dennis Loline double-decker bus that has been cut open. This shows you how buses were built a long time ago. The museum also has a workshop where you can watch vehicles being restored.
Explore the Morris Motors Museum
The Morris Motors Museum has 11 cars and one van. These vehicles were made by Morris Motors and other Nuffield Organization companies. They range from a 1928 Morris Oxford bullnose car to a 1977 BMC Mini. The collection also includes a Z type van and a Nuffield tractor.
The vehicles are shown in a recreated part of the old factory from Cowley, Oxford. The museum also celebrates the life of William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield. He was a very important person who started Morris Motors in 1912. He made it one of Britain's biggest car makers.
How the Museum Started
In November 1967, a group called the Oxford Bus Preservation Syndicate bought their first vehicle. It was a 1949 AEC Regal III bus. In 1984, all the vehicles were moved to the current museum site. This used to be the goods yard of Hanborough railway station. New buildings were put up to protect the buses.
In the 1990s, the museum decided to focus on vehicles that were used for public transport in Oxfordshire. In 2001, the museum buildings were improved and made bigger. This was done with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Morris Motors Museum then opened on the site in 2004.
