| Ipswich Transport Museum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preserving the transport heritage of Ipswich since 1965, and now supported by the Friends of the Ipswich Transport Museum. The Ipswich Transport Museum is a Registered Charity No. 276626 and an Accredited Museum, number RD890. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Museum Press ReleasesPosted: 3rd May 2012 IPSWICH TRANSPORT MUSEUM UNVEILS NEW STORE BUILDING April 28th, 2012: Ipswich Transport Museum is pleased to announce that it has purchased a new 400 sq m store building, which it officially took receipt of today from local commercial property developer Artisan (UK) Developments Ltd. The keys to the new purpose-built unit were formally presented to ITM Chairman, Mr Tony King, by Artisan's Managing Director, Mr Michael Eyres, during a celebratory Open Day for ITM members. The building is to be named 'The Peter Bannister Building' in the summer in honour of the former Museum trustee whose estate has kindly enabled funding of the new building. Located at Quantum Business Park in the Whitehouse Road business area, the new ITM store building will house a number of objects whilst not on public display at the Museum's main exhibition hall at the former Priory Heath trolleybus depot in Cobham Road. Museum vice chairman Mark Smith said, "This is an exciting phase in the development of the Museum. Although the new premises will not be open to the general public, the store will enable us to improve the main museum exhibition hall at Priory Heath, and give us more space so we can display big exhibits like buses and fire engines more effectively." Handing over the keys
TRANSPORT MUSEUM SEES RED Ipswich Transport Museum kicks off the 2012 season with a 'Red Vehicles Day' on Sunday 1st April at it's Cobham Road site. The event will feature three historic red buses and two of the museums old fire engines, all of which will be giving rides to the public. In addition to the vehicle rides, a number of other red vehicles will be on display including a Land Rover from 1950 and a 1948 AEC Monarch tower wagon, which was used by engineers to maintain overhead trolleybus wires until 1963. Visitors will also be able to sample two newly completed restorations; a 1903 Ipswich electric tram, complete with replica track and granite setts, and the interior of 1923 trolleybus No.2, which has been completely rebuilt by museum volunteers, including new seats, lights and paintwork. Museum volunteer Owen Phillips said 'I hope visitors will like the new look museum which has some fabulous new exhibits to enjoy, including a 1954 AEC bus. They can ring the bell on a fire engine or bus, have a ride and see a bus conductor and enjoy the sounds and smells of yesteryear… it should be fun!' The event runs from 11am to 4pm, admission is £6.50 for adults and £18 for families. All vehicle rides and additional attractions at the museum are included in the admission price.
Full press release MUSEUM CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS WITH CRACKER OF AN EVENT Ipswich Transport Museum rounds off its 2011 season with its annual 'Christmas Cracker' event on Saturday 3rd December. The event will feature seasonal special attractions including bus rides, fire engine rides, a barrel organist and music from an ensemble of the Ipswich Hospital Band. In addition the Ipswich Community Playbus will be attending and there will be a large G scale model railway to enjoy. Enthusiasts will be able to see the latest museum restorations nearing completion, including a 1948 Ipswich Trolleybus and 1950 Atkinson flat bed lorry. Event organiser Trevor Ling said" We have had a very successful year at the museum, and we hope this event will be an enjoyable curtain raiser to the festive season for everyone. We hope people will be able to come here and enjoy themselves - perhaps as a welcome respite from the Christmas shopping!" The event runs from 11am to 4pm, admission is £6.50 for adults, with reductions for concessions and children. A family ticket is £18. All vehicle rides and additional attractions at the museum are included in the admission price. Further details are available from the museum on 01473 715666 or the museum's website, www.ipswichtransportmuseum.co.uk.
Full press release See the Ipswich Transport Museum by lamplight This weekend the Ipswich Transport Museum hosts one of its long standing evening events," Wheels by Lamplight". The Museum is illuminated by hundreds of old oil and paraffin lamps, creating an atmospheric evening. This unique collection attracts lamp enthusiasts from far and wide but also has great appeal to members of the public who can enjoy seeing the Museum's major transport and engineering exhibits by lamplight. Leave with a warm cosy glow and enjoy a special evening! The event is on Saturday 15th October from 7pm to 9pm. Please note that we do not admit children to this event. Admission prices are Adults £6.50, Concessions £5.50.Light refreshments are available. Photos from a previous events
Full press release Buses reunited to mark the 80th anniversary of Eastern Counties in Ipswich Ipswich Transport Museum's "Come and Ride on our Buses" day is firmly established as a popular and well attended event and this year the event will mark the 80th anniversary of Eastern Counties buses in the town. It will feature a number of vehicles from Eastern Counties and other local operators. There will be free rides on over a dozen museum and visiting historic vehicles, including former Eastern Counties 1949 Bristol K ,KNG374, 1994 Bristol MW Coach, APW829B and 1965 Bristol Lodekka GNG125C. As well as the vehicles giving free rides there will be a display of historic and modern coaches and buses and a souvenir programme. The museum's collection of over 100 exhibits will also be on display. Visitors are urged to use a Park and Ride service to public car parking at Ransomes Europark (Central Avenue) as there is no public car parking at the Museum. Free bus routes run at frequent intervals from the Museum, Town Centre and Railway Station on town and rural local services. Entrance to the museum is £6.50 for adults with reductions for concessions, children £4.00 and families (2+3) £18, and all the museum bus rides are free A photo from a previous event
Full press release A CELEBRATION OF IPSWICH'S ENGINEERING TRIUMPHS "Ipswich Engineering Day", which celebrates the long engineering heritage of Ipswich, takes place at The Ipswich Transport Museum on Sunday 17th July. The event, which is in its third year, will be of special interest to anyone who used to work for any of the famous local engineering companies based in and around Ipswich. However, the Museum hopes that younger people and those new to the town will come along to learn about Ipswich's amazing engineering heritage.
 Posted: 20th June 2011 THREE GREAT SITES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE TICKET AT THE IPSWICH TRANSPORT AND MODEL FESTIVAL! Ipswich will be the place to be for transport and model fans on Saturday 25th June, when the Ipswich Transport Museum, Ipswich Railway Modellers and Ipswich Model Engineers throw their doors open to the public. The Ipswich Transport and Model Festival , in its third year, is designed to showcase the best in local model railways, model engineering and transport preservation, with active support from our three local model shops, SCOGRAIL, Modelzone and Galaxy Models. The sites are linked by a free hourly bus service throughout the day and a single ticket bought at any site enables go as you please entry to all sites and travel on the free bus. Scograil Model Railways and Galaxy Models are on the route and Modelzone can be found in the Buttermarket, a short walk from two of the stops on the route. Visitors to the event will find a variety of special offers available at these shops.
Posted: 30th May 2011 Family Fun Day at the Ipswich Transport Museum Family Fun Day at the Ipswich Transport Museum, on Sunday 5th June, is a special day for families and they are assured of a good time! Visitors of all ages can enjoy free rides on vintage buses and fire engines belonging to the Museum, as well as being able to see the amazing collection of over one hundred major transport exhibits.
Posted: 27th April 2011 41st ANNIVERSARY FOR HISTORIC VEHICLE RUN Nearly 600 classic cars, motorcycles, lorries, buses and military vehicles will take part in the 41st Anniversary Ipswich to Felixstowe Historic Vehicle Run on Sunday 1st May. The event, which is free to spectators, is organised by The Ipswich Transport Museum and supported by The Lavenham Press and Glyn Davies, and is expected to attract over 20,000 visitors to Ipswich and Felixstowe. All the vehicles taking part are over 30 years old. Star attractions include a 1936 Morris 10 which took part in the inaugural Ipswich-Felixstowe run in 1971 and the 1959 Ransomes Matador 24" Mower that a group of five students drove non-stop from Edinburgh to London in 1959.
Posted: 11th March 2011 MUSEUM VOLUNTEERS ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE EXCITING NEW SEASON Ipswich Transport Museum has been closed to the public for the winter but the volunteers have been working away over the past three months to get everything ready for the 2011 season. Apart from the archive and restoration work and general maintenance that continue throughout the year, they have been hard at work cleaning, polishing and preparing the many exhibits in the Museum for an exciting new season. The first event is "Museum Re-Awakening Day", on Sunday 20th March. As well the comprehensive collection of interesting exhibits on display, the Museum will be giving rides on some of its vintage buses and fire engines. There will be an hourly bus service from Ipswich Railway Station and the Electric House bus station to the Museum. In addition, there will be a large scale model railway,on which the Museum will be running some of the rolling stock that the former Secretary and Publicity Manager, Peter Bannister, bequeathed to the Museum. March 20th is the first anniversary of his death. Event Organiser Tony King said, "The volunteers are looking forward to the new season. We have many exciting events planned and hope that our visitors enjoy themselves and will return." Museum Re-Awakening Day event runs from 11a.m until 4pm.Admission is £6.50 for adults,£5.50 for concessions,£4 for children and a family ticket for two adults and three children is £18. The Museum will now be open from March 20th every Sunday until 27th November, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Bank Holiday Mondays 11am to 4pm.It will also be open Mondays to Fridays in the local Suffolk school holidays and Wednesdays in June and September 1- 4pm.
Posted: 7th February 2011 RESTORATION PROJECT OF HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT VEHICLE AT THE IPSWICH TRANSPORT MUSEUM Ipswich Transport Museum volunteers have just started their latest project, the interior restoration of Ipswich Trolleybus number 2. This important vehicle, featured in the BBC "History of the World" series, is believed to be the oldest complete trolleybus on display in the world. Trolleybus 2 dates from 1923 and is a single-deck vehicle with a body built by Short Brothers,( Rochester Ltd) mounted on a solid -tired Railless Ltd. chassis. At the end of its working life in 1934 the motors and electrical equipment were removed and it was sold for scrap. Luckily, that was not the end of the story. After removing the seats and interior fittings it was converted to living accommodation for the Richardson sisters at Flatford, where it remained for over forty years. In 1977 it was acquired for the Ipswich Transport Museum collection. After funds had been raised during 1981, it was professionally restored externally by Ben Coopers of Claydon for display in the Museum. Unfortunately, funds were not then available to reinstate the interior. Chairman, Tony King explained," As 2011 is the centenary of the start of the United Kingdom's trolleybus services, it was decided that the time was right to complete the restoration. The Museum's application to the Science Museum for a grant from the PRISM fund was successful, so work is now being carried out by the small team of volunteers that undertook the superb restoration of Ipswich Tram No. 33." Missing bodywork and fittings are being replaced, the interior lights reinstated and a complete set of seats is under construction. The project is scheduled to be well on the way to completion by the time the Museum reopens to the public on March 20th.
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Posted: 28th March 2012
Posted: 30th November 2011
