The exhibition area within the Derby Assembly Rooms at Crich Tramway Village is currently being treated to a major revamp for the first time in many years. It was confirmed some months ago that this area would be refreshed following on from the refurbishment of the Great Exhibition Hall and the opening of the new George Stephenson Workshop & Discovery Centre, and this is now underway.
The new display will be titled ‘Survive & Thrive: the Electric Era’ and will focus on attempts made to modernise Britain’s traditional tram systems, as well as telling the story of how trams have made a comeback in British cities such as Manchester and Sheffield. This seems to be perfectly timed following the recent arrival of some more modern trams from Blackpool, notably Jubilee car 762, and shows that the Tramway Museum Society is dedicated to bringing the story of British tramways more up to date. The exhibition will also house a cut-down mock-up tram acquired from London’s Transport Museum collection at the end of last year, which had been placed at the edge of the museum’s car park for much of the 2012 season. Those parts of the mock-up not required have now been removed from the site by Scott’s Heavy Haulage.
Initial work has been focussed on removing the old displays from the assembly rooms and students and tutors from Derby College have assisted greatly with this task. A design company will then install new interpretative panels next week, with workshop personnel assisting with various aspects of the project as required. It is hoped to open the new display on 19th October and plans to officially open it are being formulated. In the meantime, leaflets are being handed to visitors explaining why the area is closed off and what work is being done.