In May 2021 two trams from the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway were transported across the Irish Sea to the Wirral Heritage Tramway and Museum having been acquired from outside storage at Jurby Transport Museum. Now two and a half years later and numbers 11 and 47 have been on the move again with their departure from the Taylor Street Museum in Birkenhead for further storage at Hooton Park in Elllesmere Port.
The Wirral Heritage Tramway and Museum remains closed whilst Big Heritage complete their takeover and in preparation for this to be concluded and the museum at least being able to reopen to the public some vehicles have been moved off site.
With 11 and 47 unrestored – and having been in outside storage at the Jurby Transport Museum on the Isle of Man for over 10 years before arriving in the UK – they have now moved to Hooton Park with transportation taking place at some point between 22nd and 28th October 2023. They are not the only trams located there either as Chester 4 is also there undergoing restoration.
47 was built in 1911 by GC Milnes, Voss & Co in Birkenhead and last ran in 1978 and since then has been stored in various different locations, initially on the Isle of Man and then, from May 2021, the Taylor Street museum as the first of the pair to arrive. It was soon followed by 11 which is an 1886 Starbuck built Toastrack, it too last ran in service in 1978 and came from Jurby Transport Museum having previously been stored elsewhere on the Isle of Man.