It has been nine months since it was confirmed that Big Heritage had taken on the lease of the Wirral Transport Museum (a 28 year lease was signed) and that they remained committed to also returning trams to the short heritage tramway which runs from the museum at Taylor Street to the Woodside Ferry terminal. Since the statement confirming all that was released in November 2023 things had gone a little bit quiet but that has now changed with local press reporting on progress and further plans.
Upon the takeover of the lease, Big Heritage announced that they would be refurbishing the Transport Museum with as many links as possible to the history of local transport. Its now been said that the history of transport will be expanded from trams and buses and it will now also tell the history of local railways and ferries. There is also planned to be a large model railway of local lines. All told the exhibition space at the museum is set to be doubled in size with funding to help achieve the aims coming from Wirral Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Funding has also been secured to allow trams to start running again on the demonstration line. Trams have not operated along the complete length of the line since 2021 when the section to Woodside Ferry was closed owing to the condition of the track leading to the former terminus. A service did continue to run until early 2023 between Taylor Street and short of Woodside Ferry when that too stopped. Its hoped that the track and infrastructure will be able to brought up to the required standard to allow trams to run again in the medium-term.
Alongside the rejuvenated tram service plans are progressing to offer heritage bus trips around the local area from Woodside to locations such as New Brighton, Port Sunlight, Birkenhead Priory and Williamson Art Gallery.
Currently the Transport Museum remains home to the collection of electric trams owned by the Merseyside Tramway Museum Society (with Lisbon 730 having left after becoming part of the collection at Beamish) as well as Wirral Council’s two Hong Kong built trams (69 and 70) and Liverpool 245 which is owned by Liverpool Museums.
The next few years are set to see major investment around Woodside Ferry. This includes a redevelopment of the ferry terminal (which is currently closed, with ferries expected to resume sometime in 2025) and a Battle of the Atlantic themed Museum and gardens along with new housing.
Bryony Fisher, Head of Heritage Engagement at Big Heritage, said: “Our target is to create one of the best transport-themed visitor attractions in the UK. Whilst we will increase the number of vehicles on display, we are aiming to give equal weight to the social history and stories connected with transport. Most importantly, we want to pass on these stories to a new generation, so we intend to build something that is educational but also a huge amount of fun for kids and families.”
Dean Paton, the founder of Big Heritage, added: “We are bringing two fantastic new heritage attractions to Woodside, which already offers visitors unparalleled views of the wonderful Liverpool skyline—all within a very short train, bus, or ferry journey from Liverpool city centre. This boost in tourism will have a positive impact on lots of other local businesses, and we are already working in partnership with a number of community stakeholders to make a difference in the lives of our local community—this will include things like apprenticeships, learning programs, and outreach services.”
It is planned that the new look Transport Museum will open by Spring 2026. A website is due to be launched later this year which will include regular updates of progress. The plans are scheduled to be shown to the public at Williamson Art Gallery in February 2025.