In news which had previously been released to members of both the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society (MTPS) and the Tramway Museum Society (TMS), the latest public update from new custodians of the Wirral Transport Museum and Heritage Tramway has confirmed that trams owned by the MTPS are to depart from Taylor Street and head to the Crich Tramway Village.
Three trams are set to be transferred to Derbyshire – Birkenhead 20, Wallasey 78 and Liverpool 762. Details of when the move may take place have yet to be announced but in preparing for the move of items from the Clay Cross store and the building of a new structure at Crich (for which fundraising is now underway) consideration has been given for future acquisitions and so there will be extra capacity available at the home of the National Tramway Museum to house these trams.
In their latest update online, Big Heritage gave some context for the moves: “As space is at a premium and the new museum focussing only on local transport, we requested that MTPS re-homed their Lisbon built-and-operated Tramcar 730, which was subsequently moved to Beamish Museum.
“MTPS wrote to us in September to inform us that they wish to relocate all of their trams to Crich National Tram Museum. This decision is a disappointing one and came as a surprise to us. They are an important part of the history of Merseyside, and we believe that they should remain local. We have written to MTPS to share our opinion but accept that this decision lies with their committee.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we have not asked for the trams to be relocated, and the invitation for the trams to stay or eventually return to Birkenhead will continue to remain open should this decision be reversed.”
The MTPS have already moved their horse trams away from Birkenhead, Douglas 11 and 47 along with Liverpool 43 can now be found at Hooton Park, Ellesmere Park. This just leaves Warrington 28 which is likely to be moved away from Taylor Street at some point in the future as well, although details of this have not been revealed.
In the same update, Big Heritage also confirmed that the three trams owned by Wirral Council will remain as part of the museum collection (Hong Kong cars 69 and 70 plus horse car Birkenhead 7) and a new loan agreement has been reached with National Museums Liverpool for Liverpool 245. This will give the tramway three operational electric trams when it eventually reopens.
Trams haven’t run on the tramway for 19 months now. This came after an Office of Road and Rail inspection in April 2023 which found several issues with the condition of the track alongside concerns over operational procedures around risk assessments, health and safety record keeping and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) procedures.
Big Heritage took control of the museum and tramway on 28-year lease in December 2023 and continue to progress their plans for the reopening of the museum and tramway. It is not expected that the museum will reopen until 2026 with the tramway following on from this. It was previously reported that detailed plans for the new museum will be revealed in early 2025.
The museum will not only be about trams of course, and to this end Big Heritage have already committed £30,000 towards maintenance and restoration of the bus fleet. This has included money to complete the restoration of a Wallasey Corporation Leyland Bus including a complete engine overhaul and respray. They are hopeful that there will be a much-expanded vintage bus service around the Wirral in 2025, using volunteers who have returned to the museum following the Big Heritage takeover.
The update announcement also contains this related to volunteers: “After taking over the museum in December 2023, we welcomed back volunteers in January 2024. We now have a new comprehensive health and safety protocol in place, requiring all volunteers (regardless of previous experience) to undertake a short series of training programmes, sign up to a new volunteer conduct agreement and be required to wear appropriate PPE clothing when on site – all fully paid for by Big Heritage.
“Many previous volunteers continue to attend and are joined by several new volunteers. They access the site at least once a week and are invaluable in maintaining and regularly driving the classic bus collection, which are now being driven out to events and meetings by volunteers on an almost weekly basis.
“As the tram tracks are due for a complete refurbishment in 2025, we have not been able to offer tram driver and guard volunteers access to these roles, but the invitation continues to remain open for them to volunteer in other roles within the museum on the proviso that they abide by the new policies noted above.
“We have now also created partnerships with Wirral Met College and the apprenticeship programme at Cammell Laird to provide placements and learning opportunities to a new generation of young engineers who will be able to hone their skills in the museum, learn from our experienced volunteers and eventually act as a talent pool for us to provide future employment.”
Wallasey 78 will look good at Crich
Surely 3 trams would suffice as there is often just one tram in service and rarely more than 2 apart from special events (not that I often visit). This will ease pressure on maintenance and also the move of the rare historical trams will keep them secure from future vandalism, war and weather events in the relative seclusion of the Derbyshire countryside. Maybe if requiring a further tram, Big Heritage could take another look at 626 before it falls to bits completely in its current precarious location on Birkenhead Docks.
Sad news in many ways but they will have a good home at Crich and Beamish.
UK Tramcar preservation has to contract & consolidate to survive. Perhaps an unpopular opinion but the sector is simply too reliant on dwindling revenue streams with the existing footprint at an unmanageable scale. It’s felt like something had to give for some considerable time. Too many operations competing for the same limited resources without the compelling revenue generating offerings that other attractions offer.
Shame on MTPS. Taking what should be Birkenhead’s Heritage away after a petty feud. Surely they must realise that councils across the country are broke and this was their best chance at saving their museum. Didn’t help that it was only open 6hrs a week and the MTPS decided to use it as their own playpen while simultaneously excluding all the bus volunteers. Very petty from them indeed!
I wonder if having the three operational and, indeed, excellent, cars left in the back of a building for two more years will really be in their best interests?
I assume that the cars will be able to operate on a regular basis at their new home, and I look forward to seeing them there in 2025.
It seems, furthermore, that a return to Birkenhead when (if?) the tramway resumes operations, is not ruled out.
I’m hopeful that the MTPS cars will run at Crich, but personally I’m not expecting it to happen immediately. Bear in mind that Lisbon 730 still hasn’t run at Beamish yet as they are still doing work on it! I’d imagine that Birkenhead 20 in particular may need some attention – its been claimed before that it hasn’t been the same since its time in the works at a certain seaside tramway!
Where is Crich planning the building of the new structure?
This may be controversial but I think this is brilliant news. The trams will be well cared for and appreciated at Crich, and Wallasey 78 in particular will fill a major gap in the national collection as the only preserved Bellamy roof tram. I’m really excited to see them all in their new home, alongside Liverpool 869 of course.
To be honest I’m not convinced that the Birkenhead tramway is sustainable – its not exactly a tourist hotspot and aside from event days there has never been a lot to entice enthusiasts, who are a very limited market anyway. With only three operational trams this will be even more so, although I suspect the smaller fleet will be enough for what Big Heritage have in mind. The MTPS have admitted that the volunteers they had before the enforced closure are ageing and they have not seen a younger generation step forwards to take things on… add in the clearly strained relationship with Big Heritage and I can only see the decision to move 20, 78 and 762 to Crich as a positive development.
The TMS have said, “A fast moving decision to locate the three cars to Crich, – and none of the decisions would prevent the cars returning to Merseyside, etc.” Big Heritage have a history of saving remarkable places such as the underground wartime bunker that is Western Approaches and they are working on U534, that is being conserved and interpreted at Birkenhead Ferry Terminal. That U Boat is a tourist attraction and when completed will be adjacent to the tourist tramway. As has been stated the local authority, as with so many, can’t afford to finance a lot of non-core sites so this decision to save the site, collections and tramway is the best on offer. Also as MTPS have stated their volunteers are, as again with other places, ageing and not enough younger folk do or can step up to volunteer for many reasons. Hopefully the horse cars are secure? So many erstwhile collections of transport have succumbed to lack of funds. The Birkenhead Docks had an Historic Warship Collection that failed and across the river there was a plan to conserve SS Manxman, again not achieved. But as Big Heritage fortunately developed Western Approaches and are now tackling U 534, there will be some major remembrance of The Battle of the Atlantic, Britain’s fight for survival in the Second World War, so important to Merseyside’s Heritage. Oh for enough finance and commitment to bring the sloop from that and other naval conflicts ex – HMS Whimbrel to Liverpool as a memorial ship similarly to HMCS Sackville in Canada!
Quite agree about HMS Whimbrel. I contributed to a campaign to bring her back to Britain some years ago. At the time, there seems to have been a total lack of interest from the government.
I hardly think that the current government will be interested at all, unfortunately.
Loved riding on the Birkenhead Tramway, many times, but felt that it was just a few hundred yards plaything, and it missed out on extensions to give it more ‘breadth’.
Shame though, and i echo the sentiments of a previous poster about 626, which would have been a lovely ‘extra’ tram rather than a rusty dying one.
There are a lot of sides to this story. Firstly, the message to Big heritage is you can’t pick and choose. Throwing out the Lisbon car (and abandoning 626, which can be argued as the most important car to the public as it’s one they can likely remember) seems to have turned out to be a big mistake for them. By being snobby about having only local exhibits, they’ve now lost most of them! However what BH is good at is running a business, so I think they have chance of making things succeed. What concerns me though is the future of vehicles and other exhibits when they are part of a profit-based business and need to earn their keep.
I’m not thrilled about the move to Crich and effectively putting yet more of our heritage behind an ever-growing paywall. Also, more trams up there will likely come at the expense of the currently active fleet. How many once operational vehicles have they mothballed over the years, never to see the light again? Blackpool 49, Glasgow 1297, Edinburgh 35 and (infamously) Leeds 602 to name just a few. How many of the current fleet will fall by the wayside when they have some new toys to play with? I’m particularly worried about the recent vehicles from Blackpool, which I predict could easily get sidelined.
Then there is the worry of some kind of disaster. If most of our tramway heritage is storred in one place that sounds VERY risky to me.
And will the MTPS vehicles have to be signed over to Crich to be housed there, much like 869 and many others were? If everything is owned by Crich, what happens if Crich folds? It’s not in a great location for visitors and , like for most attractions, numbers attending are not what they once were despite there actually being more people in the country who COULD attend but choose not to.
Everything going to Crich is a bit like little shops being taken over by a major supermarket. And we know what most people think about that.
It’s already been stated that they will transfer to TMS ownership (this has been the norm for greedy Crich forever – if its here we want to own it).
I think its unlikely they will run as some members are already saying the wheel profiles are wrong as they are Blackpool profile despite the Blackpool cars not being reprofiled when they went there! If 730 needs a lot of work at Beamish they may require similar.
as for current fleet retirement, 630 is already on the chop list and 7 was supposed to retire last year.
At least they will be on show!
I think its fairly inevitable if Crich were to fold it would be taken on by the Science Museum so the vehicles would survive.
I don’t get the narrative/suggestion that an entity wanting certainty of ownership is “greedy” mind. It just strikes me as pragmatism & common sense. Beamish Museum & certain Boat Car.. rings in my ear..
Ownership effectively kills loans/returns. 869 was handed over – if it had been on agreement/loan rather than ownership it could have visited 245…….
Will 630 operate next year?
I believe it was acquired as a “stop-gap” until 298 has finished but I thought those plans had changed as it was a favourite of TMS volunteers.
626 is nothing to do with Big Heritage and has never been available to them, as it was nothing to do with and never available to the MTPS (they just caretook for a while).
I think it makes sense for Crich to take possession of these trams. There, they have the necessary manpower and expertise to help ensure their survival. Returning to Merseyside transport heritage, the near total loss of the last remaining 503 Wirral EMU should serve as a reminder of the risks of entrusting too many items to smaller preservation groups which lack the funding and backing of organisations such as Crich (not forgetting Royal patronage).