{"id":58848,"date":"2025-06-13T22:00:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T21:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=58848"},"modified":"2025-06-13T18:58:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T17:58:12","slug":"cheltenham-21-made-available-by-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/?p=58848","title":{"rendered":"Cheltenham 21 made available by Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

After over 30 years stored behind closed doors Cheltenham 21<\/strong> is being offered to interested parties with the Council admitting they have no plans for its restoration or display. The tram \u2013 which in the preservation era has called both Crich and Bournemouth home before returning home \u2013 is part of the collection at the Council owned Wilson Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum but its size makes it difficult for them to display it which has led to the decision to look at deaccessioning no. 21<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First noted in a report to the Council Cabinet in April 2025 it is stated that \u201cThe current condition of the tram is poor. The tram is in storage in two sections. The top deck has been deconstructed and the remaining body stored on a trailer. The tram is missing its truck so only the body of the tram is present. Whilst in fairly good visual condition the tram has deteriorated over the years and could not be put on display in its current form. Paintwork is peeling, some external metalwork is corroded and several plywood panels have delaminated and bowed\u00a0out of shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhilst the storage conditions are currently stable, it is anticipated that the tram\u00a0will continue to deteriorate without any intervention. It has been widely recognised that the future of the Tram poses a dilemma for the Council in how to find a suitable location and use to secure its longer-term future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of this the report goes on to say: \u201cAfter over 30 years in storage in Cheltenham, it is time to explore future options for the tram and to deaccession Tram 21<\/strong>, subject to a viable plan being agreed that secures the tram\u2019s future in Cheltenham, makes it accessible to the public and allows Tram 21\u2019s story to be told.\u201d<\/p>\n

The key points here seem to be that the Council\u2019s wish is that it will remain in the Cheltenham area and so they are seeking any local community groups who would be able to provide a new home for no. 21, as well as being willing to conduct a restoration to make it look more presentable than it is now.<\/p>\n

Cheltenham 21<\/strong> was built in 1921 by English Electric in Preston and operated on its home tramway (which was a 3\u20196\u201d gauge system) until the network closed at the very end of 1930. Sold on for another use it ended up with the Boote family who used it mainly for storage. The Cheltenham Tramcar No. 21 Group was set-up in 1961 and they took ownership of the tram that September.<\/p>\n

Initial restoration took place in Cheltenham \u2013 firstly in situ, then from 1962 in Moorend Road, Cheltenham \u2013 but by 1965 they were looking for a new home. That new home was to be National Tramway Museum at Crich with it moving there in July 1965. It was initially put onto a standard gauge truck but its restoration was not fully completed and it remained a static exhibit in Derbyshire.<\/p>\n

In 1981 21<\/strong> would be on the move again when it was agreed to transfer ownership to Bournemouth Borough Council and it moved there to the transport museum with hopes it could run on its correct gauge \u2013 3\u20196\u201d \u2013 on a short operating line alongside trams from Bournemouth which also operated on that gauge. Obviously that didn\u2019t happen as time wore on it was decided a Cheltenham tram had no place in Bournemouth.<\/p>\n

This led it to returning to Cheltenham after a Deed of Gift was made on 11th<\/sup> November 1991 between Bournemouth Borough Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and the Tramway Museum Society (which included the TMS having the right to reacquire the tram if Cheltenham decided to dispose of it in the future). Moved to Cheltenham it had been hoped it would be able to go on display but these plans have never happened and its remained stored for over 30 years, and is now not in one piece meaning significant work would be needed for it to look presentable again.<\/p>\n

Whether that time is now remains to be seen but the Council are hoping to hear from people who have a plan for it to be moved in the local area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After over 30 years stored behind closed doors Cheltenham 21 is being offered to interested parties with the Council admitting they have no plans for its restoration or display. The tram \u2013 which in the preservation era has called both … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58848"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58848"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58849,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58848\/revisions\/58849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.britishtramsonline.co.uk\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}