Trolleybus Museums
- Transport Museums with Trolleybus Exhibits
- The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft
- Other UK Museums Operating Trolleybuses
- Trolleybus Links
Transport Museums with Trolleybus Exhibits
A number of museums display trolleybuses, including:
- Beamish North of England Open Air Museum
- Bradford Industrial Museum
- Cardiff and South Wales Trolleybus Project
- Hastings Trolleybus Group
- Ipswich Transport Museum
- Keighley Bus Museum
- London Transport Museum
- Museum of Transport, Glasgow
- Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester
- West Of England Transport Collection
- Ulster Folk & Transport Museum
- Wythall Transport Museum
The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft
Home to the World’s Largest Collection of Preserved Trolleybuses
The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft is located near Doncaster, and is home to the world’s largest collection of preserved trolleybuses. Visit their website for more information on the museum and its open days. For directions on how to get there, see their directions page.
Most of the BTS Fleet resides at Sandtoft, and a number of the vehicles run regularly. Details of all the vehicles can be found on the BTS Collection Pages. The British Trolleybus Society runs a number of events at Sandtoft, details of which will be posted on the Coming Events page.
Other UK Museums Operating Trolleybuses
Apart from the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft, you will find trolleybuses operating at East Anglia Transport Museum, from time-to-time at the Black Country Living Museum and from 2023, at Beamish Living Museum of the North.
East Anglia Transport Museum, located at Carlton Colville in East Anglia operates trolleybuses, trams, motor buses, a narrow gauge railway and other historical vehicles.
The Black Country Living Museum has operated trolleybuses and trams but the museum is currently undertaking a major construction project and tram services are suspended. Trolleybuses only operate on special occasions, publicised on their website. Their vehicles are Walsall 862, Bradford 735, which has been repainted in Walsall livery and operates as Walsall 735. Wolverhampton 78 and Wolverhampton 433 (pictured right).
Beamish – Living Museum of the North plans to be operating a trolleybus service from sometime in 2024. The Beamish site comprises a number of ‘villages’, each depicting a different decade in Northern history. The 50s village has been partially completed and Newcastle Corporation trolleybus 501 will be providing the service with, hopefully Teesside 11 (ex Reading 186). The site is huge and the villages are linked by a heritage tram and bus service.
Trolleybus Links
Trolleybus Associations and Groups
- The National Trolleybus Association: www.trolleybus.co.uk/nta
- Trolleybooks, trolleybus book publishers: www.trolleybooks.co.uk
- National Association of Road Transport Museums: www.nartm.org.uk
Trolleybus Initiatives
The TBus Group, promoting the return of trolleybuses to Britain: www.tbus.org.uk/home.htm
TrolleyMotion, an international action group to promote modern trolleybuses: www.trolleymotion.com/en/