I visited hidden gem South Yorkshire museum not many people know exists - the restorations are stunning
The South Yorkshire Transport Museum is a volunteer-owned museum that is home to around 50-vehicles. I went there to have a look around and spoke to David Tummon, one of the museum founders.
We are incredibly lucky in South Yorkshire to have access to so many museums, galleries, libraries and archives which store historical and present elements of the regions’ heritage.
Some of these places are readily apparent, front and centre in the city or town centres, whereas some others - like South Yorkshire Transport Museum - are hidden troves of wonder and delight. This volunteer-run museum is open to the public on the second Sunday of every month, from 10:30am to 4pm.
David Tummon is one of the museum founders and his interest in transport goes all the way back to when he was 17-years-old in 1967. His passion for the historical and modern is uplifting, insightful, knowledgeable yet sincere.
He very kindly took the time to show me around and explained how the museum came to be. “We set out to be a bus museum initially,” he said. “But over time we’ve evolved into a much broader selection of vehicles and exhibits.”
It’s quite the understatement as a number of vehicles on display are owned by the museum itself, while some are privately owned and stored at the Waddington Way site.
Each of the vehicles present are at different stages of restoration, some require mechanical work, while some have been fully restored to their former glory.
One example of a stunning restoration is the vintage Leyland Tiger bus. Volunteers worked on a 1947 single decker for seven-years to restore the 79-year-old vehicle back to its former glory. It’s an indicator of the steady but diligent patience exhibited by the volunteers to ensure each detail is retained.
As I walked around the museum, it was impossible to focus on what was in front of me and around me while listening to David who gave such incredible insight into the museum’s exhibits and its history. But, I did take some time to walk around on my own after the narrated walk-through.
Originally, the base for the museum’s collection was a builder’s yard down at Olive Grove in the 1960s before moving to Norton Airfield in the 1970s, which at the time was necessitated by the new premises owner. Following a time at the airfield, South Yorkshire Transport Museum then moved over to Tinsley Tram Sheds, a Grade II listed historic building and possibly the oldest surviving purpose-built tram depot in the UK.
Now the South Yorkshire Transport Museum calls Waddington Way in Rotherham home and it is a fantastically open space, a strong and secure area for the vehicles of which there are many.
“History doesn’t stop you see,” says David as he points to another bus, an AEC Regent. “That was the second bus we acquired. It had been sold out of service to a gentleman in Kent who said if we got him another bus, he’d swap it.” So, that’s what they did.
Sadly, some years later the gent from Kent passed away and the bus that the museum had traded originally made its way back. Now some of the volunteers are busy restoring it in the workshop.
The building is packed with an incredible number of classic British buses from manufacturers such as Leyland, David Brown, and AEC, and there are quite a few stunningly restored models of buses from over the decades to view and even step board in many cases.
There really is plenty to see at South Yorkshire Transport Museum. I am a self-professed lover of the Mini and when I saw the wonderfully accurate recreation of a garage/car workshop complete with a vintage Morris Mini Pick-Up, I couldn’t help but smile. A smile that grew even wider when I saw the 1970s Morris Mini police ‘panda’ car secreted away behind another double decker bus – but you’ll have to go and see that for yourself.
Everything has been carefully curated with a care and reverence to each part (working and otherwise) apparent. It’s a continuous, contiguous, journey through decades of vehicle history, both large, small and there are plenty of wonderful models from trains to British naval fleets.
There are some incredibly well-crafted models, from working cars and buses to the front-cab of a Class 76 electric locomotive, which used to haul passenger and heavy freight trains on the Woodhead line (it closed to passengers in 1970).
But that’s not all, there are plenty of classic cars like a 1947 Morris Eight Saloon, an original design Fiat500, a beautiful green 3.0 Ford Granada, plus a number of vehicles that were used in the Second World War, like the original Jeep – which is currently in the process of being restored to full working order.
Speaking about what you can expect to see when you visit, David said, “we have lorries, we have buses, bicycles, motorcycles, we have an enormous amount of vehicles. Traditional cars and more modern, spectacular cars. Do come along and have a look, there’s far more to see than you can see in one visit.
If you’re looking for an interesting and insightful historical experience that takes in all elements of transport then you should definitely pay a visit to South Yorkshire Transport Museum. It is a delightful treat for transport enthusiasts.
For more information about South Yorkshire Transport Museum including opening hours and more, visit the website: https://sytm.co.uk/