Over several days the trams – Liverpool Corporation Tramways No. 762, Birkenhead Corporation Tramways No. 20 and Wallasey Corporation Tramways No. 78 – were carefully transported over 90 miles from their base at Wirral Transport Museum to their new home in Crich.
The trams have been transferred from the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society (MTPS), a transport restoration group established in 1960 by Liverpool University students who wanted to save one of the city's famous ‘Green Goddess’ trams, which was then operating in Glasgow. This tram – Liverpool 869 –later joined the collection at Crich.
In addition to carrying out restoration projects, for many years MTPS members have been based at Wirral Transport Museum and assisted in the operation of the Heritage Tramway there. However, due to recent changes in management at the Museum, the MTPS made the decision to rehome these three trams, generously donating them to Crich.
Graham Bennett, CEO of the National Tramway Museum, said:
“We would like to express thanks to everyone involved in this incredible effort. The movement of three trams takes a huge amount of planning and hard work, and we’re happy to welcome them to a new home at Crich for future generations to enjoy. Our Conservation Workshop team will be assessing the trams in due course to determine the work needed to enable them to operate on our tracks in the future.”
