National Tramway Museum - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The National Tramway Museum, at Crich

Crich

Crich is a village in Derbyshire in England. It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Village, and at the summit of Crich Hill above, a Memorial Tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I.Built in 1923 on the site of an...

, in Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, England, is situated within Crich Tramway Village

Crich Tramway Village

Crich Tramway Village is the recreated historic village that is the setting for the National Tramway Museum in Derbyshire. The village is set around a period street, with several re-built buildings from all over the country, including the facade of the former Assembly Rooms from Derby and the Red...

, a period village containing a pub, cafe, old-style sweetshop, including the tram depots. The village is also home to the Eagle Press, a small museum dedicated to Letterpress Printing including an 1859 Columbian printing press. The museum's collection of tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

s runs through the village setting. Visitors are transported one mile out into the countryside and back, aboard the varied fleet of trams.

The trams at Crich mostly ran along the streets of cities

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

in United Kingdom before the 1960s, with some trams rescued and restored (even from other countries) as the systems closed. The town of Matlock is close by and the nearest train service is from Whatstandwell railway station

Whatstandwell railway station

Whatstandwell railway station is a railway station owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Trains Train operating company . It serves the villages of Whatstandwell and Crich Carr in Derbyshire, England...

on the Derwent Valley Line

Derwent Valley Line

The Derwent Valley Line is a railway line from Derby to Matlock in Derbyshire.The line follows the Midland Main Line as far as Ambergate Junction, which is just south of Ambergate railway station, continuing to Matlock, following the course of the River Derwent.*Derby*Duffield**Former branch line...

(Derby-Matlock line), with a steep walk up to the museum at the top of the hill.

History of the museum

Decline of tramways

Most of the tram networks, with a few exceptions (notably Blackpool

Blackpool tramway

The Blackpool tramway runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England, and is the only surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom. The tramway dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is run by Blackpool Transport as...

) closed before the 1960s. The last to close was Glasgow Corporation Tramways

Glasgow Corporation Tramways

Glasgow Corporation Tramways were formerly one of the largest urban tramway systems in Europe. Over 1000 municipally-owned trams served the city of Glasgow, Scotland with over 100 route miles by 1922...

in 1962, a tramway well represented at the Museum.
There has been a recent revival with new networks such as the Croydon Tramlink, Sheffield Supertram

Sheffield Supertram

The Supertram, officially called the Stagecoach Supertram, is a light rail tram system in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...

, Midland Metro

Midland Metro

The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...

, Edinburgh Trams, Manchester Metrolink

Manchester Metrolink

Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...

and the nearby Nottingham Express Transit

Nottingham Express Transit

Nottingham Express Transit is a light-rail tramway in the Nottingham area in England. The first line opened to the public on 9 March 2004, having cost £200 million to construct. The scheme took sixteen years from conception to implementation...

being built and extended.

History of the site

George Stephenson

George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...

, the great railway pioneer, had a close connection with Crich and the present (2008) tramway follows part of the mineral railway he built to link the quarry with Ambergate

Ambergate

Ambergate is a village in Derbyshire, England, where the River Amber joins the River Derwent.Until the early nineteenth century it was known as Toadmoor, with no more than a few artisans' cottages. The southerly half of the village was still shown as such on the Ordnance Survey's maps.It is about ...

.

While building the North Midland Railway

North Midland Railway

The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...

from Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

to Rotherham

Rotherham

Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...

and Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, Stephenson had found rich coal seams in the Clay Cross

Clay Cross

Clay Cross is a former mining town and civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, about six miles south of Chesterfield. It is directly on the A61, the former Roman road Ryknield Street...

area and he saw a new business opportunity. Crich was already well known for the quality of the limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

and Stephenson recognised that he could use the local coal and limestone to produce burnt lime for agricultural purposes, and then utilise the new railway to distribute it. Cliff Quarry, where Crich Tramway Village is now located, was acquired by Stephenson's company and to link the quarry with the limekilns he had built alongside the new North Midland Railway at Ambergate, Stephenson constructed a metre gauge line - apparently the first metre gauge railway in the world. Stephenson was born in Wylam

Wylam

Wylam is a small village about west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located in the county of Northumberland.It is famous for the being the birthplace of George Stephenson, one of the early rail pioneers. George Stephenson's Birthplace is his cottage that can be found on the north bank of the...

in Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

in 1781, but he lived the last 10 years of his life in Chesterfield

Chesterfield

Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...

, often bringing visitors to Crich to see the mineral railway and take refreshment in one of the village inns. He died in 1848 and is buried in Holy Trinity Church, Chesterfield. Stephenson's railway soldiered on for many years.

Tramway Museum Society

In the period after the Second World War, when most of the remaining British tramways were in decline or actually closing, the first event in the history of the National Tramway Museum took place. A group of enthusiasts on a farewell tour of Southampton Tramways in August 1948 decided to purchase one of the open top trams on which they had ridden. For the sum of £ 10 they purchased number 45 – now the doyenne of the tramcar collection at the Crich Tramway Village. From this act of faith – at the time there were no heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

s, museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

s tended to be of dull glass cases and the idea of amateurs running a tramway or railway seemed incredible – grew the idea of a working museum devoted to operating tramcars. From the original group developed the Tramway Museum Society, established in 1955, incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 1962, and recognised as an educational charity in 1963. Over the years, the Society has drawn its members from men and women of all age groups and all sectors of the community, working together in different ways to create the tramway museum.

Acquisition of the site

After a sustained search across the country, in 1959 the Society's attention was drawn to the then derelict limestone quarry at Crich in Derbyshire, from which members of the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society were recovering track from Stephenson's mineral railway for their pioneering preservation project in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. After a tour of the quarry, members of the Society agreed to lease – and later purchase – part of the site and buildings. Over the years, by the efforts of the society members, a representative collection of tramcars was brought together and restored, tramway equipment was acquired, a working tramway was constructed and depots and workshops were built. Recognising that tramcars did not operate in limestone quarries, the society agreed in 1967 to create around the tramway the kind of streetscape through which the trams had run and thus the concept of the Crich Tramway Village was born. Members then turned their attention to collecting items of street furniture and even complete buildings, which were then adapted to house the Museum's collections of books, photographs and archives.

Recognition

The vision of the pioneering members who established the Museum, and the work of members who turned the vision into a reality was recognised formally in 1995, when the Secretary of State for National Heritage announced that the Museum was included in the first 26 museums which had been designated because of the outstanding nature of their collections.

Funding

In recent years the work of the Society Members and the income earned from visitors has been supplemented by much appreciated grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund

Heritage Lottery Fund

The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...

, the Designation Challenge Fund of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and the DEFRA Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. The Crich Tramway Village is however still an independent charity, which receives no core funding from the state or local government and it could not function without the ongoing voluntary contribution made by members of the Tramway Museum Society.

Timeline

1963 - First horse tram service
1964 - First electric tram service
1969 - Opening of purpose built workshops
1975 - HRH The Duke of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester is a British royal title , often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England, the next in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; this current creation carries with it the...

become Patron of the Society
1978 - Opening of scenic tramway to Wakebridge by Secretary of State for Employment
1982 - First phase of museum library opened
1985 - Museum loans trams to Blackpool for Electric Tram Centenary
1988 - Museum loans trams for Glasgow Garden Festival
Glasgow Garden Festival
The Glasgow Garden Festival was the third of the United Kingdom's five National Garden Festivals, and the only one to take place in Scotland.It was held in Glasgow between 26 April and 26 September 1988...
1990 - Museum loans trams for Gateshead Garden Festival
Gateshead Garden Festival
The Gateshead Garden Festival was the fourth of the United Kingdom's five National Garden Festivals. Held between May and October 1990, in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, it lasted 157 days, and received over three million visitors. Attractions included public art displays, a Ferris wheel, and dance,...
1991 - Exhibition Hall inaugurated
1992 - Bowes-Lyon Bridge opened by Minister of State for Transport
1997 - First AccessTram for visitors with disabilities
2002 - Opening of Workshop Viewing Gallery
2003 - Library Reading Room and Archives Store opened by HRH The Duke of Gloucester
2004 - Woodland Walk and Sculpture Trail inaugurated by the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire
Duchess of Devonshire
Some women to have held the title Duchess of Devonshire, as wives of the Duke of Devonshire, include:* Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire , first wife of the fifth duke...
2007 - Leeds 345 wins the Best Self-Propelled Vehicle in the Heritage Railway Association
Heritage Railway Association
The Heritage Railways Association is an umbrella organisation representing the majority of the heritage and tourist railways, railway museums, steam centres and railway preservation groups in the UK and Ireland....

Carriage & Wagon Awards, after its three-year restoration and return to service in 2004
2010 - Opening of new "Century of Trams" exhibition in main Exhibition Hall
2011 - Opening of refurbished George Stephenson Workshop, which now contains an education suite on the ground floor and a brand new exhibition on the upper floor which connects over a bridge to the Workshop Gallery

Tramcar fleet

The museum has over 60 tramcars from locations such as Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Blackpool

Blackpool

Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

, Chesterfield

Chesterfield

, Den Haag, Derby

Derby

, Douglas

Douglas, Isle of Man

right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...

, Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

, Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Gateshead

Gateshead

Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...

, Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Grimsby

Grimsby

Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

, Halle

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt

Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...

, Howth

Hill of Howth Tramway

Colloquially known as the Howth Tram, this tramway operated from June 1901 to June 1959 and served Howth Head, near Dublin, Ireland. The service was run by the Great Northern Railway , which viewed it as a way to bring more customers to its railway stations at Sutton and Howth.-Route:Electric...

, Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

, Leeds

Leeds

, Leicester

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

, Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, London

Trams in London

There have been two separate generations of trams in London, from 1860 to 1952 and from 2000. Between 1952 and 2000, no trams ran at all in London.- Horse trams :...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Oporto, Paisley

Paisley

Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...

, Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, Southampton

Southampton Corporation Tramways

Southampton Corporation Tramways were in operation from 1879 to 1949. They were initially horse-drawn, but latterly powered by electricity.-Background:...

and Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

.

, there were approximately in a day-to-day operational condition, with the remainder of the collection on static display or in store.

Methods of current collection

The museum's overhead wire system

Overhead lines

Overhead lines or overhead wires are used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains at a distance from the energy supply point...

has been built so that trams with any type of current collection can be used. The museum currently houses trams with trolley pole

Trolley pole

A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" overhead wire to the control and propulsion equipment of a tram or trolley bus. The use of overhead wire in a system of current collection is reputed to be the 1880 invention of Frank J....

s, bow collector

Bow collector

A bow collector is one of the three main devices used on tramcars to transfer electric current from the wires above to the tram below. While once very common in continental Europe, it has now been largely replaced by the pantograph.-Origins:...

s and pantographs

Pantograph (rail)

A pantograph for rail lines is a hinged electric-rod device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The pantograph typically connects to a one-wire line, with the track acting as the ground wire...

.

Other forms used to demonstrate how current can be collected:

Conductors set in steel troughs under the roadway, as used in Blackpool, and represented in Crich with Number 4.
The stud contact system
Stud contact system
The Stud Contact System is a once-obsolete ground-level power supply system for electric trams. Power supply studs were set in the road at intervals and connected to a buried electric cable by switches operated by magnets on the tramcars. Current was collected from the studs by a "skate" or "ski...

, as demonstrated with a dummy stud between the rails in the yard. This is the only known example of this form remaining, and is from Wolverhampton.

External links

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