Welcome to Crich Tramway Village News, where you'll find all the latest news and information from the National Tramway Museum.

Monday 29 November 2010

Inside the Stone Workshop


The interior of the Stone Workshop has now been removed ready for work to begin.




A view of the Stone Workshop from Scothern and Williamson’s shop now the store room has been removed.


The Gents Urinal

Not a popular facility at the moment.

Monday 22 November 2010

The Stone Workshop Project

The signs have recently been removed from George Stephenson's 1841 Stone Workshop - Crich Tramway Village is on the site of Stephenson's Cliff Quarry - in preparation for its £1million renovation and conversion to an exhibition and learning centre.  Funding for this project has been acquired from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).


































The contractor's accommodation was delivered to the site today.



Wednesday 17 November 2010

'Hear All About It!'

Some time ago, and thanks to some funding from MuBu (the Museum Buddies scheme funded through Renaissance East Midlands), the Museum invited a small group of students from Highfields School in Matlock to investigate our street furniture.

The students came in to the Museum during the last week of October 2010, which was also their half term holiday, proof of their dedication! The aim of this project was to produce audio guides to the street furniture at the Museum.

During this week, the group researched and produced scripts to bring to life the history behind various objects on the Museum’s period street. They then recorded the scripts; made use of some rather ordinary objects including a paper bag to make great sound effects; and then edited their work. The items of street furniture include the Police Box, the Tram Shelter and the Depot Gates.

The students were given the opportunity to work with several wonderfully creative people including creative script writer Linda Kempton, staff from Sound Delivery, a digital media and production company, plus staff and volunteers from the Museum.

The result is several informative and entertaining audio guides, the link for which you can find below. These audio guides will be available to download from our website.

After several days of hard work and being plied with mountains of cake, the students’ thoughts were…

‘Can we have Doritos tomorrow? And Pringles. And dips.’

I think it would be fair to say that an enjoyable and productive time was had by all!

To listen to the Audio Guide click here.

For Further information see the following websites:

www.tramway.co.uk

www.mubu.org.uk





Tuesday 16 November 2010

A Frosty November Morning

These pictures were taken around site this morning.


Mist over the Derwent Valley



Wednesday 10 November 2010

Police Boxes

The police box beside the harbour at Scarborough is a different design from our 'Tardis'.



















































This Scarborough postcard in our Archives shows a view from almost the same spot.


Monday 8 November 2010

Toastracks

David Humphreys from Scarborough's North Bay Railway recently visited the Museum's Archives to view postcards relating to the railway.













The early-1930s image of a North Bay toastrack coach was particularly relevant in view of the fact that a replica is at present being constructed on one of the original underframes.













Blackpool's tramway, together with a number of other coastal systems, had similar tourist vehicles.




























http://www.nbr.org.uk/


Friday 5 November 2010

New Members & Young Members Day

New Members Day took place on Saturday 30th October, to find out more about becoming a member and getting involved visit our website.





Wednesday 3 November 2010

Southampton 45

Southampton Corporation tramcar 45 arrived at Crich 50 years ago, on 29 October 1960.















It had been purchased from Southampton's Transport Department in 1948 for ten pounds, the first tramcar in Britain to be acquired for preservation by tramway enthusiasts.

The 1903-built low-height vehicle, with its upper-deck back-to-back 'knifeboard' seating, was one of a batch of electric cars designed to pass through Southampton's tight Bargate arch.














After leaving Southampton, it was stored for several years in Leeds and Blackpool, before moving in 1958 to the Montagu Motor Museum (today's National Motor Museum) at Beaulieu for outdoor display.















Leaving Beaulieu on 28 October 1960, it passed through Southampton on its journey north.














45 arrived at Crich the following day. Sheffield 510 also arrived that day.


Tuesday 2 November 2010

Always Check



Remember at Halloween, always check over your shoulder.....