Tasmanian Transport Museum

Tasmanian Transport Museum

The station building and railway platform
Established	3 December 1983 (1983-12-03)
Location	2B Anfield Street Glenorchy, Tasmania
Coordinates	42°49′52″S147°16′29″E / 42.831242°S 147.274754°E / -42.831242; 147.274754
Type	Transport museum
President	Phil Lange
Public transit access	Metro Tasmania - Glenorchy bus station
Website	tasmaniantransportmuseum.com.au

The Tasmanian Transport Museum is a transport museum in Glenorchy, Tasmania, Australia preserving and exhibiting a collection relating to Tasmanian transport history including items such as locomotives, carriages, ephemera and railwayana.

History

In 1960, the Metropolitan Transport Trust donated a Hobart tram to be preserved, and as a result the Tasmanian Transport Museum Society was founded in 1962, with the aim of preserving representative items of transport interest that were disappearing from everyday life. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The first decade of the society's existence saw the preservation of many items that had been donated or purchased, and it was not until 1972 that a site adjacent to the railway station in Glenorchy was leased from the Glenorchy City Council. After the laying of track, the first items were moved there in 1976. ^{[1] [4]}

After this time, the museum prospered in building on the site, with an electric traction shed built in 1976, as well as the Steam Technology building in 1983, a carriage shed in 1984 and a roundhouse in 1986. The most recent additions to the museum include a Fire Services shed completed in 2004, and a Road Transport shed completed in 2013. ^[1]

In 1979, after the cessation of passenger train services in Tasmania, the museum purchased and moved the former New Town railway station building to the site in sections, and this was completed in 1980. ^[5] The museum also acquired a railway turntable from Brighton and a signal cabin from the Botanical Gardens railway halt. ^[1]

The society has steadily acquired an extensive array of exhibits, relics, models and photographs, that portray many facets of the history of Tasmanian transport. society members also have carried out much of the development work on exhibits and the site, with the State Government being the major financial contributor for capital works, however; membership is small and the society relies mainly on volunteers, due to the financial and time constraints on the museum. ^[1]

In February 2021, a lease for five kilometres of the South line from Glenorchy to Berriedale was agreed with the Government of Tasmania. ^{[6] [7]}

In May 2023, the society reopened a one kilometre section of the line between Elwick and Grove roads, allowing for the operation of both steam engines and railcars. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Exhibits

All items from this list were attained from ^[11]

Railway locomotives

Number & name	Description	History & current status	Livery	Owner(s)	Built	Acquired	Photograph
C22 [12]	Mixed traffic, 2-6-0 steam locomotive	Operational	TGR black	Tasmanian Government Railways	1902	1967
Climax B-type	Climax type, B-B steam locomotive	Statically restored		Australian Newsprint Mills	1923	1977
H1 [12]	Mainline goods, 4-8-2 steam locomotive	Statically restored	TGR green	Tasmanian Government Railways	1951	1974
M5 [12]	Mainline passenger, 4-6-2 steam locomotive	Operational (Mainline)	TGR green	Tasmanian Government Railways	1952	1974
Abt No. 2 [13]	General purpose, 0-4-2T rack steam locomotive	Statically restored	Green	Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Company, sold to West Coast Wilderness Railway in 2019 [14]	1889	1968
Q5 [12] [15]	Mainline goods, 4-8-2 steam locomotive	Statically restored	TGR green	Tasmanian Government Railways	1922	1965
Ruston	Shunting, diesel-mechanical locomotive	Operational	EBR blue and yellow	Emu Bay Railway	1950	1998
Markham & Co. Vertical Boiler	Logging tramway, 0-4-0 steam locomotive	Statically restored			1889	1983
X1 [12] [16]	General purpose, Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotive	Operational	TGR red & cream	Tasmanian Government Railways	1950	1989
Y4 [12]	General purpose, Bo-Bo diesel-electric locomotive	Operational (mainline)	TGR red & cream	Tasmanian Government Railways	1964	1994
Za6 [7] [17]	Co-Co			TasRail	1976

Railmotors

Number & name	Description	History & current status	Livery	Owner(s)	Built	Acquired	Photograph
DP15 [12]	Country and suburban passenger railmotor	Under overhaul	TGR green & cream	Tasmanian Government Railways	1939	1979
DP26 [12]	Articulated country passenger railmotor	Operational	TGR red & cream	Tasmanian Government Railways	1950	1979
PT4	Driving railmotor trailer	Stored	TGR red & cream	Tasmanian Government Railways	1939	1979

Engineering heritage award

The museum collection received an Engineering Heritage Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program. ^[18]

References

1. Welcome to the Tasmanian Transport Museum. Glenorchy, Tasmania: Tasmanian Transport Museum Society. 2011. p. 4.
2. The Beginnings of Tram Preservation in Hobart Trolley Wire issue 329 May 2012 pages 12/13
3. Tasmanian Transport Museum Society's Golden Anniversary Railway Digest August 2012 page 55
4. Tasmanian Transport Museum Society Trolley Wire issue 168 February 1977 pages 19/20
5. Tasmanian Transport Museum Society Trolley Wire issue 188 June 1980 pages 28/29
6. Tasmanian Transport Museum Society Tasmanian Rail News issue 280 April 2018 page 13
7. Tasmania's final home for last built EE diesel The Railway Magazine issue 1446 September 2021 page 110
8. Tasmanian Transport Museum preparing to reopen part of the former railway line into Hobart after 9 years of redundancy Tasmanian Transport Museum 1 May 2023
9. Tasmanian Transport Museum to Run Trains Again Tasmanian Times 1 May 2023
10. Tasmanian Transport Museum to reopen part of former Hobart rail line Railway Digest June 2023 page 53
11. "Railway Exhibits". www.railtasmania.com. Tasmanian Transport Museum Society. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
12. McKillop, Robert (1999). Guide to Australian Heritage Trains & Railway Museums (7 ed.). Sydney: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 76. ISBN   0 909650 45 4.
13. Mount Lyell Loco No 3 Light Railways issue 25 Spring 1968 page 22
14. Glasgow built rack tank to return to service in Tasmania The Railway Magazine issue 1426 January 2020 page 88
15. Q class locomotive preserved Divisional Diary July 1965 page 16
16. Here & There Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 580 February 1986 page 16
17. World's final English Electric locomotive now in safe hands Heritage Railway issue 278 19 March 2021 pages 36/37
18. "Tasmanian Transport Museum Collection, 1883-". Engineers Australia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2020.

External links

Media related to Tasmanian Transport Museum at Wikimedia Commons