A behind the scenes look at the major HLF funded project which allowed the Museum to develop a new exhibition space and Learning Centre.

George Stephenson Workshop

These two impressive lampposts were given to the Museum by Birmingham Corporation when they were replacing the lights along Broad Street.  They were the first of what should have been many more.  However when work began on the redevelopment of Gas Street Basin the lights were refurbished and used there.  The Corporation asked if they could have these two back!  Fortunately they had already been erected and put into service so couldn’t be moved.  

Hear about the ins and outs of lamplighting as Andy shows his younger brother, Ed, the ropes in his new job.


Lamp Posts

In some towns there were great objections to the overhead wires needed to power the trams. One of the alternatives were surface contact collectors such as these Lorain Studs from Wolverhampton.

Learn how the studs worked and why they weren’t always a popular choice!   



Lorain Studs

The A & B push button public telephone was a real innovation.  Very few people had a telephone at home and public telephones had previously only been available within large public buildings.  This type of telephone box was introduced by the Post Office in 1920 and is the oldest working telephone kiosk in the country.  

Listen to PC Arnold instructing a wary Victoria Faidonne in its use.


A&B Phone Box

Unfortunately our Police Box doesn’t travel through time and space.  It arrived here on the back of a low loader in 1983 and was man handled into place after its three ton weight proved too much for a fork lift truck.  The Museum had advertised for a box in ‘Police Review’ and was offered a dilapidated box and some parts to assist its restoration.  When the box finally arrived it was fully restored, complete with interior fittings and electrics.  

Find out how PC Arnold uses the Police Box to help young Jack Brown out of a predicament.


The Metropolitan Police Box ('TARDIS')

This is an example of the most popular pillar box design ever introduced.  It was named after the designer, JW Penfold.  Originally post boxes were painted green so that they weren’t too obtrusive, however, this was so effective there were complaints that they were difficult to find!  After trying several other colours the new bright red box was introduced in 1874 and the re-painting programme took ten years to complete. 

Find out more about the Victorian postal service and hear about Victoria Faidonne’s lucky escape.


The Victorian Post Box

The Public Health Act of 1848 called for ‘Public Necessaries’ to be provided to improve sanitation.  The first underground public toilets were erected in London in 1855 and charged 1d, a charge which remained standard until the introduction of decimal currency was introduced in 1971; hence ‘spend a penny’.  

Follow the budding romance between Charles and Dinah and discover why stench pipes were an important part of the Victorian street scene.


Stench Pipe

The tram shelter is actually a bus shelter from Birmingham.  The stained glass is from a tram shelter in Matlock where there was a cable tram system.

Listen to the young Emily Leaflow talking about Civic Pride and her tram journeys to the sweet shop.


Tram Shelter

This urinal was rescued from Reading in 1983 and painstakingly restored in a Museum Society member’s garden and garage over the next twenty years.  It was eventually brought to the Museum in 2002 where it was rebuilt and made fully operational.

Discover more about urinals and the beginnings of the suffrage for women movement with the Leaflow family.


Urinal

The Exhibition Hall windows were rescued from the Doncaster tram depot.  They are iron and were in perfect condition.  The depot in Doncaster had proved too small and was extended.  To do this the original outer wall, complete with windows, was retained and a further exterior wall built.  The windows were protected from the elements and were brought here ‘as new’.

Listen to Lenny and Bob up to no good as they try and find something valuable in the depot.


Crich Tramway Village