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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 10h

Some men to carriages aspire On some the costly hansoms wait Some seek a fly, on job or hire Some mount the trotting steed, elate. I envy not the rich and great A wandering minstrel, poor and free I am contented with my fate An omnibus suffices me. Amy Levy 1861-1889 #NationalPoetryDay

Night time urban scene showing commuters boarding a bright yellow Bee Network double-decker bus at a busy, well-lit city stop, the driver visible through the windscreen and a passing cyclist blurred as they ride past the bus.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 29/09/2026

No one likes to think about the time after they're gone. But we know that amazing collections of bus memorabilia have been thrown in the house clearance skip, because collectors didn't make it clear what should happen when they passed on.

Collection of vintage Greater Manchester transport memorabilia spread on a carpet: an open green case with an old ticket machine and rolls, a bright Route Map, fares tables and timetables, two red toy double-decker buses and a few slide transparencies.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 28/09/2026

Orange buses to brighten up your Monday morning! But it's #MysteryMonday so we're not saying where they are. If you think you know, reply below and we'll confirm the answer later.

Vintage orange-and-white double-decker bus parked at a town kerb beside a clothing shop, another similar bus behind it, pedestrians on the pavement and Tudor-style and brick storefronts lining the street.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 27/09/2026

#OnThisDay in 1987, GM Buses held an open day at #Oldham bus garage. Dora Bryan and Les Dennis were there!

Open day at Oldham GM Buses depot, showing a double-decker bus at the entrance, visitors walking nearby, and a large orange sign reading GM buses — East Area Head Office and Oldham Depot.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 26/09/2026

Here's a #SaturdayShowoff that we don't have on display at the moment - #Stockport 185 is stored off site, awaiting its turn for restoration. But we have loads of pristine buses and other things to look at, so check out motgm.uk for opening times and admission prices plus our events calendar.

Volunteers restoring a weathered red vintage bus outside a garage — one worker scrubs the roof from a ladder while another lies beneath the front inspecting or repairing the chassis.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 24/09/2026

We note with mild surprise that today is #InternationalDayOfBirmingham - so in tribute to the country's third city, here's a Birmingham bus for this week's #ThrowbackThursday. Bonus points if you can post the location...

Vintage single-deck Birmingham bus labelled "SPECIAL" parked beside a Bedford coach at Blackpool Corporation Transport's vehicle parking yard.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 22/09/2026

If you're an employee of TfGM, Metrolink or any bus company operating stage carriage services in Greater Manchester, you get *free* entry to our museum - just show your staff pass when you arrive.

Bright yellow double-decker Bee Network bus parked inside the Museum of Transport, front door open and LED destination display lit, surrounded by vintage vehicles, scaffolding, and museum lighting.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 21/09/2026

Lots of buses, terraced houses and a Hillman Imp - but where is it? As it's our #MysteryMonday pic this week we're not saying till later. If you think you know, reply below!

Historic row of orange or red vintage double-decker buses parked along a narrow street beside brick industrial buildings, with terraced houses visible on the left.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 20/09/2026

One aspect that a lot of our visitors enjoy is looking for the crest, or coat of arms, on the sides of the 'Corporation' buses in our collection. They're almost works of art, and each town has a different design. Do you know whose crest this is? And what 'Animo Et Fide' means?

Heraldic coat of arms on a red background: a blue shield with a gold border showing three gold lozenges and small crosslets, supported by two white lions, topped by a knight’s helmet and mural crown with a castle and ribbon reading "ANIMO ET FIDE".

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 19/09/2026

Our #SaturdayShowoff brings our collection to you and maybe tempts you to visit. Or maybe you'd a ride? #Leigh 15 will attend an event running free buses between Leigh & Bolton tomorrow, and if you board it we'll give you a 2-for-1 voucher to visit us. Visiting details: motgm.uk

Restored vintage blue-and-cream double-decker bus in Leigh Corporation livery with destination "WIGAN 7", parked outside the Museum of Transport.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 17/09/2026

If you've ever ridden on the top deck of a 135 bus, you'll recognise this view... It's Manchester Victoria station about 1990, and our #ThrowbackThursday for this week, showing one of the old trains that were replaced by Metrolink (construction materials for it are just visible at the left).

Manchester Victoria station with trains sheltered under three large corrugated-iron shed roofs, set behind a tall wooden construction fence, with scattered building materials for Metrolink construction just starting.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 15/09/2026

Ride with us! We're taking Leigh 15 and Lancashire United 97 to support the '82 running day', organised by friends of the museum, that'll operate free heritage buses between Bolton and Leigh this Sunday. And if you ride on one of our museum's buses, we'll give you a 2-for-1 voucher to visit us.

Leigh Corporation fifteen and Lancashire United ninety-seven, two buses owned by the Museum of Transport, stand side by side in an industrial setting. Leigh fifteen is blue and on the left, while Lancashire United ninety-seven is red and is on the right.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 14/09/2026

Let's have a rail-themed #MysteryMonday for a change. We see a station with well-kept platforms and even a garden - but where was it? Tell us if you think you know and we'll confirm the answer later.

Steam-hauled passenger train pulling away from a rain-darkened station platform, steam drifting past glass-roofed buildings and tall lamp posts.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 13/09/2026

For the next two weekends (12/13/19/20 September) we're taking part in #HeritageOpenDays by giving FREE entry to our museum; plus we'll run FREE heritage bus services to other local museums. Bus service details here: motgm.uk/events-theme...

Restored historic double-decker buses displayed indoors at the Museum of Transport: a green Bury bus number 177, a red Manchester bus number 4632, and a maroon Bolton bus number 77 shown side-by-side under the museum roof.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 12/09/2026

Our #SaturdayShowoff highlights our collection and maybe tempts you to visit. This week it's #Salford 112, a smart Daimler made in 1962. Want to see it? Visiting details at motgm.uk

Green-and-yellow Salford double-decker bus displaying route "Swinton 57", parked outside the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 10/09/2026

Did you know that SELNEC had its own successful parcels delivery business? It lasted from Manchester tramway days into the 1980s before it declined and was sold off, as catalogue business reduced. But this week's #ThrowbackThursday reminds us of a service that many used to rely on.

Selnec Parcels delivery van parked on a residential street as a courier hands a parcel to a man at the front gate of a red-brick house.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 08/09/2026

For the next two weekends 12/13 & 19/20 September we're throwing our doors open for free entry, plus running a free bus service to other local attractions, as our contribution to #HeritageOpenDays 2026. Visiting details: motgm.uk Bus service details: motgm.uk/events-buses...

Historic red double-decker buses parked side-by-side inside the Museum of Transport showing vintage route signs and liveries that illustrate preserved public transit history.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 07/09/2026

"They look like the back of a bus" - to us, that's not an insult! But where was this handsome rear snapped? Tell us if you think you know, as it's this week's #MysteryMonday pic.

Rear view of an orange-and-white double-decker bus turning on a wet city street past brick industrial buildings, with another bus and a small car ahead and traffic signs lining the road, conveying a rainy urban public-transport scene.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 06/09/2026

The preserved buses in our museum are just part of the story - it's about the people, those who rode on them and those who kept them running. This 1970 social 'do' pic shows staff of the old North Western company - and one of the people in the shot is today a Museum volunteer, fifty-odd years later!

Guests seated along a long, formally set banquet table in a crowded dining hall, plates, cutlery, bread rolls and fruit bowls arranged; many diners smile or look toward the camera while servers move between tables.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 05/09/2026

Just for a change, this week's #SaturdayShowoff is an inside job... it's #Manchester 1250, a 1951 trolleybus that got its electric power from wires hung above the road. Want to see it? Visiting details at motgm.uk

Interior of a restored vintage double-decker bus at the Museum of Transport, showing paired patterned upholstered seats, a central aisle with vertical grab poles, curved lit ceiling and red window frames reflecting other historic vehicles.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 03/09/2026

It's #ThrowbackThursday, so your trip back in time awaits! This week we're in #Stalybridge watching the bus to Mottram about 1970. It was new to the gloriously-named Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley & Dukinfield Joint Transport Board...

Vintage green double-decker bus parked at a town bus station with destination sign "MOTTRAM 7", flanked by other green buses and brick buildings under a cloudy sky.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 01/09/2026

#OnThisDay in 1932, #Wigan Corporation placed its first diesel buses in service - the town was a pioneer in moving away from more expensive (and more dangerous) petrol.

Lineup of vintage double-decker buses parked side-by-side, each displaying "WIGAN" on the destination board.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 31/08/2026

When's the last time you left the car and caught a Bee Network bus instead? September is #CatchTheBus month, give it a go - with £2 fares, you can just watch the world go by. And why not use the bus to come and visit us? We're opening FREE on 12/13 & 19/20 Sept, come and see how buses have improved.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 31/08/2026

This view shows some rather mouthwatering buses from the 1960s and 1970s - but where is it? As it's #MysteryMonday it's down to you. Tell us if you think you know and we'll confirm the answer later. Bonus points if you can name the building under construction in the background...

Two vintage red buses — a double-decker displaying route "Stockport 83" and a single-decker with a "Hill Top Garage" ad — parked in an urban bus yard beside scaffolding and brick arches.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 30/08/2026

At a loose end today? We have a free bus service running between our museum and Heaton Park Tramway, where we're helping our friends there celebrate 125 years of Stockport's trams. We'll also have two of our vintage Stockport buses on display there. Bus service details at motgm.uk/events-buses...

Restored Stockport double-decker bus marked "92X RESERVED" parked at the Museum of Transport as a historic tram blurs past, highlighting heritage public transport in a park setting.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 29/08/2026

A *video* #SaturdayShowoff, no less! This is Salford 254/SELNEC 3100, a Leyland 'Titan' new in 1966. Want to see it? Maybe even ride on it? Check motgm.uk for visiting details and dates of free heritage bus services.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 27/08/2026

This week's #ThrowbackThursday is a scene that has changed a lot, but is somehow still recognisable. It's Manchester's Cannon Street - or you might call it Exchange Square. But you can't catch a 35 bus to Bury from here now!

Historic city street scene showing double-decker buses at a busy stop beneath the dark silhouette of Manchester's Gothic cathedral tower, with pedestrians boarding, waiting, and crossing the road.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 25/08/2026

On Sunday we're helping our friends at Heaton Park Tramway celebrate 125 years of Stockport trams. We'll have our Stockport buses 91 and 321 on display at the Park with tram no. 5, and we'll operate a free bus service between the two museums.

Vintage red-and-cream Stockport Corporation double-decker bus parked at an outdoor transport museum with its route display reading "92X RESERVED", warm interior lights glowing and a blurred red tram passing behind.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 24/08/2026

Hmm, roadworks; trolleybus wires; houses; buses. But where was this photo taken? We're not saying, as it's this week's #MysteryMonday. Tell us if you think you know and we'll give the answer later.

Mid-20th-century suburban street dominated by double-decker buses under overhead wires, lined with terraced houses, roadworks and a telephone box, evoking historical Greater Manchester public transport.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 23/08/2026

Have a bit of time on your hands? Want to make friends and enjoy doing something that gives you a real sense of satisfaction? Lots of people do #volunteering at the museum (or even at home) and enjoy being part of our brill museum.

A man in blue overalls sanding long metal sections on a workbench in the Museum of Transport museum workshop, with a vintage green lorry and a Bury Corporation bus in the background.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 22/08/2026

We bring our #SaturdayShowoff to you, to showcase our collection and maybe tempt you to visit. This week it's #Ashton 44, a neat little Leyland from 1965. Want to see the real thing? Visiting details at motgm.uk

Restored blue-and-cream double-decker bus marked Route 30 to Ashton parked outside the Museum of Transport on a rainy day, with other vintage buses and a visitor nearby.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 20/08/2026

An unusual #ThrowbackThursday this week - this is how planners visualised the Metrolink system when it was just a proposal. Apart from the orange tram, we think it turned out very close!

A drawing or artist's impression shows an orange Metrolink tram leaving the undercroft at Manchester Piccadilly, emerging on to London Road. The drawing is a watercolour and it shows Manchester Piccadilly railway station as well as the tram, plus a pub on the corner of the street.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 18/08/2026

Here's a nice story; Karen and her mum Edna came in to donate the safe driving medals of Edna's father-in-law Jimmy Affleck, who was a driver for Manchester Corporation. And we were able to find Jimmy's employee record card and give them a copy, bringing back happy memories. Thanks for the donation!

Two smiling older women proudly display long-service bus driving ribbons with stacked year bars and medals — one giving a thumbs-up — while standing in front of a red vintage bus, with an inset close-up showing the ribbon, engraved year clasps and medals.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 17/08/2026

No points for spotting the Austin Allegro in Avocado Green, but you DO get points for working out where this pic was taken as it's this week's #MysteryMonday puzzle. Think you know? Reply below and we'll confirm the answer later.

Two orange and white Greater Manchester double-decker buses near a town centre bus stop beside shops, cars, and pedestrians, capturing a 1970s–80s urban public transport scene.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 16/08/2026

*Freebie alert* we're running FREE heritage bus rides today between our museum and Shudehill Interchange every half hour - first bus from Shudehill is at 1000. Come and have a free ride back in time!

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 15/08/2026

#SaturdayShowoff highlights an item from our collection and maybe tempts you to visit. This week it's Ribble C295, a Leyland 'Lion' that was new in 1927 (so celebrating its centenary next year!). Want to see it? Vsiting details at motgm.uk

Vintage red-and-cream Leyland "Ribble" bus on display with "SPECIAL" on its destination blind, parked among other historic buses and trucks inside the Museum of Transport.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 13/08/2026

People love our #ThursdayThrowback and this one is a cracker - it's the deregulation era, late 1980s, and a bus of Wall's of Fallowfield waits outside Manchester Victoria rail station. Do you remember Wall's?

Double-decker green-and-white Wall's bus on route 47 parked at a city stop outside Manchester Victoria station, with pedestrians and traffic visible nearby.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 11/08/2026

#OnThisDay in 1948, Manchester Corporation began to use 'Ultimate' ticket machines that gave out square coloured tickets - sometimes a combination of them for a fare that didn't match the pre-printed ones. We have a collection of ticket equipment going back 150 years - come and see it some time.

Glass display case at the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester showing historical fare-collection equipment—ticket dispensers, punchers, coin trays, mechanical tills and rolls arranged on glass shelves.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 10/08/2026

Let's get your grey cells working with today's #MysteryMonday. That's a Stockport bus, but where is it? Tell us if you think you know, and we'll confirm the answer later.

Vintage red double-decker bus driving past roadworks on a tree-lined suburban road, with classic cars and traffic cones marking a diversion.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 09/08/2026

We have a brand new book in our shop - 'Short Working' by Michael Eyre & Michael Shaw, documenting the brief life of the Manchester District Omnibus Company. It's a tale of shenanigans and ambition, private enterprise and public protectionism. On sale now: www.motgmshop.uk/product-page...

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 08/08/2026

This week's #SaturdayShowoff shows an unusual angle on one of our buses - because it's an unusual rear! It's Bury 116, a Leyland built in 1963. A contender for #RearOfTheYear...? Want to see it? Visiting details at motgm.uk

Restored vintage green-and-yellow Bury Corporation double-decker bus parked outside the Museum of Transport, shown from the rear and side while idling.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 06/08/2026

#ThrowbackThursday takes us to the old #Altrincham bus station, watching the bus to Hale Barns. These buses were made for a route under the aqueduct at Dunham Massey, but you'd also see them on other services. The bridge was rebuilt in the 70s and ordinary single deckers have been used there since.

Vintage red North Western buses parked in the old Altrincham bus station, with the six-wheeled bus that's the subject of the photo displaying route "Hale Barns 40."

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 04/08/2026

Our friends at Bee Network are making child fares free for the whole of August - and kids under 16 go free at our museum. So if you're looking for a cheap and fun day out, bring them by bus to us - we're open Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays 10 am to 4.30 pm. motgm.uk

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 03/08/2026

We love this pic, not least because it features a bus that's now in our collection (Oldham 368, we showed it in its current state a couple of weeks ago). But as it's #MysteryMonday, do you know the location of this photo? Just 'Oldham' will not get the points...

1950s Oldham double-decker Crossley bus labelled "Circular V" with a "Daily Express" ad driving past brick storefronts, a small car and pedestrians on a mid‑century city street.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 02/08/2026

#OnThisDay in 1929, the North Western and Midland Red companies jointly began a Manchester-London express service using coaches like this. The journey took nearly twelve hours including refreshment stops - no motorways, so no Keele Services!

Historic Leyland Tiger passenger bus from the North Western company parked on a suburban street, three-quarter front view showing radiator grille and round headlights, a row of side windows and large "North Western" lettering on the body.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 01/08/2026

Our #SaturdayShowoff highlights an item from our collection each week. This week it's a Scottish interloper, Alexander PA164, and its job in the museum is to commemorate all the 'foreign' buses that visited our region. If you want to look at our collection, visiting details are at motgm.uk

Historic blue coach in the museum workshop, front destination sign reads "Dundee," parked amid tools, cables and a red-and-yellow bus at the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 30/07/2026

You wait ages for a bus and then...! #ThrowbackThursday this week takes us to 1982, and the Pope's visit to Manchester. Buses were used extensively (to the joy of drivers paid overtime) for transport to and from the site in Heaton Park.

A long line of orange Greater Manchester Transport double-decker buses are parked end-to-end along a road near Manchester's Heaton Park, accompanied by a Police motorcycle and a car.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 28/07/2026

Ah, standard preservation ratio - eight watching, one working... 😉 [the Directors of the Company did a tour of garages, 1964]

Men in suits and a mechanic gathered inside a workshop around a coach labelled "North Western," closely inspecting its front wheel in what appears to be a technical demonstration.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 27/07/2026

This week's #MysteryMonday photo shows a bus, a bus stop, some shops - is it enough to say where it is? If you think so let us know, and we'll confirm later where this photo was taken.

Green vintage double-decker bus parked at a suburban stop showing route "Piccadilly 57", with a modernist brick shopping block, a few pedestrians and cars nearby, evoking mid-20th-century public transport.

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Museum of Transport Greater Manchester @motgm.uk · 26/07/2026

At a loose end on this grey day? Come and have a look at our ‘Remembering Lancashire United’ event that’s on today. Free rides to/from Shudehill Interchange and Peel Park in Salford. It’s a ride back in time for the family and it’s on until 4.30 this afternoon.

A row of red vintage buses from the Lancashire United Transport company stands inside the Museum of Transport.

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