Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust open new museum and archive to tell the story of local transport

By Paul Trainer

Editor

Published 5th Apr 2025, 18:16 BST

Updated 6th Apr 2025, 08:48 BST

If you have ever spotted a Glasgow Corporation bus driving down Byres Road at the summer, chances are it is one of the vehicles from the past maintained By the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust - now they are opening an archive and museum at their Bridgeton Bus Garage in the East End.

The Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust was formed in 2002 and focuses on the preservation of historic passenger carrying and commercial vehicles. It's collection of Glasgow's transport history is found in the former Bridgeton Bus Garage on Fordneuk Street - it was built for Glasgow Corporation Transport opening in 1965.

The garage is now well established as a heritage centre for buses and commercial vehicles. From tomorrow it will include a new archive and museum.

There are around 130 buses, coaches, commercial vehicles and fire vehicles in the collection. Vehicles are usually owned by individuals or small groups and range from hulks rescued from scrapyards and awaiting restoration to fully restored and active examples. Vehicles from the collection participate in events within the city and beyond, often allowing the public the opportunity to travel on them.

The Trust’s popular Super Sundays return from tomorrow, with a different theme each month - see here for more details. The open days will now include an opportunity to visit their museum and archive to delve further into the history of transport in Glasgow and in Scotland.

I phoned trustee Ed Bonner to find out more about what’s been happening in the garage.

Ed said: "The museum and archive will be open on Sunday, which is our first, we'll be undertaking the first Super Sunday of the new season. We've got a number of these running over the year. Sunday is Motorbikes and Pushbikes, so we will have a number of those on show."

1. Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust

Ed said: "The museum and archive will be open on Sunday, which is our first, we'll be undertaking the first Super Sunday of the new season. We've got a number of these running over the year. Sunday is Motorbikes and Pushbikes, so we will have a number of those on show." | GVVT

"The archive and museum itself, this is like a new lease of life that the garage has received. There's always been an archive there, but what's really happened over the course of the past year is that we've really got it together now. It is gone from being stored and into a display area, which you see there. It will now become a feature of the Garage for visitors to go up and have a look at."

2. Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust

"The archive and museum itself, this is like a new lease of life that the garage has received. There's always been an archive there, but what's really happened over the course of the past year is that we've really got it together now. It is gone from being stored and into a display area, which you see there. It will now become a feature of the Garage for visitors to go up and have a look at." | GVVT

There's a section there, which you probably saw, which is devoted to the Subway. There's a section which has various types of uniforms that been used over the years. There's ticket machines, models that show the evolution of Glasgow buses from the old Glasgow Corporation right through to First Bus. All sorts of equipment and ephemera from local bus history over the years, wider than Glasgow, but very much city-centric."

3. Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust

There's a section there, which you probably saw, which is devoted to the Subway. There's a section which has various types of uniforms that been used over the years. There's ticket machines, models that show the evolution of Glasgow buses from the old Glasgow Corporation right through to First Bus. All sorts of equipment and ephemera from local bus history over the years, wider than Glasgow, but very much city-centric." | GVVT

"The core of what we do is bus preservation. We've got about 130 vehicles in there from all sorts of areas, but we go further than that because it's not just about the nuts and bolts and the metal and the engines and the diesel. It's the social history attached to them all. My particular role very much is engaging with the public. I take tours around there and as often say, one of the most rewarding groups that you can take around is a group of people with dementia, because you take them in there and suddenly they're confronted by all these memory prompts and it's a great experience to do that."

4. Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust

"The core of what we do is bus preservation. We've got about 130 vehicles in there from all sorts of areas, but we go further than that because it's not just about the nuts and bolts and the metal and the engines and the diesel. It's the social history attached to them all. My particular role very much is engaging with the public. I take tours around there and as often say, one of the most rewarding groups that you can take around is a group of people with dementia, because you take them in there and suddenly they're confronted by all these memory prompts and it's a great experience to do that." | Getty Images

Glasgow Museum History Buses Glasgow 850

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