The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft is situated on the Isle of Axholme. Once largely under water (hence the name) it was drained in the 17th century by the Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden; traces of Dutch influence can still be seen in the architecture of buildings and windmills. Nowadays a predominantly rural area it has a rich history; Sandtoft is approximately 5 miles from the market town of Epworth, the home of John and Charles Wesley.
Founded on its present site, part of a wartime RAF station, in 1969 to house, restore and run trolleybuses when they were fast disappearing from Britain’s streets, the Museum has grown from a handful of vehicles and now has over 50 – the largest collection of preserved trolleybuses in the world.
However public transport doesn’t exist in isolation. In addition to describing the rise and fall of the British trolleybus we attempt to set its story in the social history of its era, explaining the factors that shaped events. And, having purchased additional land in recent years, we now have ambitious plans to expand our facilities and exhibitions with work starting this winter – see our News page.